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North Carolina's Capital City formed a full-time, fully-paid fire department in 1912. The volunteer fire companies were disbanded and the city assumed their horse-drawn equipment. Three hose companies were placed in service with three stations. By 1915, the fire department was fully motorized. In 1926, two more stations opened; in 1943, a sixth station was added. By 1950, the Raleigh Fire Department operated five engines, one aerial truck, one service truck, and a "squad."
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Old Station 2 500 Fayetteville Street Mall |
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Old Station 4 505 Jefferson Street |
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Old Station 4 2913 Wake Forest Road |
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Old Station 6 2519 Fairview Road |
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Old Station 8 1007 Method Road |
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Old Alarm House Behind 220 South Dawson Street |
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Old Shop 263 Pecan Street |
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Training Tower 105 Keeter Center Drive |
One structure still standing from the Raleigh Fire Department's volunteer era is the original quarters of the Capital Hose Company at 117 West Morgan Street. The two-story brick building was constructed in 1887 in conjunction with the completion of a municipal water system. The first floor housed a hand-drawn hose reel on one side and the water company office on the other side. The second floor was a fireman's hall. The volunteer fire company moved across the street to 112 West Morgan Street in 1890. The 1,591 square-foot building is presently an office. The adjoining water tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photos courtesy North
Carolina State Archives
The original Station 1 at 112 West Morgan Street opened in 1896. The two-story brick building included a combination bell and hose tower and originally housed the Rescue and Hook and Ladder companies. Station 1 relocated to 412 South Salisbury Street in 1941. The building was promptly demolished, and the land sold to the state for an addition to the adjacent Revenue Building. The original Station 2 was located on Fayetteville Street, on the Salisbury Street side of the courthouse lot. Opened in 1870, the former Rescue Company quarters were demolished in 1913. A second Station 2 at 412 South Salisbury Street opened in 1914. The two-story structure closed in 1932 when Station 2 relocated to Memorial Auditorium. It reopened as Station 1 (left) in 1941, and closed again in 1953 when Station 1 relocated to 220 South Dawson Street. The original Station 3 was located at 135 East Hargett Street. Built around 1898, the former Victor Company quarters were demolished in 1952. Station 3 relocated to 13 South East Street one year earlier. The original Station 5 (right) opened in 1926. Located at 1914 Park Drive, it closed in 1961 and was subsequently demolished by firefighters who saved the bricks and soon built a smokehouse adjacent to the training tower in south Raleigh.
Raleigh Fire Department
Raleigh Fire Department, Unofficial
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A version of this article was published on FireNews.net on April 17, 2005.
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros