Hurricane Fran - September 1996

Last update September 10, 2018

Introduction

This page presents data and other information about the Raleigh Fire Department response during and after Hurricane Fran in September 1996. During a three-day period, the fire department answered nearly 700 calls, with call types ranging from fires (46) and medical emergencies (142), to flooding (33) and trees on buildings or people (33), to electrical (163) and fuel hazard (97), to false alarms and false calls (121).

Effects of the storm were felt in Raleigh starting around 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, with a tornado watch for the entire state issued after 1:00 p.m. The airport recorded 8.8 inches of rain over 24 hours, which broke the 1929 record of 6.66 inches. It measured wind gusts as high as 79 mph.

By daybreak, the storm had passed over the city. Almost all of Wake County was without power, and none of the city's 420 traffic lights was working. Damage was reported across all of the county's 891 square miles. It produced 3.5 million cubic yards of debris. Four people were killed in Wake County, among the 24 killed in North Carolina. The storm did $2.3 billion damage in the state.

Data

• List of calls (PDF)
• Call type totals

Narratives

• Log book entries (PDF)

Images

• News & Observer - Water rescue on Wilmington Street by Engine 2 - See this Flickr album (scroll down)
• Mike Legeros - Various photos around Raleigh

Related

• Hurricane Fran - Data
• Hurricane Fran - Path and Precipitation Totals
• Hurricane Fran Revisited - NC Sea Grant (PDF)
• Hurricane Hazel in Raleigh, 1956 - Legeros Fire Blog
• National Weather Service summary
• News & Observer retrospective, 2016
• WRAL retrospective, 2011
• WRAL retrospective, 2016

Sources

Primary source for call data is data compiled by (then) Captain Peter J. Brock.

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