Raleigh Fire Department Celebrates Centennial in 2012

RALEIGH – This year the Raleigh Fire Department celebrates a milestone: their 100th anniversary as a career fire department. Special events are planned throughout the year, including a downtown birthday party on Saturday, June 16. Activities for the all-day event will include a parade down Fayetteville Street, an apparatus muster, firefighter challenges, and a kid’s zone.

Learn more at www.RFD100.com and watch for announcements on how to participate. Fire departments are invited to bring apparatus for the parade, with an emphasis on antiques, as well as teams for the firefighter games. More information is forthcoming on how to participate.

The first fundraiser for the anniversary activities is the sale of Raleigh Fire Department Challenge Coins. They measure 1.5 inches diameter and cost $10 plus shipping. Order yours today!

Career Department Formed in 1912

North Carolina’s Capitol City is protected by the second largest fire department in the state, but it started very small. Let’s turn the clock back 100 years.

In 1912, five volunteer fire companies and some 120 firemen protected Raleigh’s four square miles and nearly 20,000 residents. They operated five pieces of horse-drawn fire equipment: three hose wagons, one steam engine, and one service ladder truck. Fires were fought using hydrant pressure, though the steamer was used for major fires or calls outside the city. Alarms were sounded from Gamewell street boxes.

But insurance underwriters and city officials were seeing the need for an overhaul. Though the volunteer Raleigh Fire Department was fifty years strong–this year also marks their 150th anniversary–it was time for a change. It was time for a full-time fire chief, full-time firefighters, and motorized fire engines.

The reorganized Raleigh Fire Department started with two hose companies and fifteen firefighters plus Fire Chief Sherwood Brockwell and Assistant Fire Chief Charles Farmer. A third station and third hose company was placed in service within two months. The steamer and ladder truck were reserve apparatus.

Chief Brockwell, a veteran member of Raleigh’s Rescue Hose Company, had been sent to New York City for a special fire school. He even spent some time at the American LaFrance plant, learning how motor apparatus was built. The city soon took delivery of two chemical hose trucks built by American LaFrance, followed by a triple combination pumper. The last horse was retired in 1915.

Early Improvements

There were some early upgrades to the department’s infrastructure: a new Station 2 was completed after the county reclaimed the property used by old Station 2. An aerial ladder company was added in 1916, along with a new American LaFrance tiller. They became a two-piece company in 1922 with the addition of a service truck.

By mid-decade, two more fire stations had opened in growing areas of the city: Station 4 on Jefferson Street to the north and Station 5 on Park Drive to the west. The Raleigh Fire Department of 1926 had five fire stations, with about 40 firefighters operating five engines and two ladder trucks. Calls that year numbered 364.

During the World War II

Raleigh grew slowly in the years approaching World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the fire department began training several squads of auxiliary firefighters. These civilian volunteers received classes in fire, rescue, and first aid techniques. They participated in city-wide blackout drills, and even the occasional fireman’s games.

The war years also affected the number of fire department personnel, as members entered the service or took jobs in other industries. Wartime restrictions also impacted the construction of new buildings and the purchase of new apparatus. The replacement of Station 1 on West Morgan Street– built in 1898 and condemned by the time of its closure in 1941– took over a decade to complete.

Also during the forties, Raleigh’s sixth fire station opened on the northwest side of the city in a rented building at 2513 Fairview Road. Engine 6 operated a 1919 American LaFrance pumper, purchased used from Farmville, N.C. They moved across Oberlin Road to a new building that was completed in 1949.

Enter the Fifties

By mid-century, the city’s six engine companies protected 65,679 residents and 10.9 square miles. The Raleigh Fire Department of 1950 was staffed by 84 members and answered 911 calls that year. They had new tools to their trade, such as self-contained breathing apparatus. A two-person auxiliary truck with a small pump and water tank had also been added to the fleet.

Personnel were now working 24-hour shifts, a new Fire Prevention Bureau was organized the year before, and a new city retirement system was in place. An IAFF local chapter was 12 years strong, and members’ wives would soon organize a Ladies Auxiliary. They performed charity work, and provided canteen service at fires.

As the city tripled in size during the 1950s, the fire department experienced significant growth under the leadership of Fire Chiefs Alvin Lloyd and Jack Keeter.

Opening of Fire Station 7

A seventh fire station was added, replacements for Station 1 and Station 3 were opened, and a training tower was built. Modern apparatus (Mack, FWD, American LaFrance) replaced all front-line engines, and a new tractor-drawn aerial ladder was delivered. A rescue squad was organized, and radios were added to the trucks and at the stations.

That decade also saw the department’s first line-of-duty death. Driver Vernon Smith was seriously injured on November 14, 1952, when Engine 6– using a 1926 American LaFrance reserve engine– overturned while returning from a call. Smith returned to light duty, but continued to be treated for his injuries. After many surgeries, he died on March 10, 1956.

City growth in the sixties and seventies continued the expansion of the fire department. More new stations were opened, and while others were replaced. Station 2– located in the basement of Memorial Auditorium– was relocated farther south, Station 4 was moved farther north, and Station 5 was rebuilt on the same spot. (The bricks from Station 5 were saved and used to build a smokehouse at the training tower.)

New Stations, New Apparatus

During the 1970s, six new fire station buildings were completed. They were designed by Architect William C. McGee, Jr. His signature two-bay, single-story design was used in over a dozen fire department facilities.

The ranks of the fire department were growing, both in size and diversity. The first black firefighters in six decades had joined the department in 1963. A third platoon of personnel was added in 1970. The first female firefighters joined in 1978. By that time, their recruit academy included EMT training. The Raleigh Fire Department’s first responder program started in 1979.

In 1970, the first Mack CF pumper was delivered. The popular apparatus was a fixture of the fire department for decades. Fifteen pumpers were delivered between 1970 and 1982, plus one aerial platform. The last Mack CF pumper was retired from reserve duty in the 2000s.

City Doubles in Size

From 1970 to 1990, the city’s geography nearly doubled in size. It grew from 55.17 to 91.40 square miles. The population had continued to grow, from 150,255 to 212,092 residents. The fire department continued to expand, adding four new stations in the eighties and two new stations (and one relocated station) in the nineties. The number of personnel grew from 196 to 362 members.

Leadership changes included the hiring of the first fire chiefs from outside the department; Thomas Kuster in 1983 and Sherman Pickard in 1986. Both brought innovation and change.

The occupation of firefighter was also evolving. Medical calls were growing in frequency, and would surpass fire calls by 1995. Specialized disciplines were being added, beginning with a haz-mat team in the 1980s. Technical rescue training was added in the 1990s, with high-level, confined-space, and collapse rescue.

New Millennium

Growth since the year 2000 has included the addition of a fourth battalion and three more ladder companies. Facilities were improved with the opening of a larger maintenance shop and services center, and a new training tower. Services were expanded, including a Construction Division added to the Office of the Fire Marshal. The Raleigh Fire Department joined forces with Cary, Chapel Hill, and Durham fire departments to create a Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.

Today, the Raleigh Fire Department protects 144.8 square miles and 403,892 residents with 27 fire stations including 28 engines, eight ladders, three rescues, and four battalion chiefs. Personnel number 575 uniformed and civilian members. In 2010, they answered 38,151 calls.

Visit www.raleighfirehistory.org to learn more about the history of the Raleigh Fire Department.

A Century of Conflagrations

1915 – News & Observer building and others on Martin Street

1928 – Yarborough House on Fayetteville Street

1935 – Efird’s Department Store on Fayetteville Street

1943 – Bellas-Hess clothing store on Wilmington Street

1959 – Manmur Bowling Center on Hillsborough Street

1964 – Bryan Building in Cameron Village

1970 – Peebles Hotel on Hargett Street

1981 – Mangel Building on Fayetteville Street

1992 – IGA Grocery on Person Street

2007 – Pine Knoll Townes off Capital Boulevard

2011 – Wakefield Plantation Golf Course off Falls of Neuse Road

 

Raleigh Fire Department 100th Birthday Party

Saturday, June 16, 2012, Downtown Raleigh. Planned activities include an apparatus parade and muster, firefighter competitions, a kid’s zone and more. See www.RFD100.com for more information. Fire departments are invited to bring apparatus for the parade, with an emphasis on antiques, as well as teams for the firefighter games. More information is forthcoming on how to participate.

PRIMARY AGENCY: Raleigh Fire Department