About These Slides Presented at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue - PDF document

About These Slides • Presented at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo in Raleigh, in August 2011 • Expanded with slides listing spoken comments. North Carolina Firefighting History • Expanded with additional details and slides in Presented by Mike Legeros Spring 2016. • Last updated: August 15, 2017. Today’s Agenda Presenter Information • Software company as day job, 05:00 – Meet the presenter web project manager • Former Raleigh firefighter 70:00 – Presentation • Official historian 15:00 – Questions, answers, discussion, • Incident photographer • Author something else • Buff • mikey@legeros.com • www.legeros.com Raleigh Fire Museum Raleigh Fire Museum www.raleighfiremuseum.org www.raleighfiremuseum.org Spoken: I’m also president of the Raleigh Fire Museum, a non-profit charitable organization that maintains a small museum at the fire department training center. We’re open on the second Saturday of each month. Visit our web site to learn more. 1

Spoken Comments #1 More Information • One reason for conducting this workshop is to challenge the material. legeros.com/history • Presenter is not expert in all areas. He is more like a collector of information. -or- • Audience is encouraged to edit, expand, correct, Google “legeros fire history” or challenge the contents of these slides • Everybody wins as histories are rendered more accurate Going Back in Time Early North Carolina • 1705, 1710, 1722 – First towns, Bath, New Bern, Edenton • 1729 – North Carolina becomes English colony • 1735 – Salisbury largest city in western North Carolina • 1766 – Construction starts on Salem • 1770 – First Capitol completed in New Bern, Tryon Palace • 1789 – North Carolina becomes 12 th state • 1792, 1794 – Raleigh created, Capitol moved • 1799 – Cities and towns – Some growing, Washington, Elizabeth City 1900s – Some still small, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Wilmington 1800s – Some not yet created, Winston 1700s Cities and Towns Fires and Fire Protection • Why was fire such a risk? • Fires in every building, for light, heat, and cooking • Flammable building materials • Water supplies often minimal. • How did communities protect from fire? • Prevent fires • 1710 – New Bern • 1768 – Charlotte • 1722 – Edenton • 1776 – Washington • Extinguish fires. • 1734 – Wilmington • 1792 – Raleigh • 1739 – Fayetteville • 1793 – Elizabeth City • 1755 – Salisbury • 1794 – Asheville • 1766 – Salem • 1808 – Greensboro 2

How Things Started First Fire Companies • 1773 – New Bern (authorized to create) • Collective responsibility for firefighting • 1785 – Salem • Buckets, ladders, axes, hand engines • 1791 – Fayetteville (chartered) • 1791 – Washington • Laws compel prevention, participation • 1819 – Raleigh • Fire companies organize • 1845 – Charlotte • Fire department created • 1846 – Wilmington • 1849 – Greensboro New Bern – Raleigh Charlotte Raleigh as Example Early Legislation • 1773 – Salem – Fire inspector appointed • 1792 – Created as planned community. Everyone and no one responsible for firefighting. • 1773 – New Bern – Can create fire company, buy equipment • 1795 – First regulations for fire prevention. • 1793 – Salisbury – Homes must have fire equipment • 1819 – Officials purchase fire engine. • 1795 – Raleigh – Additions to building fronts prohibited First fire company formed. • 1798 – New Bern – Homes must have fire equipment Fire companies form, disband, reform. • 1803 – Raleigh – Officials granted power to fight fire, even by demolishing buildings • 1851 – Major fire renews interest in fire protection. • 1813 – Salem – Fire code established • 1852 – Fire companies, fire equipment improved. Unified fire department created. New Bern As Example First Fire Equipment • 1773 – Officials authorized to create fire company, buy equipment • 1794 – Fire Watch established at night • 1798 – Citizens required to keep equipment at home Local militia must report to fires Buckets Ladders Fire tax authorized Night watchman hired Hooks Axes • 1828 – Five Fire Wardens hired • 1830 – Three fire companies formed • 1845 – Atlantic Steam Engine Co. 1 chartered 3

First Fire Equipment First Hand Engines • 1785 - Salem (2) ► • 1817 - Salisbury • 1819 - Raleigh Spoken: Fire hooks were used to pull buildings down, either before they caught fire or after they were burning. This helped control the • 1832 - Fayetteville Buckets spread of fires, but reducing the volume of material either burning Ladders or that could catch fire. Explosives were used in a similar fashion, • 1845, by - Charlotte to control major fires by blasting buildings and creating fire breaks. Hooks Axes First Hand Engines Salem Hand Engine • 1785 - Salem (2) ► • 1817 - Salisbury • 1819 - Raleigh Spoken: The first hand engines in our state was a • 1832 - Fayetteville pair delivered to the Moravian community of Salem in Forsyth County. They’ve remained intact and can be • 1845, by - Charlotte viewed today at Old Salem in Winston-Salem. Salem Hand Engine Hand Engines • Beaufort • Hickory • Warrenton Nozzle that • Belhaven • Laurinburg • Washington (2) swivels • Wilmington (2) • Charlotte (3) • Lenoir Water poured into pump • Clayton • Milton • Winston using buckets Handle for • Elizabeth City • Morehead City pumping • Enfield • Plymouth • Fayetteville • Raleigh (5) • Graham • Salem (2) • Greensboro (2) • Salisbury (2) • Greenville • Smithfield • Henderson • Tarboro Smithfield 4

Hand Engines Who Were The Volunteers? • Beaufort • Hickory • Warrenton • Prominent citizens • Segregated before/after • Belhaven • Laurinburg • Washington (2) Civil War • Drafted citizens • Charlotte (3) • Lenoir • Wilmington (2) • Day in the life, what • Skill tradesmen • Clayton • Milton • Winston does it look like? Spoken: Some two-dozen communities had hand engines • Multigenerational • Elizabeth City • Morehead City across our state. Larger towns and cities had multiple “hand tubs,” and over decades as never and larger models • Enfield • Plymouth replaced older and smaller ones. Very few of these have • Fayetteville • Raleigh (5) survived. Just a handful. • Graham • Salem (2) • Greensboro (2) • Salisbury (2) • Greenville • Smithfield • Henderson • Tarboro Smithfield Greensboro – Wilmington Who Were The Volunteers? Black Fire Companies • Prominent citizens • Segregated before/after Civil War • Drafted citizens • Day in the life, what • Skill tradesmen does it look like? • Multigenerational Greensboro Spoken: What a day in the Wake Forest – Warrenton life of a typical volunteer fireman look like? Good question. To be determined. Greensboro – Wilmington Black Fire Companies Black Fire Companies • Beaufort • Goldsboro. • Raleigh • Wilson • Charlotte • Greensboro • Rocky Mount • Winston • Clinton • Greenville • Salisbury • Concord • Henderson • Smithfield Spoken: Early fire companies were typically segregated, with separate groups of white and black firemen. In some communities, • Durham • Louisburg • Statesville the first fire companies to organize were those of black citizens. Some black-only fire companies persisted into the late 20 th century, Greensboro • Edenton • Lincolnton • Tarboro such as Wake Forest Fire Department #2 from the 1940s to the Wake Forest – Warrenton • East Spencer • Monroe • Wake Forest 1980s, and Warren’s municipal fire department, into the 2000s. • Enfield • New Bern • Warrenton • Elizabeth City • Oxford • Washington • Farmville • Princeville • Weldon • Fayetteville • Swansboro • Wilmington Wilmington 5