Raleigh and Wake County Firefighting

This second collection of historic firefighting images covers 1940 through 1990, five formative decades for fire protection in North Carolina's capital county. During this period, the Raleigh Fire Department quadrupled in size, smaller municipal fire departments modernized, and rural fire departments formed to protect outlying areas. As populations increased and technology advanced, 20th century firefighters found their duties evolving from simple "smoke eating" to include emergency medical services, rescue and extrication, and hazardous-materials training.

Raleigh and Wake County Firefighting, Volume II, depicts fires, fire equipment, and firefighters in over 200 images culled from newspapers, archives, and personal collections. Included in this second volume are rare, early photographs of the Six Forks Road, Western Boulevard, and Wake Forest #2 fire departments.

Author Michael J. Legeros has been chasing fire engines since first learning to walk. A technical trainer in Cary and former Raleigh firefighter, he authored the first volume of Raleigh and Wake County Firefighting.