Goldsboro and Wayne County Rescue and EMS History

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Presenting a timeline of rescue history in Goldsboro, surrounding communities, and Wayne County. 

Read detailed research notes (pdf)

View newspaper clippings in Google Drive folder.

Short Version

1950 to 1969

  • 1952 – After two years of trying to sell the idea of a rescue squad to local civic clubs, fire chief found interest at local Lion’s Club. 
  • 1953, Mar 18 – GFD placed first rescue truck in service, donated by Lion’s Club. Staffed by fire department. Panel van.
  • 1953, Nov 17 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad first organizational meeting, second project of the Lion’s Club.
  • 1954, Apr – Goldsboro Rescue Squad operating by this time, members assist GFD rescue unit at incidents and events.
  • 1955, Nov 29 – Second GFD rescue vehicle added, soon moved to new Station 2. Station wagon.
  • 1958, Feb 8 – Third GFD (GFD/GRS?) rescue unit being readied, a 1947 Cadillac Ambulance.
  • 1958, Aug – Goldsboro Rescue Squad added a bloodhound for land searches  
  • 1958, Sep – Goldsboro Rescue Squad hosted second annual convention of North Carolina Association of Rescue Squads.  
  • 1958, Sep – Ladies auxiliary of Goldsboro Rescue Squad organized during the state meeting.  
  • 1958, Oct – Goldsboro Rescue Squad added first female members, five nurses installed as members.     
  • 1959, Jan – Mount Olive Rescue Squad now operating. Organized over last six months.
  • 1959, Aug – New GFD (GFD/GRS?) delivered, panel truck to replace station wagon.   

1960 to 1969

  • 1961, Aug 20 – GRS building dedicated.  
  • 1961, Dec 31 – Snapshot. Goldsboro Rescue Squad answered 865 calls during the year. They transported 388 people from 381 accident scenes. They transported 280 people suffering from “sudden illnesses.” They answered 63 false alarms. They spent 500 searching for “lost persons.”  
  • 1962 – Mount Olive Civil Defense building completed. Housed rescue squad.  
  • 1963, Feb – Goldsboro Rescue Squad delivered first baby.
  • 1964, Apr – Fremont Rescue Squad organized.  
  • 1965, Oct – Goldsboro Rescue Squad hosted state rescue convention.  
  • 1967, May – FRS rescue building on Sycamore Street dedicated.
  • 1968, Oct – Goldsboro Rescue Squad hosted state rescue convention. 
  • 1969, Apr – Wayne Ambulance Service started operation on April 14, 1969. Also, Goldsboro Rescue Squad no longer answering non-emergency calls.

1970 to 1979

  • 1972 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad, Inc. charted with the state.
  • 1972 – First radios acquired for GRS.
  • 1975, Feb – Mount Olive Rescue Squad new building nearing completion.
  • 1975, Sep – Grantham Rescue Squad organized.  
  • 1975, Oct 1 – Mount Olive Rescue Squad reorganized.   
  • 1976 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad member James Hickman drowned while helping with a rescue attempt.  
  • 1976 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad member Kenneth Lee Davis killed when a car hit a squad ambulance that was returning from a call.  
  • 1976 – Seven Springs Rescue Squad organized.         
  • 1978 – Grantham Rescue Squad moved into a new building.
  • 1979 – MORS started heavy rescue services, received first crash truck.

1980 to 1989

  • 1980 – Grantham Rescue Squad moved into a newly constructed building.
  • 1981, May – By this time, Johnston County Ambulance Service also available for non-emergency transport.
  • 1982 – SSARS started providing ALS services.
  • 1985 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad certified as an advanced life support rescue squad.
  • 1985, Mar – MORS certified at EMT-I level. 
  • 1985, May – Goldsboro Rescue Squad added first paid staff about this time.
  • 1989, Apr 20 – Goldsboro Rescue Squad name changed to Goldsboro Rescue and Emergency Medical Services, Inc. 
  • 1989, Sep – GFD started operating their own EMS service with dedicated medics on September 6, 1989. GFD ambulances had been operating for decades. 

1990 to 1999

  • 1992 – All squads equipped with defibrillators by this time. 
  • 1994, Oct – Better Health Ambulance of Greenville had been granted an ambulance franchise by county commissioners. Second private service operating in the county.
  • 1995, Dec – Snapshot. Fremont and Grantham have EMT-D service, Goldsboro, Mount Olive, and Seven Springs have EMT-I service. 
  • 1997 – County study conducted, found problems with EMS response times.
  • 1999, Jan – MORS reorganized, after the squad was disbanded by town officials, after a dispute started in December, when the town fired a paid member for violating labor laws. 
  • 1999, Oct – Wayne Memorial Hospital ceased providing free medical supplies to the rescue squads. This increased the operational costs for each squad.

2000 to 2009 

  • 2000, Oct – GREMS placed new crash truck in service. It supported eleven fire departments, which only had three crash trucks between them Arrington, Belfast, Dudley, El-Roy, Mar Mac, New Hope, Oakland, Patetown, Pinewood, Rosewood, and Saulston.   
  • 2001 – GREMS advanced to paramedic level.
  • 2001, May – Newspaper reports that county officials had been studying a proposal to assume control of the volunteer rescue squads, and primarily to improve response times and the quality of medical care. Suggested is creation of a county-wide EMS system and with a goal to have a paramedic on the first ambulance to response to calls.  
  • 2001, Aug – County officials decided to start charging for ambulance transports. Squads currently charging included Goldsboro and Mount Olive. 
  • 2002, March 1 – Wayne County EMS placed in service with the opening of their first station in Seven Springs.
  • 2002, Oct 1 – WCEMS Station 2 opened Rosewood.
  • 2002, Oct 1 – WCEMS Station 3 opened in Grantham, at the rescue squad building.
  • 2002, Oct 1 – WCEMS Station 4, Station 5, and Station 6 opened in Goldsboro.
  • 2002-03 circa – GREMS disbanded after WCEMS took over service area (correct timeframe?).
  • 2003, Mar – WCEMS Station 7 opened in Fremont. 
  • 2003, Jun – MORS ceased providing rescue services. One crash truck disposed to Mount Olive VFD. 
  • 2003, July – WCEMS Station 8 opened in Dudley.
  • 2003, Oct – WCEMS Station 9 opened in Mount Olive on October 1, 2003.
  • 2006, Aug – WayneNET ambulance service started operating. Non-emergency transport. 

2010 to Present

  • 2016, Oct – Seven Springs EMS station—co-located with Seven Springs Area Rescue Squad—building damaged by flood from Hurricane Matthew. WCEMS unit relocated to Elroy VFD Station 2.
  • 2018, Oct – Seven Springs Area Rescue Squad dissolved.
  • 2018, Apr – Expansion WCEMS Station 10 opened on April 19, 2018, in the former quarters of Antioch VFD.
  • 2019, spring – Replacement WCEMS Station 1 on March 2, 2019, at 4205 Indian Springs Road in Seven Springs.
  • 2019, spring – Replacement WCEMS Station 7 opened at 1900 Nahunta Road in Pikeville.
  • 2019, Jun – Replacement WCEMS Station 9 opened on June 21, 2019, at 121 Northeast Church Road in Mount Olive.
  • 2019, Sep – Expansion WCEMS Station 11 opened on September 13, 2019, at 210 Miller’s Chapel Road in Goldsboro.
  • 2021 – Grantham Rescue Squad disbanded after WCEMS took over service area.
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Cherry Hospital Fire Department

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Let’s look back at state hospital fire protection in our state and specifically Cherry Hospital outside Goldsboro. We’ve long documented the fire department and apparatus at Broughton Hospital in Morganton, but did you know that Cherry Hospital also had a fire department?

First, some background. The facility first opened in 1880 and served black patients for most of facility’s history. By 1924, the hospital– then-named the State Hospital for the Colored Insane– had its own fire department. Nine employees operated three hose reels with 600 feet of 2 1/2-hose and 800 feet of 2-inch hose by 1901, noted Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps at the time.

Fast-forward a few decades and the hospital fire department was upgraded with its first fire truck, as noted in a new old article on the subject, from the News-Argus on October 6, 1949.

Reported W. J. Sadler, there had never been any “fires of consequence” during the 75+ years that the hospital had operated. And now, the threat of fire was further reduced with delivery of a Ford/Ward LaFrance pumper just a few days ago. That plus that many modern fireproof buildings on campus. The truck cost $7,500, carried 300 gallons of water, and could pump 500 to 650 gallons per minute with a pressure of 150 PSI.

It replaced the “ancient reel-hose cart” that was the hospital’s only fire equipment. And the truck could pump (draft) water from any “ditch, pond, or other stream” and any other “outlying areas of the hospital” where there were no hydrants.

The fire truck carried 1,000 feet of 2 1/2 hose and the hospital fire department had 2,000 feet in reserve. The also had “several miles” of water mains and 15 hydrants, with more of both to be installed later, said Fire Chief Hubert Clark.

It was also equipped with a combination “stream-and-fog” nozzle, a new piece of technology for creating a “fog” that could virtually “smother” fires that were “not of the most intense variety.”

The department was comprised of “technical specialists at the hospital” and the volunteer members held drills “at regular intervals.” The city fire department was also always willing to respond and assist, “should the need arise.”

The new pumper had been “thoroughly tested and approved by the National Board of Fire Underwriters” and received a Class A rating, the highest possible.

Here’s a photo tour of the facility in 2010, and where at least two firefighting artifacts survived, an old hose reel and the bright-red fire siren. 

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Goldsboro Fire Department History

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Research notes on the history of the Goldsboro Fire Department. Primary sources are cited newspaper articles.

Before 1900

1869 – Notice in newspaper: “Citizens of Goldsboro! Do you want a reliable Fire Company to be composed of white men? If you do, then go, without fail, and attend the meeting at the Court House this evening.” [Goldsboro Daily Messenger, 7/8/69]

1873 – Dr. B. F. Arrington is carrying around a “subscription list” to procure a fire engine for the town. [Goldsboro Messenger, 3/13/73]

1878 – Letter to editor in newspaper from Julius Ash, who has received a fire engine named “Little Giant” and that he proposes to sell to the town, as “there is nothing in this town to extinguish a fire.” Nor is there a fire company. [GM, 5/9/78]

1879 – Town commissioners have “unanimously resolved” to purchase a fire engine. [GM, 8/11/79]

1879 – Town commissions at that last meeting appointed a committee to “solicit subscriptions for the purpose of purchasing a fire engine fore the town.” [GM, 8/25/79]

1879 – Town officials approved purchase of a Silsby steam engine for $3,900, includes 1,000 feet of hose and a hose carriage. [GM, 9/4/79] The purchase was subsequent “rescinded” as town officials didn’t believe a majority of voters would approve the purchase. [GM, 9/25/79]

1880s – Lionel Weil was Chief of Department by this time. He was the city’s first documented fire chief. He served until 1884. [GFD]

1880 – Around this time the market house and fire station was erected on Ash Street. [Goldsboro News, 2/26/28]

1881 – Champion chemical engine has been purchased for $2,220. Named “Goldsboro.” [GM, 3/24/81, 7/28/83]

1881 – Newspaper notice. “The subject of organizing a fire company is now under consideration, and we learn that a meeting to that end is shortly to be held. We hope to see a good company organized.” [GM, 4/7/81]

1881 – City ordnances adopted on June 1, 1881, included a section on “Fire and Fire Companies.” It included the requirement that the board of aldermen annually appoint a Chief of the Fire Department and one assistant. [GM, 6/6/81]

1881 – Newspaper notice: “The chemical fire engine has reached here and a fire company will be next in order.” [GM, 7/11/81]

Continue reading ‘Goldsboro Fire Department History’ »

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Renovations at Raleigh Fire Department Training Center

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In March 2025, renovations were started at the classroom building at the Keeter Training Center in downtown Raleigh.

The project was approved by council on October 1, 2024, with a scope of work to “reconfigure the classroom, a new HVAC system, new kitchen casework, and new fire alarm and lighting.” Plus exterior renovations that include “miscellaneous site lighting, pavement patching, and a new electric car charging station.”

The classroom building opened in 1982 on the site of the 1954 drill tower and training grounds. The classroom building has been expanded and reconfigured in a number of ways over the decades. It’s also been renovated in places and most recently in the upstairs classroom.

Changes to Downstairs Space

Here’s what’s happening. Upstairs, the office spaces will remain as currently configured, but with new windows, new doors, and a new HVAC system overall.

Downstairs, the classroom will be “un-configured” and restored to its original full-length size. (As our academy remembers, Class of 1989. We rocked.) In a recent decade, the rear was walled off and a locker room was created for the recruits. That space—a recruit locker room—will be moved to a modular unit on the upper pad.

Also downstairs, the “large room” will be split in half. (Originally a pair of vehicle bays!) One of the overhead doors has been removed and the space will house two simulators, for virtual pump operation and virtual driving.

Temporary Quarters for Staff

Training center staff vacated their offices last month and have relocated to temporary spaces including at Fire Administration, at Station 14, the basement offices at Station 8, and the training center annex at Station 26.

Interior work should be completed by October or abouts.

More History

Read more history of KTC at https://legeros.com/ralwake/raleigh/stations/ktc.shtml

See detailed research notes on KTC history at https://www.legeros.com/ralwake/raleigh/history/pdf/training-center-history.pdf

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Medical Helicopter Crashes in North Carolina

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Research notes on medical helicopter crashes and accidents in North Carolina, both fatal and non-fatal. Pictured is the Life Force crash in Macon County in March 2023. The four crew members all survived with minor to moderate injuries. Photo credit TBD. 

1980s

Duke Life Flight, Duke University Hospital, Durham
7/21/1986
Crashed near NC 751 and Fayetteville Street in Durham County, during patient transport
Five people injured with minor injuries.
NTSB ATL86FA203
 
Fatal
AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals, Winston-Salem
9/23/1986
Crashed while en route to Twin County Community Hospital in Galax, VA, to pick-up a patient, when it crashed into the peak of Horse Knob, a 3,400-high mountain about a half-mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The crash occurred around 12:54 p.m. Witnesses said it appeared to be having mechanical problems before the crash.
Killed Barry Wayne Day, 36, pilot
Killed Karen Simpson, 30, nurse
Killed Barbara Burdett, 28, nurse 
NTSB ATL86FA264

Fatal
East Care, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville
1/8/1987
Crashed while transporting a three-month-old girl from Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital to the Greenville neonatal unit when it crashed about 9:15 p.m. It had left the hospital at 8:59 a.m. A distress call was heard on a medical radio frequency, with someone saying “mayday, mayday … we have a fire on board and are going down.” The pilot of the Bell 206 LongRanger was apparently trying to land in a clearing in a stand of young pine trees in the Hoffman Forest near Pollocksville, NC. The aircraft crashed in a swampy area of the forest. Marine Corp Air Station New River conducted a search and rescue operation and located the wreckage. All souls aboard were killed.
Killed Perry Lee Reynolds, 39, pilot
Killed Mike Patrick McGinnis, 32, chief flight nurse
Killed Pamela M. Demaree, 28, flight nurse 
NTSB ATL87MA057

Fatal
Medflight, Dare County EMS, Manteo
3/26/1989
Crashed whils returning from an emergency call, and from transporting a small child to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, when their aircraft struck an unlighted cellular tower under construction in Coinjock in Currituck County that was directly in their flight path. There were no lights on the tower, as required by the FAA. The lights were scheduled to be installed the day following the crash. On August 22, 1989, the Dare County Board of Commissioners dedicated the Duvall-Willoughby Hangar at the county airport in there memory, and with a stone memorial marker with their names. 
Killed Claude Clara “C.C.” Duvall II, 53, pilot
Killed Stephanie Willoughby, 34, EMT 
NTSB ATL89FA116

1990s Continue reading ‘Medical Helicopter Crashes in North Carolina’ »

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Goldsboro Rescue Squad – Line of Duty Deaths in 1976

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LODD rescue history. In 1976, two members of the Goldsboro Rescue Squad died on duty in two separate incidents. On March 28, 1976, James Hickman drowned during a water rescue/recovery. On November 7, 1976, Kenneth Davis died in a vehicle collision. Here are those stories.

James Madison Hickman

March 28, 1976 – On a Sunday afternoon on the Neuse River at Quaker Neck Dam, located five miles southwest of Goldsboro, four fishermen from Angier launched two “outboard boats” into the water. In one boat were brothers Ronnie Langdon, 23, and Neal Langdon, 22; in the other were brothers Wayne Pope, 26, and Randy Pope, 22.

Continue reading ‘Goldsboro Rescue Squad – Line of Duty Deaths in 1976’ »

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North Carolina Ambulance, Rescue, and EMS Line of Duty Deaths

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Change Log:
Added Paul Boyer, Fort Bragg, who died on 10/22/09. (May 5, 2025)
Added Duke Life Flight members who died on 9/8/17. (May 4, 2025)

Presenting a list of ambulance driver, rescue squad member, and EMS agency member line of duty deaths, but excludes fire-based EMS agency members (for now). Most of these names are listed on the National EMS Memorial Service page.

See this Google Drive folder of research materials.

Summary

Date Name Agency City Cause Listed on
NEM?
6/8/1933 Arthur C. Funderburk Jr. Douglas & Sing Funeral Home Charlotte MVC, Ambulance  
7/15/1949 Zell J. Watson Yelverton Funeral Home Raleigh MVC, Ambulance  
1/12/1953 John H. Miles High Point Rescue Squad High Point MVC, Non-Ambulance  
4/23/1959 Robert L. Battle Raleigh Emergency Rescue Squad Raleigh Drowning  
3/28/1976 James M Hickman Goldsboro Rescue & EMS Goldsboro Drowning Yes
11/7/1976 Kenneth Lee Davis Goldsboro Rescue & EMS Goldsboro MVC, Ambulance Yes
12/20/1979 John A. Pierce Enfield Rescue Squad Enfield MVC, Non-Ambulance  
9/25/1984 Stephen Gray “Steve” Richey Forsyth Rescue Squad Winston-Salem Air Crash Yes
9/23/1986 Barry Wayne Day AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash  
9/23/1986 Karen Simpson AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash  
9/23/1986 Barbara Burdett AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash  
1/8/1987 Perry Lee Reynolds Pitt County Memorial Hospital East Care Greenville Air Crash  
1/8/1987 Mike Patrick McGinnis Pitt County Memorial Hospital East Care Greenville Air Crash  
1/8/1987 Pamela M. Demaree Pitt County Memorial Hospital East Care Greenville Air Crash  
10/10/1987 Elaine Pruitt Lyda Clarkton Rescue Squad Clarkton MVC, Non-Ambulance Yes
3/26/1989 Claude Clara “C.C.” Duvall II Dare County EMS Medflight Manteo Air Crash Yes
3/26/1989 Stephanie Willoughby Dare County EMS Medflight Manteo Air Crash  
3/16/1991 Carl E. “Buggs” Hensley Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue High Point Cardiac Yes
5/2/1991 Harvey Jennings “Butch” Lamm Mt. Pleasant Rescue Squad Bailey Cardiac Yes
7/21/1991 Wayne Dale Rice Dallas Rescue Squad Dallas MVC, Non-Ambulance Yes
3/3/1992 Eddie Jones, Jr. Harrells Rescue Squad Rose Hill Cardiac Yes
4/22/1994 Michael Travison AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash Yes
4/22/1994 Anthony Barbee AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash Yes
4/22/1994 Donna L Eaton AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash Yes
4/22/1994 Karen L Canada AirCare, North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Winston-Salem Air Crash Yes
2/9/1995 Michael R Jackson Mid-South Ambulance Service Smithfield MVC, Ambulance Yes
3/29/1999 Gentry Randall Blevins Helton Volunteer Ambulance Lansing MVC, Non-Ambulance Yes
10/16/2000 John A Holland Duke Life Flight Durham Air Crash Yes
5/8/2001 John G Rhodes Randolph County EMS Asheboro Cardiac Yes
8/19/2002 John Lynn Moore Ellerbe Rescue Squad Ellerbe Struck at Scene Yes
12/31/2005 Larry Doughton Crouse Alleghany County EMS Aurora Cardiac Yes
2/12/2007 Joseph “Joe” Austin Jones Pilot Mountain Rescue Pilot Mountain Cardiac Yes
5/14/2009 Bonnie McNeil Union Rescue Squad Willard Cardiac Yes
10/22/09 Paul I. Boyer III Womack Army Medical Center Ambulance Services Fort Bragg MVC, Ambulance  
1/14/2015 William “Billy” Lawrence McKinney Jr. Rockingham County EMS Wentworth Struck at scene Yes
9/8/2017 Jeff Burke Duke Life Flight Durham Air Crash  
9/8/2017 Crystal Sollinger Duke Life Flight Durham Air Crash  
9/8/2017 Kris Harrison Duke Life Flight Durham Air Crash  
7/9/2017 Frank Roy Echevarria Cumberland County EMS Fayetteville Cardiac Yes
7/22/2020 Dennis Lamont Hardy Bertie County Emergency Services Windsor COVID Yes
12/3/2020 Donald “DP” R. Paul FirstHealth of the Carolinas Critical Care Transport Pinehurst COVID Yes
12/22/2020 Milton Earl Reel Farmville Rescue & EMS, Inc. Farmville COVID Yes
8/10/2021 Vanessa Lynn Burris Cumberland County EMS Fayetteville COVID Yes
9/6/2021 John Thomas “Thomas” Ring Wilkes County EMS North Wilkesboro COVID Yes
9/22/2021 Donna Maria Barrett Cagle Bladen County EMS Bladenboro COVID Yes

Before 1960 Continue reading ‘North Carolina Ambulance, Rescue, and EMS Line of Duty Deaths’ »

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Old Salisbury Road Shootings – July 18, 1988

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View Google Drive folder of clippings.   

Early on the night of Sunday, July 18, 1988, gunshots were heard in the vicinity of the shop, at 7:00 p.m. and again at 10:20 p.m. No calls were placed to law enforcement. Witnesses also saw a man walking around his front yard with his rifle at 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. No calls were placed to law enforcement.

About 8:20 p.m., a passing motorist and his wife were confronted by the same man, who had thrown a rock at their vehicle. The man appeared mentally unwell, and the couple quickly drove away. After contacting Davidson County deputies, they were directed to contact the Forsyth County Sherrif’s Department. The couple, they later said, decided to wait until the morning to pursue the matter.

The shootings started between 11:15 p.m. and 11:25 p.m. The first call to police was made at 11:25 p.m. A neighbor said that a man, about 19 to 25 years old, was walking in the street with some sort of firearm. He was yelling at cars. The caller had been stopped by the man and threatened. The man with the gun said if the caller came back, he was going to shoot his truck.

The Winston-Salem Police Department received that call at 11:25 p.m. call and, seven minutes later, completed the transfer of the call to the Forsyth County Sherrif’s Department. [ Check this. Did they transfer the first caller or the second caller, the stepfather?] As the WSPD dispatcher was processing the first call, the WSPD dispatcher received a call from the gunman’s stepfather, who said (a.) his stepson had been shooting at cars, (b.) his stepson said that there was a person lying in the parking lot, and (c.) his stepson said that he was going to kill another person.

Continue reading ‘Old Salisbury Road Shootings – July 18, 1988’ »

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Wake County Fire Commission Meeting – April 10, 2024

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The Wake County Fire Commission met on Thursday, April 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., at the Wake County Emergency Services Education Center, 221 S. Rogers Lane, Raleigh, NC 27610.

View agenda and meeting documents.

View recordings of fire commission meetings on this web site. 

 

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