Legeros Fire Blog  -

03/07/09 234 W - + 12 - 8 Military Fire Departments, Past 'n' Present?

For our Saturday morning musings, what military fire departments have served in North Carolina, both past and present? Here's a starter list of facilities that had or have fire departments:

• Bogue Banks Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field - Built 1942.
• Camp Butner - Built 1942, closed 1947 as Army training facility.
• Camp Lejune, Jacksonville - Built 1941.
• Camp Mackall, Southern Pines - Built 1943. Had FD in 1945.
• Charlotte Army Air Base - Dedicated April 21, 1941, deactivated May 14, 1946. (Or were they served by Charlotte FD?)
• Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, Havelock - Built 1941.
• Elizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station - Opened 1940. Had FD in 1944. Sent one truck to help ECFD with fuel fire on May 31, 1944.
• Elizabeth City Naval Air Station, Weeksville - Built 1944. Closed 1962. Had FD in 1944. Sent two trucks to help ECFD with fuel fire on May 31, 1944.
• Fort Bragg - Built 1918.
• Harvey Point Naval Auxiliary Air Station - Had FD in 1944.
• Laurinburg-Maxton Air Base - Activated 1943, deactivated 1945.
• Morehead City Navy Section Facility - Had FD in 1943.
• North Carolina Air National Guard, Charlotte.
• New River Marine Corps Air Station, Jacksonville - Built 1943. (Served by Camp Lejune FD?)
• Pope Air Force Base, Fayetteville - Built 1919.
• Raleigh-Durham Army Air Base - Operational on May 1, 1943. Used until Jan. 1, 1948.
• Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro - Built 1942.
• Simmons Army Airfield, Fort Bragg - Built 1952. (Served by Fort Bragg FD)
• Sunny Point Marine Ocean Terminal, Southport - Opened 1955.

CFD assumed fire protection duties at Morris Field in 1947, says their yearbook.

What about the Charlotte Quartermaster Depot, which operated from 1941 to 1949? Seemed a large facility, by this description: http://www.cmstory.org/homefront/places/..
Legeros - 03/09/09 - 20:16

Camp Sutton in Monroe is another notable wartime facility. The training center and POW camp served from 1942 until 1946. Check out the vintage photos at http://history.union.lib.nc.us/heritager.., as well as some very old Monroe Fire Department pics!
Legeros - 03/09/09 - 20:26

A reader advises that Fort Fisher Air Station had a fire department. Previously named Fort Fisher Army Air Field, the facility operated from the 1940s through 1989. It’s presently a recreation area and historic site. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Fisher... The facility was associated with Camp Davis in Holly Ridge, NC. Camp Davis was built in 1940, and two runways were added a couple years later. That section was named Camp Davis Army Air Field, and is presently known as Marine Corps Outlying Field Camp Davis. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Davis
Legeros - 03/14/09 - 09:26

As we have likely referenced before, a great reference for former airfields is Paul Freeman’s excellent Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields site. Here’s his NC page: http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NC/Airf..
Legeros - 03/14/09 - 09:31