North Carolina Fire Stations

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Asheville FD Fire Investigations
Buncombe County

Formerly Station 4, and closed circa 1973, a 1920's ALF engine was stationed there, along with Asheville's only 600 Series ALF, a 1941 65' aerial. At that time the road was two-lane, and the nose of the aerial had to be brought to the center line before turning in either direction. It was also quite a show to watch it backed into its bay, on the right. This & HQ were the only stations with poles, and the only remnant of the Gamewell alarm system, a repeater, is in this building, named the Harley Shuford Building, in honor of Asheville's first full-time arson investigator, who is a wonderful man. This station responded with HQ to all downtown first alarms, which contributed to its longevity, given that station 7 opened 9/11/58, one mile north. To the right of the station is the funeral home where I served my apprenticeship in 1968. Many's the time I heard the gongs. I listened with a tunable radio, which had no squelch control . . . and was privileged to join their ranks in 1984.