Early Fire Department

Beaufort's Robert E. Lee Fire Company in 1907
Courtesy Beaufort Fire Department

Beaufort, Carteret County December 1913

One chief, two companies. Two stations.

-First company (white) next to 406 Craven Street: 20 volunteers. One paid driver. One partly paid engineer. One horse with drop harness, used on street work during day. One Howe triplex gasoline engine. One hose cart with 800-feet 2 1/2-inch hose. 1,000-feet 2 1/2-inch hose in reserve.
-Second Company (colored) next to Town Hall at 305 Broad Street: 20 volunteers. One hose reel with 800-feet 2 1/2-inch hose. One hand engine. Fire alarm by whistle. Population 3,200.

1933 Beaufort Fire Department

History by Mike Legeros from early twentieth-century summaries of North Carolina fire departments as recorded by the Sanborn Map Company for their fire insurance maps.