Our Past - Tragedy and Transition

Lexington Fire Departments darkest day occurred on January 1, 1926 when three firefighters were killed in a traffic accident while responding to an alarm at Box 26 located at Raleigh Rd. and Hackney St. Both Lexington fire trucks were returning from an earlier alarm at Box 61 located on the other end of town on Salisbury Road (in the general location of what is now South Main St. and Fowler Ave). Firefighters from the Wennonah station received the alarm for Box 26 when they returned to quarters. They immediately jumped back onto the truck and headed north on Main St. toward the alarm. At the same time a new years celebration was letting out at the Lexington Theatre and the street was busy with theatre patrons returning to their homes. Having already seen the returning Engine 1 slowly moving up Main St (they were not aware of the alarm), patrons were surprised to see the fast approaching Engine 2 speeding up Main St. with siren blaring. At the intersection of Main St. and 3rd Ave. a car driven by J.H. Thompson pulled into the path of the Engine 2 where they collided. The impact caused the truck to flip three or four times where it came to rest in the middle of the street. Daniel C. Cope and his son, Eddie Cope along with Howard Michael were killed. Henry Gibson and Henry Yarborough were critically injured. Mr. Thompson and his wife escaped without injury. The wreck sent shock waves through the community. The fallen brothers were mourned in funerals that that drew hundreds. High Point and Thomasville firefighters helped the grieving Lexington firefighters by answering alarms. Adding to the depth of the mourning was the fact that the box alarm the truck was responding to, turned out to be false. And although speculation abounded, it could never be determined who pulled the fateful alarm.

While the fire companies maintained a close relationship throughout their early history with the city, in reality they were loosely formed confederations with no formal ties to each other or the city. That all changed in 1929 when the companies merged together under the umbrella of a city department. This also marked the beginning of the transition of the fire department from a volunteer to a career organization. Records from 1929 show there were four paid firefighters and sixteen volunteers under the leadership of volunteer Fire Chief Dr. A.E. Brannock. In 1931 Lexington appointed its first career fire chief in T. Norman Owen, a longtime volunteer, who remained chief for more than 30 years.

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