- [John Lewis] The New Bern Fire Department is a huge part of the city of New Bern.

- The fire department here is very cherished.

Were you guys aware that New Bern was the first chartered fire department?

We have a lot of respect from the community and a small amount of weight that we carry.

- The legacy plays a role in everything that we do 'cause we want to maintain that standard.

We don't want to fall behind in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

- [Jim] What's important about New Bern Fire Departments Museum is it brings that history back.

- [John] This is where it started.

These are the people who really put the work into getting to where we are today, - What it was like in the past, and how this organization has grown for the future.

- Common theme with safety of the citizens.

[firefighter shouting] - [Carol] I love New Bern and it is my mission to make sure this story is told.

[light music] - Welcome to the New Bern Fireman's Museum.

It's dedicated to the firefighters that started the fire service in New Bern around 1845.

[soft music] When somebody comes in for a tour of the museum, I want them to know how important this equipment was and is to the city of New Bern.

This is where we started.

One of the things that really makes New Bern stand out is we were the first chartered fire department in the state of North Carolina.

The Atlantic Company got their state charter in 1845.

New Bern needed a substantial fire department in the early days because New Bern was one of the largest manufacturers of lumber in the south at one time.

Of course, New Bern was the first capital of North Carolina, so they also had the means to kind of get things moving.

One of the most unique parts in the very beginning were the two companies that were involved, the Button Company and the Atlantic Company.

They both stemmed from the Civil War.

The Atlantic Company, the original fire company in New Bern, they left to go fight the Civil War for the South.

End of the Civil War, the Atlantics come home and find the Union Army with a new steam engine at their fire station.

As you can see, the plaque here, New Bern Steam Fire Engine Company, that was the official name of what we call the Button company.

The rivalry started there from the Civil War.

The animosity between the north and the south trying to do the same job.

The other part is, at that time, an insurance company would pay to put a fire out for a homeowner.

Whoever got there first was the one to put it out.

So that added fuel to the fire.

The steamers and the hose wagons were pulled to the fire by horses.

This is a replica of Fred.

Fred was one of the fire horses that pulled a hose wagon.

This is the Atlantic's hose wagon.

The driver was John Taylor.

John Taylor was an African American gentleman who was employed by the city as a garbage collector.

John was not a member of the fire department.

During this time, there were in fact four different African American fire companies around the outside edges of New Bern.

- It was segregated, with all things during Jim Crow.

They had to have a separate place.

They had separate equipment.

They even asked for equipment at one point.

And for a caliber of status, they were denied that.

- They did last up until about 1912, 1913.

But they just did not have the means to keep the company moving.

And it's a shame because I think the city actually missed out on a lot of very good people that could have contributed a ton more and probably really wanted to.

This is the first motorized piece of equipment that the city of New Bern bought.

This is a 1914 American La France.

This is a 750 gallon a minute pumper.

The big improvement over the steam engines, which were only 500 gallons a minute.

The other one that we do have is the first ladder truck that we bought.

All of these ladders are wooden.

These are the original ladders for the truck.

The ladder truck was purchased in 1927.

This station was open in 1928 to accommodate both of the companies, Atlantic and the Button, hoping to bring some cohesion between the two groups.

The uniqueness of this building is the way it was constructed and the purpose.

One pole goes to the Button room upstairs.

This pole goes to the Atlantic Company room on the other side.

Basically, it's a mirror image of each other when you get upstairs, two meeting rooms, two bathrooms.

This would've been one of the bunk rooms.

It's now been turned into our trophy room.

These are some of the trophies that were earned at competitions in the late 1800s, early 1900s.

The competitions between firefighters and especially with the Button and Atlantic Company, was the skillset that they had to have as a firefighter.

As you can see on the entry board, you've got New Bern number one, which is the Button company and Atlantic side by side from the same town competing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

They just did it as a competition to see who was better at it.

And it still happens today, all across the United States.

- So next thing we're gonna talk about, we find our victims.

Back in the day, it was all about who could do something better than the other.

Once again, he's lifting with his legs and he's dragging the victim up.

How fast they could lay hose, how fast they can hook up the hydrant.

Alright, so we're gonna conduct some live fire training this morning here.

Once again-- - I think that was today's equivalent to a requirement for training standards.

To get out the door in a specific amount of time, to arrive on scene within a short amount of time, and to be able to start to finish mitigate that incident.

- The goal is to establish water supply, hit the benchmark.

Back then it was time based between two companies.

Today our challenge is to make sure our firefighters are on scene, fighting the fire in a timely manner.

[radio chatter] Copy, fire in the hole.

[sirens blaring] - You know, we do have a high standard.

We are constantly training.

We all work together to accomplish the same goal, [siren continues blaring] and we take pride in our work.

Victim, victim, victim.

[Elona shouting] One victim.

- [Jim] Copy, one victim found, division two.

- And I think that also helps us to also walk around with our head held high.

- [Jim] That's good.

We'll reset.

- One of the defining moments with the City of New Bern fire department was a great fire of 1922.

- It was a very, very cold, windy Friday morning.

Everybody was excited.

The New Bern High football team was loading on the trains on their way to Raleigh.

New Bern High was gonna participate in the state football championship.

- Train left about 7:30 that morning.

Well, a lot of the people that were on that train were members of the fire department.

This is Roland Lumber Company.

This is the origin of the fire.

The wind was blowing in off of the river, which pushed the fire inland.

Over here on the other side of town, about 10:30 in the morning, a lady was heating water to wash her clothes.

- A ember went up the wood stove and landed on top of the house, and that was it.

Street after street, house after house was consumed by the fire.

- The fire department didn't have enough personnel to fight the fire at Roland, much less let some of them go to the other fire.

So all these orange dots you see here were houses that were destroyed.

About a thousand homes were burned.

3,200 people lost their place to live and most of the residences were owned by African Americans.

Probably 20 blocks of residential and commercial structures were lost.

- It was devastating because of Jim Crow and segregation.

Blacks weren't allowed in the hospital and they didn't have any place to go.

Even right here of St.

Cyprian Church was used as a refuge, a haven, a place for them to go.

But eventually there was a tent city that was provided from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

[soft music continues] - [John] One of the other tragedies, a lot of these people, it was a twofold situation.

They not only lost their house, they also lost their job at the lumber mill because the lumber mill burned.

- Although it was a horrible thing, out of that fire, hope did come.

By 1938, there was a hospital built for blacks in New Bern.

In addition, within one year, a group of sisters built a hotel for blacks.

And it is listed in Victor Hugo Green's Green Book.

[soft music] That's a part of history.

You can't tell one story without including the other.

- As big of a tragedy as the great fire of 1922 was, we're lucky we only had one loss of life.

- You know, you look at a situation like that, you know, to have something of that magnitude, that large scale.

Ultimately you come back and you critique that and say, how do we improve?

We never wanna see anything to, to that level again.

So that's why we're always trying to improve how we provide a service.

[soft music continues] - In my opinion, the beginning of the end of this big rivalry between the volunteers, the Atlantic and Button Company, was when the city started hiring more paid personnel.

And with the construction of the new main fire station just up the road, we were all called New Bern Fire Rescue.

- [Damien] I think a strong firehouse culture today is a firehouse that is a family.

I'm doing good.

You doing good?

Good to see you.

Today, you see men and women coming from all walks of life.

- As a child, I never imagined myself as a firefighter.

I was offered an opportunity to go to an academy.

I did that and ever since then, I've never looked back.

- It's really about coming together as as one team.

- We're brothers and sisters.

Good morning everybody.

- [Jim] New Bern fire department is still leading the charge in North Carolina.

- Okay, what grade are you in?

- 10th.

- 10th?

- Senior.

- Senior.

- It's an important job because it's not just fire, it's about EMS prevention and everything that comes with it.

- I am very proud of the New Bern Fire Department.

I honestly am.

As we come through the years, we have grown into what we should be.

- Has anybody ever considered being a firefighter?

Being able to get out in the community and talking with the kids at the high school was such a rewarding experience.

We have three different shifts.

We have an A shift, a B shift, and a C shift, and we have three different stations, we have... And I just feel like being a member with the fire department just makes me special.

Do you guys have any other questions?

- When I think about the firefighters who's gonna come next, we wanna leave them in a way that they're well prepared, that we maintain that legacy and that we're moving forward.

- [Jim] Grab the victim and maintain the profile low.

- [John] And I think that loyalty to the department, that dedication to the citizens, it's always been here.

- [Firefighter] Good boy.

Not everybody can do it, but the guys and girls in this department show every day why they're, in my opinion, one of the best around.

[soft music continues] [equipment beeping]