Flowes Store Fire Department

1962 - The Beginning

Flowes Store Volunteer Fire Department was organized at its first meeting on February 16, 1962. This flyer was put up all over the community to rally support. On that night, there were 28 charter members. The department later incorporated on

March 8, 1962 with 14 firemen. Before this time, the area was protected by Jackson Park VFD, Midland VFD, and Allen VFD.

First Apparatus
An article in the Concord Tribune dated May 25, 1962 describes the purchase of the first apparatus for Flowes Store VFD:

“…Flowes Store announced this morning, that a truck for the department had been purchased and would be taken to Charlotte today for the installation of fire-fighting equipment. …the truck was purchased recently from the Humble Oil & Refining Co of Charlotte. It is a 1959 V-8 Dodge. The truck will be equipped by Baker Equipment Co. of Charlotte at a contract price of $5665 as per quoted bid. A new idea in storage of water for rural fires has emerged from the Flows Store (department). Members of the department plan to secure at least six large water tanks which will be placed at strategic points through the community. When the firemen have need for water to fight the fires, they will have a large supply available and ready for quick use. C.P. Hough was appointed by the department to plan a location for the department building and to check into the legal aspects of securing the land. The new department building will be constructed near Bost’s Gin, in the Flowe’s Store Community. A building committee has already be appointed to plan for the department structure and officials of the new unit are organizing a community rally to improve interest in the department…..”

That truck was delivered July 21, 1962. The next truck described at that time as a “water wagon” was bought December 3, 1962, and a brush truck for fighting brush and grass fires was bought in 1974. It was a surplus military jeep that was sold in 2005.

Station Changes
Originally, the station was going to be 500 feet away from where it stands now as part of the Flowes Store Community Building. This drawing is a proposal which was going to add a drive thru bay onto the right side of the existing building. This idea may have been ideal at the time, but the department would have quickly run out of room.

The original building was a simple 30’ x 52’ concrete structure built in 1962 that housed three trucks with a gravel floor and 1 door for personnel. It still stands today as the left three bays of the current station.

In 1970, a 50’ x 60’ addition was constructed consisting of a kitchen, two more truck bays and a large meeting room to seat 100 people for suppers held at the station. Fundraisers were the majority of income for the department. Below is a ticket to a ham dinner used to raise funds.

An upstairs was added over the original section in the 1980’s and is currently used for a day room and offices.

A new station was built next to these facilities in 2000. It currently houses all large apparatus. There are 2 drive-thru bays, 1 non-drive thru bay, and a new set of bathrooms.

Training For Rescues

A rescue demonstration for members of the Bethel School PTA in 1965.

Apparatus Changes
There have been many additions to the fleet of apparatus in the last 40 years. Currently, we have 6 vehicles. Visit the apparatus page for more information.

2004 Seagrave Rescue Pumper
2001 Ford F-350 Brush Truck
1995 Ford Crown Victoria Officer Car
1990 E-One Ford C-8000 Pumper/Tanker
1989 FMC Ford C-8000 Pumper/Tanker
1984 American General Brush Truck

Past Fire Chiefs

Oscar Black
Hal Little
Ed Roy
Thomas Lowder
James Aldridge
James "Tony" Bridges
Artie Cirag (current)

Call Volume
No data is available for how many calls the department ran in the 1960’s, however looking at the data, the 1960’s were pretty slow. The First Responder Program was added in 1990 and increased call volume tremendously. Medical calls still make up slightly over half of all calls.

The district still remains a rural area today; however, the population virtually doubles every 10 years. According to the 2000 Census, the population had reached 6,148, and estimates for 2004 put that number around 7,000. In fact, the US Census Bureau indicates that the Charlotte Metro Area has grown 15% in the last 5 years.