"Any time you lose a structure you have sentimental value to, there's some sadness," Roanoke Fire EMS Chief David Hoback said. "If there was any way we could do it other than this, we would have."  

The historic firehouse will come down after firefighters move out in the next few weeks, but elements from the old building will be salvaged for the new building. Bricks from the old Fire Station 7 will be used to build one of the walls in the new fire station, and the doors from the historic firehouse will be installed in the new one.

The oanoke Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department hosted an open house of its Fire Station 7 on Saturday. The firehouse was built in Grandin Village in 1922, but it will soon be replaced with a new fire station where the old one now stands.

The Kernersville Fire Rescue Department dedicated a new fire station located at 1180 Highway 66 South. The building was dedicated to Fire Chief Walter M. Summerville III. Summerville died in 2012 in the line of duty due to a cardiac event. The new fire station is replacing an existing station that opened in 1977.

This firefighter is not an actual fireman, but rather a 1997 Pierce Saber fire engine purchased from the Zebulon Fire Department when that organization purchased multiple new trucks last month.  

The engine, which was given the service distinction of Engine 52, is capable of transporting six firefighters and 1,000 gallons of water to emergency calls and has a pump that will deliver 1,500 gallons per minute from a hydrant or other water access point.

With just under 31,000 miles on it, Engine 52 may have needed replacing in a rapidly growing town the size of Zebulon, but for a rural department like Middlesex, the truck is considered to be in its prime. Officials said it will serve residents of Middlesex and southern Nash County for many years to come without breaking the bank.