Landis Fire Department

Serving our Town with Pride and Enthusiasm

The Landis Fire Department is comprised of paid staff (full-time and part-time) and volunteer members. The fire department operates out of two stations which house 3 engine companies, 1 ladder company, a brush truck, a squad company, a hazardous materials unit, a mobile light tower, an antique fire engine, and staff vehicles. The department serves approximately 4,900 citizens, expanding over 5 square miles of territory, including 45 miles of roadway. The Landis Fire Department responds to all fire service calls within the municipality and fire district, to include the East Landis Fire District.

The Landis Fire Department was recently awarded an improved Insurance Service Office (ISO) Rating of a Class 2 for both its municipal and rural service districts. 

Landis Fire Dept.

The Landis Fire Department is comprised of skilled men and women that provide fire suppression, basic emergency medical services, technical rescue, and many other skilled services. Over the years, our calls for service have seen a drastic increase as the town continues to expand and grow. On average, the department responds to over 900 calls a year.

The Landis Fire Department offers many fire prevention programs which include fire extinguisher training, CPR classes, Basic First Aid classes, School Fire Safety programs, smoke detector installation and battery changes, Child Passenger Safety Seat inspections, fire station tours and apparatus demonstrations. If you are interested in attending any of these classes, or would like to schedule a tour or demonstration, please feel contact the fire department at 704-857-1269 or Landis Town Hall at 704-857-2411.

We welcome our citizens to come by and meet our staff, ask questions, and take a tour of our stations and apparatus.

Fire Dept. Contact Information

Station 44 (Town Hall) Landis Station # 2
312 S. Main St
Landis, NC 28088

Station 58 (Police Department) Landis Station # 1
136 N. Central Ave
Landis, NC 28088

Phone: (704) 855-1269

Fax: (704) 855-3932

Email:fireinbox@townoflandis.com

Emergency Number: 9-1-1

Non-Emergency Dispatch Number:

(704) 216-8500

Mailing Address:
Landis Fire Department
P.O. Box 8165
Landis, NC 28088

Policy & Procedures

The Landis Fire Department is committed to providing professional and transparent fire services to the community. Therefore, we have published our department’s Policy & Procedure Manual online for public review and inspection.

Fire Stations & Apparatus

Station 44 (Town Hall) Landis Station # 2

312 S. Main St
Landis, NC 28088

  • Engine 443, 2005 Pierce Arrow XT (1500 gpm pump, 950 gal. booster tank)
  • Engine 442, 1986 Seagrave HB-50DF (1500 gpm pump, 750 gal. booster tank)
  • Car 44, 2010 Dodge Charger (personnel carrier/secondary medical unit)
  • Brush 447, 2006 Ford 550 4×4 (250 gpm pump, 350 gal. booster tank)

Station 58 (Police Department) Landis Station # 1

136 N. Central Ave
Landis, NC 28088

  • Engine 581, 1997 Quality Freightliner FL80 (1500 gpm pump, 750 gal. booster tank)
  • Ladder 58, 2007 HME 75′ aerial (2000 gpm pump, 400 gal. booster tank)
  • Old Engine #1 (Retired), 1947 American LaFrance Parade Apparatus
  • Squad 58, 2006 Ford 550 4×4 Special Operations/ Mobile Air Unit

Knox Box Secure Systems

Do you own a commercial business? Do you have an elderly family member that lives alone? Knox Box Secure Systems gives the availability for fire departments to make easy access to your business or home without damaging your property.

Save yourself time and money by not having to replace doors or windows that firefighters may have to force open to get to a loved one, to silence a fire alarm, or to stop a leaking sprinkler head.

Knox Box Secure Systems allows fire departments to retain a key to access your Knox Box at your home or business to gain access to one or more keys that open your doors on the property.

Contact our Knox Box Secure System program coordinator, Captain Charles Sheeks, for more information.

Knox Box

Burning of Trash

The burning of trash is always prohibited.

In accordance with 15A NCAC 02D .1903 – OPEN BURING WITHOUT AN AIR QUALITY PERMIT

Citizens should note that the burning of leaves, grass, and other such materials is also prohibited with the Town of Landis because the Town of Landis provides debris removal of limbs and leaves, provided they are placed at curbside during designated times of the year.

Citizens who live outside the Town of Landis and do not have debris removal services, should first acquire a burn permit from the North Carolina Forestry Service prior to any planned burning.

Open Burning – NC Department of Environmental Quality

15A NCAC 02D .1903 – OPEN BURNING WITHOUT AN AIR QUALITY PERMIT

Burning Questions FAQ – NC Department of Environmental Quality

NC Forestry Service Burn Permit Application

History of Landis Fire Department

It was just after World War II when the town founders realized there was a need for better protection against the threat of fire. Prior to 1947, the Town of Landis had a contract with the Town of China Grove to provide fire service. The service that China Grove provided was all volunteer and had a long delay when responding to Landis.

Throughout the early years, the Linn Mill and Corriher Mill provided some fire protection for the town using hand-pulled hose reels and a small hand-pulled chemical wagon. These two pieces of equipment were mainly used as fire protection within the mills but were used in town on occasion.

In early 1947, L.A. Corriher, Mayor of Landis at the time, decided a new piece of firefighting equipment should be purchased, a new fire station should be built, and volunteers should be organized to form the new Landis Fire Department.

It is said that Mayor Corriher always purchased the best, so he met with a representative from American LaFrance Company to discuss ordering a new fire engine. Mr. Corriher told the American LaFrance representative that he “didn’t care about what kind of truck we get or how much it cost, as long as it was better than China Grove’s fire truck.” The site for the new fire station located on North Main Street right beside City Hall. A metal building with a sliding front door was built to house the town’s first fire engine and firefighters. The search was on to find the first person to serve as Fire Chief. It did not take long, as Harry Brown was picked for that position. Mr. Brown had some firefighting experience and was more than willing to help serve his community. Some of the first drivers of the fire department were Rufus Honeycutt, Will Beaver, Cleat Daugherty, and Robert Alexander.

Since the Linn/Wright Funeral Home was the only business in town where someone had access to a telephone 24-hours a day, it was decided that the funeral home would take the calls for the fire department. After the call was received the fire siren would be set off by someone at the funeral home, and when the firefighters arrived at the fire station, they would have to call the funeral home on the telephone to find out where the fire was located. The Linn Mill and the Corriher Mill would blow a horn “66” when the fire alarm sounded to let the firemen in the mills know to go to the fire station.

In the early days, much credit was given to the Salisbury Fire Department for their assistance with training and organization. Some of the ones that helped from Salisbury were Chief Charles Burkett, Marvin Yost, Bernard Penly, Chief Fred Shipton, and John (Poss) Poole.

The first structure fire call for the new Landis Fire Department was to the old Hinson house on East Ryder Avenue. It was a large two story, wood frame structure. A fire in the upstairs had started around the chimney. The structure was saved. However, all the calls for the fire department were not confined to the town. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the fire department would answer calls West and East to the county line because at that time, Landis and China Grove had the only fire departments around.

The firefighters also had a need for a place where they could meet and hold social gatherings. So, around 1950, land was acquired near the intersection of South Beaver Street and East Mills Drive. Mr. Lotin Corriher, Mayor at the time, told the firefighters to go and build it, do all the work they could, and let him know what was left on the bill. Alton Patton was drafted into the fire department so he could do the carpentry work for free (if he were a fireman, they would not have to pay him!). The firefighters got together to cut all the wood for the Fire Hut, and it was dried and stored behind Cleat Daugherty’s house until it was ready for building. After the Fire Hut was finished, a balance of $2500.00 remained. The bill was split three ways and paid by the Town of Landis, the old Linn Mill, and the old Corriher Mill.

During the building of the Fire Hut, one of the greatest fires in Landis’ history occurred. The old Roller Mill located on North Main Street suffered a devastating fire. Robert Alexander, Pat Deadmon, and Harry Brown were all on the Wright farm off Hwy 152 cutting wood for the Fire Hut when the alarm sounded. When the men heard the fire siren, they headed back to town and noticed a large column of black smoke coming from the downtown area. As Chief Brown was driving back to the fire, Pat Deadmon noted that “this was the worst ride in my life”. Pat did not think they would ever get back to town. At one time the firemen had the fire under control, and then something happened, an explosion! That was all it took, and the old Roller Mill was soon lost to history. At the height of the fire, China Grove and Kannapolis were called to assist the Landis Fire Department. At one time during the fire, Mr. Fesperman, a next-door neighbor asked Chief Brown if he should start moving his belongings out. Chief Brown exclaimed, “No! Don’t worry; we’ll save your house.” And they did, as the house is still standing.

Later, in the mid 1950’s several firefighters were issued fire phones in their homes. Dorsia Atkinson and Pat Deadmon both had these phones in their house and when a fire call came in one or the other would turn on the alarm. When the water plant opened and was manned 24-hours a day, the fire calls were received there. Then in the mid 1970’s all calls went to the Central Fire Station in Salisbury and then the calls were transmitted over the radio.

Also, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the firemen were all real close to each other, one big family. They would have family night out down at the Fire Hut, which had one of the town’s first color televisions, a pool table, and a Ping-Pong table for enjoyment. They all enjoyed the social activities together. In the 1960’s, the firemen started the Landis Little League baseball program, which is still in operation today, but the Recreation department now handles it.

Along with the Roller Mill fire, there were several other memorable fires in which Landis firefighters were involved. One of these calls was the Cannon Jr. High School fire. Reed Linn states “…it was a tremendous fire!” “And you could see it from downtown Landis”. Another call the firefighters remember well is the old Beaver Home fire. The call went out at about 1:00 a.m. There was almost four inches of snow on the ground and the fire hydrants were all frozen. The only thing the firefighters could do was park the fire truck next to the hydrant and let the warm exhaust heat the hydrant and thaw the water so that the fire could be put out.

The firefighters of Landis Fire Department have also had some close calls and scary moments. Pat Deadmon remembers a time on Everhardt Street when a backdraft occurred, but all the firemen escaped without injury. Both Cleat Daugherty and Pat Deadmon remember the explosion that knocked the back wall out of the Corriher-Lipe Junior High School. A valve was closed on the boiler during a test and too much pressure built up which caused the boiler to explode injuring one worker and killing the other. And several firemen remember responding to a call on Partee Street. When they arrived on Partee Street, they found themselves being shot at by a man who was trying to keep the firemen from putting out the fire. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

In the 1980’s Landis Fire Department went through some very significant changes. Firefighters were issued pagers so they could hear the call being dispatched and they would not have to rely on the fire siren alone as their only means of knowing if they had a call or not. Also, the fire departments First Responder program was started (only the third in the county at that time). The fire department has also seen the updating of apparatus and equipment to include the addition of rescue and extrication tools. The firefighters have also had more responsibility put on them including hose tests, pump tests, hydrant maintenance, ISO, and many others.

What started out as a metal building and one fire truck in 1947, has evolved into a fire department consisting of two Fire Stations, three Engine Companies, one Ladder Company, a Brush truck, a Special Operations Squad Company, and dozens of dedicated firefighters who spend countless hours studying and training to ensure the safety and protection of the citizens and community of Landis.

Join the Landis Fire Department

The Landis Fire Department is a combination department comprised of both paid and volunteer members. The department is continually looking for new and dedicated people to join our team. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a firefighter, please complete the Town of Landis application and submit it to Town Hall or any member of the fire department.

Ride-Along Program

The Landis Fire Department provides ride-along opportunities to approved individuals. Citizens desiring to participate in the ride-along program must apply for and obtain permission from the Town of Landis Fire Department. The Fire Chief, or his or her designee, will consider the reason the applicant wishes to participate, along with the frequency, duration, and hours requested.

To participate in the Fire Department Ride-Along Program, the applicant shall meet the following criteria, or fall within an exception outlined below:

  • Each participant must be at least sixteen (16) years of age or older. Any ride-along participant under the age of eighteen (18), must have signed permission of a parent or legal guardian as required on the Application and Release of Liability Agreement.
  • Each participant should be in good health and be free of any conditions that may restrict department personnel from performing their official duties. Individuals with severe or communicable illnesses will need to reschedule their approved ride-along to a time when the participant is no longer ill. The Department will, to the extent possible, make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to any person interested in participating in the ride-along program.
  • Applicants must read and complete a written application and acknowledge the risks associated with participation in the ride-along program through the execution of a written Release of Liability Agreement.
  • Applicants must agree to keep personal and protected information gained during the ride-along confidential.
  • Applicants shall not have been convicted of a felony, serious criminal or traffic offense or have been named in a protection order or restraining order granted by the court within the previous year.
  • Applicants shall not be named as a defendant in a pending criminal case.
  • Applicants must consent to the Town of Landis conducting a criminal background check and may be required to pay for the actual costs of such background check.
  • Each participant shall agree to follow all directions of the on-shift Officer to which they are assigned, as well as all rules of the ride-along program and/or the Town of Landis.