Chief Wesley Howell became Fire Chief in 1949 until 1968, making him the second longest serving Fire Chief of Goldsboro Fire Department. Additional personnel were hired during his time as Chief and the department was able to be organized on the basis of four pumper companies and one ladder company. A Training program was also established to instruct the personnel in the use of equipment, location of fire hydrant and fire alarm boxes, fire methods, fire hazards, fire prevention, and so much more. In 1967, the Goldsboro Fire Department with Chief Howell’s guidance was able to obtain a level 4 insurance rating due to the increased personnel, fire apparatus, training, and fire prevention methods.

Chief Howell was a community-minded Fire Chief, realizing that being a leader in the community involved more than just supervising the fire department. He encouraged the children of the community to do well in school, offering them incentives such as spending the night in the fire house if they received all A’s on their report card. He also offered tutoring in math for those students that were making poor grades in that subject. Chief Howell retired in December of 1968 with 40 years of service to Goldsboro Fire Department.

Chief Howell pictured here the 5th from the left, top row.