Blue fire trucks connect UNC to the Town

Posted Oct 7, 2019
It was UNC's homecoming game in 1996. Mack Brown was the football coach, and the Tar Heels were 2-0. Before the team took the field to defeat Georgia Tech, fans and Chapel Hill residents were treated to a surprise that would change the community. It was at this game, Sept. 21, 1996, that the first Carolina blue fire truck was introduced to Chapel Hill. (Daily Tar Heel)

Related: Campus Connections

UNC ranks as a top college for career success
Tar Heels’ journeys don’t end when they leave Chapel Hill. Carolina graduates go on to be leaders in public health, media and entertainment, business and...
Wed Aug 5, 2026

UNC student Faith Hedgepeth's accused killer pleads not guilty, 14 years later
Miguel Salguero-Olivares pleaded not guilty on Monday to the 2012 rape and killing of North Carolina student Faith Hedgepeth. His attorney presented the plea during...
Tue Aug 4, 2026

Franklin Street: Where Stories Are Made
Serving as the front door to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since its very beginnings, Franklin Street is legendary for game days...
Mon Aug 3, 2026

Tar Heel football players get passports for Ireland
Tar Heel football players took advantage of a campus program to acquire passports ahead of the team’s season-opening game in Dublin, Ireland. Carolina’s Phillips Passport...
Sun Aug 2, 2026