FDNY Firehouses

[mack]

Engine 22  - Yorkville - Established 1865 - original firehouse was quarters of volunteer Aurora Engine 45

History - pre-FDNY:
"No. 45. -- Yorkville. -- Aurora. -- This company was organized on September 11, 1826, by Milne Parker, Samuel Parker, Alexander Parker, the coach builders, Edward Prince, Edward Wells, and Jefferson Brown, Milne Parker becoming the first foreman. On May 21, 1827, the company were reinforced by the following members: John G. Kip, Joseph Tricker, Robert Kilpatrick, Stephen Huestis, James Bell, Stephen Harris, Augustus J. Flanagan, and others. Their first location was on the northwest corner of Eighty-fourth Street and Fourth Avenue, and when the tunnel cut through Fourth Avenue, about 1836, they moved up to the old frame house of No. 16 Engine Company, and placed it on the lot on the northwest corner Eighty-fifth Street and Third Avenue. A two-story brick house was afterwards built for them and Hook and Ladder No. 10, the company doing duty from a shed in Eighty-fifth Street. The house was afterwards made three stories high. About 1845 the company had their engine painted white and gold with a picture of Aurora, the goddess of day, on the back of the condenser case. Shew was then christened "Aurora," which name she retained. Philip Grimm, Eli Budd, Alonzo A. Alvord, Rufus Prime, Wm. Fulmer, Frank B. Ball, William Mead, and Frank Bazzoni were the different foremen of the company, Bazzoni serving as such from 1853 until 1865, the longest continuous service any foreman in the Old Department. Joseph McDonald, the colonel of the Forty-seventh New York Volunteers during the late war, was a runner with this company, and John Shelly, brother of Assemblyman Edward J. Shelly, was at one time an assistant foreman and a prominent candidate for assistant engineer. Went out of service in 1865." from "Our Firemen, The History of the NY Fire Departments"

Engine 22 original firehouse 1511 3rd Avenue 1865-1878 (Aurora Engine 45 quarters":


Firehouse at 159 E 85th St w/Bn 10  1878-1960:








Firehouse w/L 13 and Bn 10 at 159 E 85th St:

1960


Current picture

Battalion chief 10 + Engine 22 + Tower ladder 13 FDNY

[mack]

Combination Engine Company 69/Ladder 39  - former firehouse - 243 E 233 St   Wakefield   Bronx    (CEC 69 1898-1916/L 39 1916-2006) - last wood-frame FDNY firehouse


Originally quarters of Combination Engine Company 69


Former quarters of Ladder 39



http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-02-10/local/18330420_1_new-firehouse-fdny-engine

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/fdny-response-angers-nabe-article-1.235709

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/line-nearing-bx-firehouse-article-1.618658

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/events/2011/080511a.shtml

Current EMS Station 27 built at 243 E 233 St:


Current firehouse Engine 69/Ladder 28/Bn 16  Harlem:


Current firehouse Engine 63/Ladder 39/Bn 15  755 E 233 St  Wakefield  Bronx:

Top of da Bronx

http://www.fdnyengine63.com/news/index/layoutfile/home

[mack]

Engine 33 - original quarters - 222 Mercer St - 1865-1882   (formerly firehouse of volunteer Engine 4 Niagara 1853-1865)









Mercer St location today:


E 33 moved to 15 Great Jones St firehouse in 1882 and then with E33 (2) to current quarters at 42 Great Jones St in 1899.  E33 (2) was disbanded in 1939.   L 9 moved to 42 Great Jones St in 1948.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firehouse,_Engine_Company_33_and_Ladder_Company_9

Engine 33 FDNY

[mack]

Engine 33 note previous post:  3rd picture company sign above door reads "Metropolitan Engine 33".  It was then replaced with an "Engine 33" sign. 

Some history:
"In 1865 the volunteer fire department was abolished by a state act which was passed to create the Metropolitan Fire District and the Metropolitan Fire Department (MFD). This effectively gave control of the fire departments in the cities of New York and Brooklyn to the Governor who appointed its Board of Commissioners. There was never any effective incorporation of the fire departments of the two cities during this period. It wasn't until the Greater City of New York was consolidated in 1898 that the two were combined under one structure and leadership. The change met with a mixed reaction from the citizens, and some of the eliminated volunteers became bitter and resentful which resulted in both political battles and street fights. But the insurance companies in the city finally got their way by having the volunteers replaced with paid "professionals." The members of the paid fire department were mostly selected from the prior volunteers. All of the volunteer's apparatus, including their fire houses, were seized by the state who made use of them to form the new organization and form the basis of the FDNY as we know it today...The MFD lasted until 1870 when the Tweed Charter ended state control in the city. As a result, a new Board of Fire Commissioners was created and the original name of the Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) was re-instated."
(from Wikipedia)

[mack]

1939 Worlds Fair    Engine 331/Engine 331 (2)  1938-1941 -  firehouse located Main St  World's Fair 
Engine 332 and Bn 55 were located at South Gate and Horace Harding Blvd

Originally the 1939 Worlds Fair was to have a private fire department.  It was actually protected by FDNY. 

Firehouse behind apparatus:


"In September 1938, the FDNY 55th Battalion was formed and stationed at the Fair to man the apparatus. It included three Battalion Chiefs, fourteen company officers, and seventy firemen manning one double and two single engine companies. In addition, sixty-five "Fire Guards" were organized under the direction of Chief Dougherty. The Fire Guard was a private force of retired FDNY members hired by the New York World's Fair Corporation. They operated in a fire prevention capacity, inspecting buildings and patrolling the grounds during the hours that the Fair was open to the public. The Battalion and the Fire Guard were disbanded in 1940 shortly after the close of the Fair. The apparatus was given to the FDNY.

 For the only time in FDNY history, the emblem of a private entity was affixed to the uniform of firefighters. Men assigned to the companies stationed at the World's Fair worn the distinctive Trylon and Perisphere on the left arm of their dress blues."

http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/worlds_fair/wf_tour/misc/NYFD_01.htm







Engine 331:


http://www.nyfd.com/calderoneA/foxes2.html

[mack]

Additional 1939 Worlds Fair Fire Department Pictures:

Engine 332:


Badge:


Class A Uniform:

[mack]

The 1939 Worlds fair Fair was protected by six fully-equipped and staffed first aid stations, five ambulances and a truck with a portable X-ray machine.





http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/worlds_fair/wf_tour/misc/NYFD_03.htm

Bomb July 7, 1940 - WWII terrorist bomb explodes at Worlds Fair - 2 NYPD Detectives Killed:

"New York City detectives Joe Lynch and Freddy Socha were assigned to the Bomb and Forgery Squad just before the opening of the 1939 World's Fair. ... An electrician saw an unfamiliar overnight bag in the control room of the British Pavilion, heard ticking and brought it to his boss. Not knowing what to do, they took the bag and walked through the crowded building in search of the head of security, who was standing guard over the Magna Carta. He called the police and carried the bag outside.When Lynch and Socha arrived, following procedure, they cut open the bag. The resulting explosion killed them both instantly and injured many others."



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-25/deadly-1939-world-s-fair-bomb-remains-unsolved-lewis-lapham.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/twilight_at_the_world_of_tomorrow_BlyxUmhe8HiwiZqg1YgDOM

http://www.nypdangels.com/cop/cop.php?id=344

RIP

[mack]

This is a well written article related to the above posting written by a brother police officer.  It highlights the plight NYPD and FDNY widows and children endured in the past. 

http://www.bjwhalen.com/berniearticle.htm

The widow of Detective Joe Lynch received 1/2 of his pay ($1600 annually) and $50 per month for 100 months - provided she did not remarry and that she made the bed of the precinct police captain daily.  This was common practice of the day.

Brother detectives and cops from the 50th precinct took care of the Lynch family.  Also, members of the NY Yankees quietly remembered the family, to include Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio.

I remember meeting matrons who were LODD widows in several firehouses when I was a kid.  Many were quite elderly.  They were treated with dignity and respect by all members. 


Memorial  placed in 1964 in honor of both detectives:  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fmcp/monuments/1205

[mack]

At the conclusion of the 1939-1940 World's Fair, the Fair's five Ahrens-Fox pumpers (two HT models and three SC models) were turned over to FDNY. The two HT models were assigned as regular apparatus of engine companies. The three smaller SC models were assigned as the second piece (hose wagon) of engine companies. One had an overhead ladder rack added to carry a portable 35-foot metal extension ladder, an innovation at the time. Another was equipped with a bank of eight manifolded carbon dioxide cylinders, each with a capacity of fifty pounds, and two hose reels, each having 1000 feet of one-inch hose to discharge the carbon dioxide. The conversion of this unit was accomplished by the Carbon Dioxide Fire Equipment Company of Newark, New Jersey, in 1941 and was "state-of-the-art" for airport fire protection at that time. The "new" crash truck was assigned to the LaGuardia Airport Crash Unit on April 19, 1941. When the New York Port Authority assumed responsibility for aircraft crash-fire-rescue at the city's airports, this rig was reconverted back into a pumper.

Per "Worlds Fair Community"  http://www.worldsfaircommunity.org/topic/9685-some-random-photos/page-3

[mack]

Hose 8 (FDNY)/Ladder 130 (established as Ladder 80 FDNY)/CEC 130 FDNY/Engine 296 FDNY- quarters - 18-18 125th St College Point, Queens   - original firehouse of Eagle H&L Company 1 College Point Fire Dept 1854-1908
     FDNY Hose 8 1908-1818
     FDNY Ladder 130 (originally Ladder 80) 1908-1931
     FDNY Engine 296 1918-1961 (disbanded)
     * FDNY CEC 130 (dates unknown)

Firehouse prior to FDNY transition:


College Point FD engine or hose responding:


College Point Fire Department had 3 engine companies and 1 ladder company when converted to FDNY in 1908:
     Engines - Touchdown Steamer (unknown location); Union Hose (16th St);  Enterprise Hose 2 (518 5th St); 
     Ladder - Eagle H&L 1 (18-18 125th St)

In 1908, the 52nd Bn was formed with Engines 172 (E 272), 173 (E 273), 174 (E 274); Hose Companies 8 (E 296) and 9 (E 297); and H&L Companies 79 (L 129) and 80 (L 130).  All companies were organized in former volunteer company firehouses.

In 1918, the 125th St firehouse was rebuilt in 1918 for Engine 296.

1873 interactive map of College Point (note different street numbering): http://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/CollegePoint-beers-1873

1897 Brookly Daily Eagle Almanac of all Long Island Fire Companies (includes sections of Queens befor incorportation into NYC):
http://books.google.com/books?id=C8EWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=eagle+hose+company+college+point&source=bl&ots=H1rqwTU6qs&sig=-WAOI61NQbMi3QzB27jRrgjj5rk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7kHjUIa4OsaH0QHR_4DwCg&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=eagle%20hose%20company%20college%20point&f=false

[memory master]

There is a very old firehouse (don't remember what it is now) on the west side of 123 street about 200' north of 14th avenue in College Point. This possibly was the home of the Touchdown Steamer. As far as 296 old quarters, well it looked just about the same in the late 70's when it was torn down. Never much improvement there. Thanks for the College Point history!

[mack]

The old firehouse building on 123 St is Fireman's Hall, built in 1906 by the Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Association of College Point.  It is currently owned by the College Point Little League.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firemen%27s_Hall_(College_Point,_New_York)

[mack]

Engine 254 - originally formed as Brooklyn Fire Dept Engine 54 at 56 Gravesend Neck Road in 1895 - became FDNY Engine 54 in 1895 - became Engine 154 in 1899 - moved to 2310 Ocean Parkway in 1911 - changed to Engine 254 in 1913 - new quarters at 901 Ave U in 1924

Picture of E 254 firehouse 2310 Ocean Parkway:

[mack]

Rossville H&L 1   Rossville, Staten Island







Note - Rossville H&L 1 later moved to firehouse at 2355 Arthur Kill Rd - still standing (animal feed store)


Rossville currently covered by E 168 - 1100 Rossville Avenue  - also EMS Bn 23:

[mack]

Engine 267 FDNY (organized as E 167) original firehouse at 102-10 Rockaway Beach Blvd  Rockaway Queens -1905-1922



Engine 267 moved to new quarters with Engine 266 at 92-22 Rockaway Beach Blvd in 1922


Engine 267 was disbanded in 1972.

Memories of Rockaway buff:
http://www.farrockaway.com/fdnyhistory.html