In Robert Holzman's book The Romance of Firefighting, he notes that in 1896, Engine Company No. 1 (165 West 29th Street) could put their horse drawn steamer in the street fourteen seconds after receipt of an alarm.
In a demonstration in 1871 for the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia (a visiting fireman?), FDNY could put a pumped hose stream in a building four blocks from the firehouse in two minutes and thirty five seconds after the firebox was pulled.
It required the invention of the self-starter for gasoline powered rigs to match this speed.
