FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies - 2nd Section

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION







THE " DAVID A. BOODY " FIREBOAT, ENGINE COMPANY, NO. 32.

ENGINE NO. 32.

Engine No. 32 is the new fireboat, "David A. Boody." The admirable work done by the " Seth Low," which has saved the city some very dreadful
conflagrations; notably during the water famine of 1891, and the growing importance of the field in which a fireboat can operate, led Commissioner
ENNIS to provide for a second fireboat which is under construction as this book goes to press, and will be in charge of a new company organized for the purpose. This will be Engine Company No. 32, and the fourth new company organized during the present year under the administration of the wide-awake Commissioner who directs the progressive movements of the Department.

The equipment of the new boat is a specimen of the finest mechanical work ever done by the Cowles Engineering Company. The hull was built by Palmer & Son of Connecticut. It has a length over all of 105 feet; length on load water-line, 94 feet, 9 inches; beam moulded, 22 feet, 6 inches; beam over plank, 23 feet; beam over all, 23 feet; extreme deep load draught, 7 feet; depth moulded at frame (the deepest point of the boat), 9 feet, 9 inches; displacement to load water-line, 138 tons.

The boat is equipped with a compound engine, i4X26x 18, and two Cowles water tube boilers, each having a heating surface of 1392 square feet and 37 1/10 square feet grate surface, and will carry 200 pounds working pressure. The boat is equipped with two sets of fire pumps, 16 by 9 by 10 inches, which will throw eight 2 1/2-inch streams, built by the American Fire Engine Co. A four-inch swivel nozzle will also be a part of its equipment. The propeller is of manganese bronze and has four blades 6 ft. 6 in. in diameter and of 9 in. pitch. She carries also a surface condenser with 1,000 ft. of cooling surface.
- from "Our firemen: the official history of the Brooklyn Fire Department, from the first volunteer to the latest appointee"


FIREBOAT DAVID A. BOODY - NAMED FOR CITY OF BROOKLYN MAYOR

The BFD fireboat Boody was named for David A. Boody, the Mayor of the City of Brooklyn 1892-1893, as was the custom for naming fireboats.
.

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


"Fireboats Through The Years"

By Clarence E. Meek (July, 1954)

The second fireboat of the Brooklyn Department was the DAVID A. BOODY, built in 1892. She was a wooden boat with crews' quarters aboard and was 106 ft, in length with a 23 ft. beam and 7 ft. draught. She had a single screw with a compounding condensing engine. The two fire pumps had a capacity of 6,500 gpm. The BOODY was commissioned October 28, 1893, as Engine Company 32 of the B. F. D. In the Brooklyn Fire Department the fireboats had civilian Captains, Pilots, Engineers and Stokers, the firefighting crews consisting of officers and firemen of the Uniformed Force. The New York Department also had civilian Pilots, Engineers and Stokers. Pilots were inducted into the Uniformed Force in 1907, by legislative act and Engineers of Steamer from the Uniformed Force gradually replaced the Engineers of the civilian force.


FIREBOATS

David A Boody 1893 to 1914
Abram S Hewitt 1922 to 1931
John Purroy Mitchel 1931 to 1959



BERTHS

Berth Foot of N 8th St, East River, Brooklyn 1893-1922
Station Foot of Noble St, East River, Brooklyn 1922-1959

• source fdhistorian

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


FIRES/EVENTS


1896 RESCUE





1899 ICE STORM





1901 STRUCK WRECK - OOS





1902 WAREHOUSE FIRE





1906 3RD ALARM





1907 WATERFRONT FIRE W/ASBESTOS

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


FIRES/EVENTS


1910 FIRE W/CIVILIAN DEATH





1929 FIREBOAT PERILS

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


FIREBOAT DAVID A. BOODY









FIREBOAT ABRAM S HEWITT


Abram S. Hewitt was Mayor of NYC from 1887-1888. He was known as "Father of the NYC Subway System" for his sound sound and innovative funding and construction plans.




FIREBOAT
















OPERATIONAL HISTORY

According to some accounts, she was the first fireboat called to the 1904 burning of the General Slocum, where over a thousand people lost their lives. Other accounts say the Zophar Mills was the first fireboat to be dispatched.

On August 14, 1913, a fire was discovered at a large oil storage yard, on what was then Long Island City, and the Abram S. Hewitt was sent to try to put it out. While extinguishing the fire her "bow gun", her frontmost water cannon, burst from her footings, flying into the air, and striking Bertram Johnson, the firefighter assigned to it. He was declared dead, at the scene.

On January 28, 1927, the Abram S. Hewitt's captain, John Connoly, was jolted into the Hudson River by a collision. Although he was burdened by heavy fire equipment he was able to swim to a barge, where he clung to a boathook lowered to him by a crew member. It took the Abram S. Hewitt half an hour to return and rescue him, because it was damaged by the collision.

On April 29, 1930, the Abram S. Hewitt responded when Cornelius Vanderbilt III's luxurious yacht, the Winchester, was set ablaze following a boiler explosion.

The Abram S. Hewitt was called to assist other fireboats when a large fire burst out of control a second time. The fire burst out at Pier 4. Barrels of flammable liquids had destroyed the pier, and two neighboring piers, but firefighters thought the blaze had been brought under control. However, when it burst out again the Abram S. Hewitt was better suited to navigate through debris, close to the fire.

The Abram S. Hewitt was eventually taken to the Staten Island boat graveyard.

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


FIREBOAT JOHN PURROY MITCHEL

John Purroy Mitchel, born in Fordham, Bronx, July 19, 1879, was the Mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917. His father was an FDNY Fire Marshal.





FIREBOATS

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


ENGINE 232 (M) MEDALS


JOHN J. BECKER FF. ENG. 232 (M) DEC. 7, 1941 1942 BROOKLYN CITIZENS




FF Becker, Engine 232, was awarded the Brooklyn Citizens Medal for heroically rescuing a man drowning in icy waters December 7, 1941.






THOMAS J. LOUGHLIN CAPT. ENG. 232 1941 1942 STEPHENSON




Capt. Loughlin, Engine 232, was awarded the Stephenson Medal for commanding the most efficient FDNY company during 1941.

 

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ENGINE 232 (MARINE) BERTH N 8TH STREET EAST RIVER MARINE DIVISION


ENGINE 232 (M) LODD


FIREFIGHTER PETER ENGEL ENGINE 232 JANUARY 5, 1950









RIP. NEVER FORGET.

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


107 WATKINS STREET - ENGINE 232 1966-1971







266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE - TIN HOUSE 1971-1988














1969 R&Ws

Engine 231 6290 runs 2538 workers
Engine 232 5937 runs 2241 workers

First year R&Ws after Engine 232 re-organized at Watkins Street with Engine 231.

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


ENGINE 232

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


TCU 732


TCU 732 was organized to operate out of Engine 277 in 1970. It relocated to Engine 232 when the Tin House opened in 1971.

TCU 732 stored off-duty at Engine 286/Ladder 135 at 66-44 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale, Queens.

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


E 232/TCU 732 - TIN HOUSE STORY

FDNY Tales - "It sure don't taste like chicken"

The "Tin House Gang" (Engine 232, TCU 732) responded to a pulled box at Howard Ave. & St. Marks Place in Brownsville and observed heavy smoke coming from a 3rd floor window. A woman leans out of the same window and exclaims: "theres no fire here firemen".

232's Captain, Frank Loutrel, accompanied by three firemen enter the building, proceed to the apartment, enter the open door and find a large stock-pot issuing dark and acrid smoke. The firemen shut off the gas and douse the pot with the "can", while the woman, now quite agitated, says: "I told you there was no fire here". With gloves on, the can-man reaches into the pot and pulls something out - a shoe. The woman was cooking shoes!

Not to be confused with the normal foul taste in your mouth, all four firefighters could not get that taste to go away; not from brushing teeth, gargling with mouthwash, drinking coffee, or even having shrimp scampi from a nearby Italian restaurant. The next morning at shift-change, every one of those guys went home still tasting the effects of exposure to "shoe-stew". -from Newt Tanner

- Thanks to Ira Hoffman



ENGINE 232 FIRST CAPTAIN - FRANK LOUTREL

FDNY Tales - Fish Story



The picture is of Frank Loutrel, MPO of a Manhattan company operating at a fire. As a result of the drafting operation fish were drawn into the pumper.

The notation on the back of this photo reads: "Fish in suction strainer at a 3rd alarm at (box) 556 Manhattan February 1954. Photo by Ed Heavey".
Frank went on to become captain of Squad 7, which was redesignated in the 1960s as Engine 232, and moved to the quarters of Engine 231 / Ladder 120 / Battalion 44.

Because of Frank's corn cob pipe, he was affectionally known as "Popeye". (Ira Hoffman)




TIN HOUSE RUN

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


E 232/TCU 732 - "BMA"

NYCFire.net Reply - "BMA" or "Brothers My Ass"

Reply - Correct... the motto of ENG*232 RIP from the BKLYN Tinhouse a very strong UNION House....They had BMA stenciled on the back of their turnout coats....when the morning Roll Call was done at 0845 on the Voice Alarm it would go like this...ENG*230 reply-10-4...ENG*231 reply-10-4...BMA reply 10-4...ENG*233 reply 10-4 etc,etc...on the radio for a run when BKLYN called 232 for a run instead of 10-4 they would say "BMA On The Way"....yearly when the Bell Club News would list the Runs & Workers as you went down the list it would read 230..XXXX.....231..XXXX.....BMA..XXXX......233..XXXX etc,etc. 232 was a highly spirited busy War Years Fire Company but for some reason this rubbed the Chief Of Operations Homer Bishop the wrong way so in 1989 when Companies were on the chopping block & the BKLYN Tin House was to close & move a few blocks North still on Rockaway Av into a FH designed for LAD*176...ENG*232...ENG*233 they decided to eliminate one of the ENGs ...now i would not advocate closing ANY Company but in this case 232 & 176 were a cohesive double house who originated & supported the Annual Tin House Turkey Trot 5K Run as a Benefit Run just before Thanksgiving every year but on Superbowl Sunday in '89 Homer had 232 go on a false Relocation to 207 (176 had already moved to the new FH) & when they returned the Fire Marshal's had the Tin House locked down & 232 was Out Of Service & the Members over the next few days were only allowed inside to empty their lockers & sent to the four winds....why did he pick 232 instead of 233 ? (AGAIN NOT THAT I WOULD ADVOCATE ANY CLOSING) those in the know think he was pissed about the 232 Spirit & the BMA thing....i was never officially assigned there but did have the pleasure of working w/232 both as nearby FF in R*2 & for a while after Promotion to LT Covering in the Tinhouse from time to time.......232*BMA ..Gone But Not Forgotten !

- from 68jk09

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


ENGINE 232 MEDAL


DANIEL J. HUGHES FF. ENG. 232 NOV. 29, 1968 1969 COLUMBIA





MEDAL DAY 1969


PIC

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


ENGINE 232 MEDAL


FRANK B. TOOKER FF. ENG. 232 AUG. 13, 1980 1981 KANE




FF Tooker was awarded the Kane Medal for heroic rescue efforts to reach trapped firefighters at a 3 alarm tenement fire on August 13, 1980 at 124 Osborn Street.







TOOKER - Frank Bradley III, aged 58, of Inverness, FL, and formerly of Huntington Station, NY, on October 17, 2003. Beloved husband of Anita Olbek Tooker (nee Manditch). Loving father of Frank B. Tooker IV and his wife Karen, Kelly Hendrickson and her husband John, Gerard Olbek and his wife Arsula, Sandy Vastola and her husband Dan. Devoted son of Ann and Frank Tooker. Adored grandfather of Daniel Tooker, Christian and Kaitlynn Olbek, Angelo, Anthony, David and Robert Vastola. Cherished brother of Judy Goggin, Gary Tooker and his wife Sharon, Darlene Fawcett and her husband Scott. Dear uncle of Meghan Tooker, and the late Deirdre Tooker. Brother-in-law of Douglas Manditch and his wife Devon, and also survived by Karen Tooker.

Retired Lieutenant of FDNY Ladder Co. 176.
Recipient of the Vincent J. Kane award for bravery.
Volunteer firefighter with Lakeland Fire Department, and also fire code enforcer for Islandia, NY.
Vietnam Veteran USMC.
Retired registered nurse in Florida and New York.

-from Find A Grave

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"



MEDAL - LADDER 176 "TIN HOUSE" 1975-1987


JAMES A. BATTILLO FF. LAD. 176 AUG. 6, 1974 1975 MC ELLIGOTT






1975 MEDAL DAY

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


MEDAL - LADDER 176 "TIN HOUSE" 1975-1987


ALFONSO G. JONES, JR. FF. LAD. 176 JAN. 26, 1976 1977 KENNY




FF Jones, Ladder 176, was awarded the Kenny Medal for an heroic rescue effort January 26, 1976 at a fire at 1067 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn.






FIRE BUILDING - 1067 JEFFERSON AVENUE

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


MEDAL - LADDER 176 "TIN HOUSE" 1975-1987


JAMES A. BATTILLO FF. LAD. 176 MAR. 3, 1977 1978 JAMES GORDON BENNETT





NYC Fire Wire

February 29, 2016 ·

On Friday, February 26, 2016, FF James H. Battillo (Retired L-152) passed away. He was the recipient of the James Gordon Bennett medal in 1978.

On March 3rd, 1977 at 10am, a fire broke out at 345 Saratoga Ave. FF Battillo had the OVM position in Ladder 176 that day. Ladder 123 had rescued a woman from a front room, she claimed her children were still inside. FF Battillo climbed the fire escape to the 4th floor. He saw the omious signs of a raging interior fire, the grime covered panes of glass rimmed by heavy smoke pushing through the frames. Knowing that a sudden in-rush of air could create the conditions for a flashback fire, FF Battillo opened the window just high enough to permit him to crawl into the apartment. He slid to the floor, without a mask, he crawled towards the brightness of the fire in the adjoining room. Facing 2 rooms of fire, the fire started to come out, rolling over his head. He noticed a reflection in the fire of what appeared to be a leg hanging over a couch. Shielding his face from the searing fire, he moved closer & reached a 3 year old boy. As he was moving back towards the window with the child, he saw another on the floor. Using the voice of another fireman as a guide, he made his way back towards the window, gave the child over, then went back for the 2nd. The heat was so great that he could not approach the 2nd victim from the front, he had to use his body as a shield & back into the fully involved room, stretch out his arms & picked up a 1 year old baby girl. Now, near totally exhausted & burned on his wrists & knees, FF Battillo crawled with the child to the window. Although both children suffered severe burns of 40% of their bodies, they survived because of the undaunted heroic actions of FF Battillo.



FIRE BUILDING 345 SARATOGA AVENUE

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


MEDAL - LADDER 176 "TIN HOUSE" 1975-1987


ANTHONY J. ADAMO CAPT. LAD. 176 JAN. 15, 1978 1979 STEUBEN

 

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ENGINE 232/TCU 732/LADDER 175 PRE-FABRICATED FIREHOUSE 266 ROCKAWAY AVENUE EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN DIVISION 15, BATTALION 55 "TIN HOUSE" "BMA"


MEDAL - LADDER 176 "TIN HOUSE" 1975-1987


EDWARD F. WAWRZONEK FF. LAD. 176 AUG. 13, 1980 1981 HISPANIC





FF Wawrzonek was awarded the Hispanic Society Memorial Medal for heroic rescue efforts to reach trapped firefighters at a 3 alarm tenement fire on August 13, 1980 at 124 Osborn Street.








Remembrance of Battalion Chief Frank Tuttlemondo
August 13, 2020

Unfortunately due to the current pandemic we are unable to gather in remembrance of Chief Tuttlemondo. Chief Tuttlemondo made the supreme sacrifice forty years ago today. Please keep the Chief and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Forty years ago today, August 13th 1980, the tone alerts of the computer assisted dispatch system broke the silence of the firehouse at 4:36 am to announce box 1672 with the address of 124 Osborn St between Pitkin and Belmont. Engine 231, 232, and 227 with Ladder 120 and 176 were assigned on the initial alarm along with Battalion 44 as the incident commander. As Watkins Street units pulled onto the firehouse apron, an orange glow lit up the sky a mere two blocks away, indicating they were going to work. Upon arrival, units were confronted with a vacant 3 story frame with intense fire on the second and third floors. Exposure #2 was an empty lot, exposure 3 was a 1 story setback and exposure 4 was a similar attached vacant. Chief Tuttlemondo ordered his aide to transmit “all hands at work extra engine and truck”. Ladder 120 positioned their apparatus in front of the fire building in preparation for a large caliber stream attack. Searches would be delayed in spite of sketchy information squatters were known to frequent the building. After the fire was knocked down by the tower ladder, Ladder 120 entered the building to perform searches while Engine 227, commanded by Lt. Mike Ramos, stretched a line to extinguish smoldering fire on the first floor. In an attempt to gain a better handle of interior conditions, Chief Tuttlemondo accompanied Engine 227 as they moved in.

At 5:12 am, about 30 minutes after the initial alarm, there was a tremendous roar and unanticipated collapse trapping Chief Tuttlemondo and the operating members of Engine 227. Members of Ladder 120, who were operating inside the building on the upper floors, were able to get to the perimeter of the building and ride the collapse down. In the split seconds before the building came collapsing down upon them, Battalion Chief Frank Tuttlemondo used there precious moments to push on oof the engine firefighters to safety and throw his body over Lt. Ramos to shield him of the impending collapse. A second alarm was immediately transmitted followed by a third alarm. When Lt. Ramos regained consciousness amid the rubble,. he realized his head was being cradled by Chief Tuttlemondo’s arm. Chief Tuttlemondo succumbed to injuries sustained shorty after arriving at Kings County Hospital. Seven other firefighters were seriously injured. Two civilian bodies were later recovered by members sifting through debris. The fire was declared “under control” at 11:16 am that same day.

Chief Tuttlemondo was a 23 year veteran of the Fire Department at the time of his death. He worked most of his career in brooklyn with 6 of those years assigned to Battalion 44. He was liked by all, a fireman’s fireman, who was an avid heath fanatic and always interested in the men. He worked in an era of legends and unfortunately became one himself. To commemorate his life, a department medal has been endowed which is presented bi-annualy to a member of the department. It was first awarded on the medal day of June 1982. An annual Scholarship fund has also been organized to jointly honor the memories of both Chief Tuttlemondo and Lt. Robert R. Doleny of E332 who made the supreme sacrifice 5 months earlier on March 5th under similar circumstances. Chief Tuttlemondo was posthumously awarded the Thomas E. Crimmins Medal for his unselfish act of heroism. Today we commemorate his sacrifice and celebrate his memory.




RIP. NEVER FORGET.



FIRE BUILDING 124 OSBORN STREET