FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies - 2nd Section
- Thread starter mack
- Start date
Engine 256 Ahrens Fox Pumper history:
While enrolled in a basic genealogy online course through Boston University I discovered that you can tell a great deal about the lives of people from looking at old photos and analyzing the objects around them. Nothing is meaningless. To test my research skills I decided to work with a favorite photograph of my maternal grandfather, at the time a young FDNY Lieutenant.
My homework assignment to myself was to find out about the truck and the firehouse. With only visual clues, architecture of the building and a partial side view of the truck, with the engine company number on driver’s door obscured and an “AF” manufacturer’s emblem on the hood, this is what I found (I did not go to my mother or her siblings for any information that would speed the process):
The FDNY Engine Company in the photo is Engine Company 256 housed in the firehouse at 124 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. That was a simple matter of researching the ladder companies that drove the Aherns Fox Pumpers in the FDNY. This was not a common engine. Once I knew the houses to which these engines were assigned, I searched for photos of the firehouses and matched the architecture cues to identify the house.
Once that was done, it was a fast look through the FDNY equipment listings for Ahrens-Fox fire engines and everything fell into place. The truck in the photo is a 1938 Ahrens Fox Model HT-1000 GPM Pumper and Hose Car. Its Ahrens Fox registration number is AF #3442. That is a match to FDNY Engine 256. It left the factory on May 18, 1938: Shipped by Ben E. Graf via B&O and Erie railroads to New York, NY on June 25, 1938.
The engine remained in the FDNY inventory until the early 1960’s when it was sold to Paragon-Texaco Oil Co. It was one of the last remaining in the FDNY inventory.
You can learn a great deal from an old photo! Now I need to go to the FDNY and see if I can name the firefighters in the photo.
If you are interested in the specifications on the truck, as delivered, here they are:
Model HT 1000-GPM piston pumper and hose car with a two-door enclosed cab. 27’ long, weight 18,300 pounds, frame by Parish Pressed Steel Co. Reading, PA. Brown-Lipe 4-speed transmission #T-297496. 50-gallon copper fuel tank under the seat. Timken HX7 front and HX19 worm-drive rear axle, 5.4 to 1 ratio. 4-wheel hydraulic brakes, 16” hand brake. Budd disk wheels, Goodyear 11.25” x 20” 14-ply balloon tires, single front and rear, spare tire on left running board. Ross 760/770204 steering with horn button. Radiator # 539659 with Brewer-Titchener dash-controlled radiator shutters. Painted NY red lacquer. Hosebed with a slatted floor and adjustable rear windshield with 6 Waugh or Lyons hand straps, loop size to fit man’s full sleeve in turnout coat. Compartments including a waterproof box for 1/4 fold 9’ Atlas life net. Approved wire mesh basket 6” deep x 24” wide at the top front of the hose bed. Suction basket holder on tail step.Hercules HXE motor #321758, 53/4″ bore x 6″ stroke, 200 brake horsepower, high-compression aluminum heads, 935 cubic inch, compression ratio 5.44 to 1. Triple ignition (18 spark plugs), Bosch ZR6 two-spark magneto, Exide 6X6K-25-3-R battery on right running board, Auto-Lite MR-4108 starter with an IGC-4064 distributor, Delco-Remy 1106629 generator with 5821 regulator. 2” Zenith updraft carburetor with Air-Maze air cleaner and flame arrester. Ahrens-Fox 6-cylinder high-pressure piston pump, rated 1000 gpm @ 160 psi, 500 @ 320, 400 @ 400, 250 @ 600, at maximum 14’ lift and engine speed of 1600 rpm or less. 3” discharge gates. Engine-to-pump gear ratio 14-62 (4.4286 to 1). Pump pistons 31/4” x 6” minor (2.1417 GPR), 41/4” x 6” major (1.2238 GPR). Ross relief valve.12-volt starting, lighting, Sireno type 51 siren on vacuum chamber, 10” chrome-plated Corcoran-Brown 2205 swiveling searchlight at the right of cab atop 12” locomotive bell. Tachometer, revolution counter, speedometer, 1000,000-mile odometer, temperature gauge, fuel gauge, oil-level gauge, ammeter, oil-pressure gauge, and viscometer on the dash. Two 10” chrome-plate Corcoran-Brown 29233 headlights. Two 6” red cowl lights, Guide model 361H. Two red and white chrome-plated Guide 280R tail lights. Two 4” chrome-plated rear hose pickup lights. 6 chrome-plated lights under the hood, with independent switches. Red Mars light atop the center of cab. 2 chrome-plated Dietz King tubular lanterns on sides of body. Homelite model R gasoline-engine driven generator with pilot light and 3 extra outlets. Two 500-watt Crouse-Hinds floodlights, one 250-watt Crouse-Hinds spotlights, with bulbs. Three 100’ lengths of #16 two-conductor mine cable. 3 sets twist-lock connectors.Hiland enclosed cab, V windshield, safety glass, metal floor boards, leather upholstery, 2 rear-view mirrors, 2 Bosch QW12/1 semaphore signals with red lights, warning light atop cab, 2 adjustable sun visors, 2 Bosch NY1851 electric windshield wipers, 2 electric defrosters, bell on right of cowl. F.D.N.Y. in 4” block letters on cab doors.Morse 2000-gpm turret pipe atop cab roof, with 3” and 31/2” connections under each side of hose bed. Two 12’ scaling ladders. One each Elkhart 21/2 gallon soda-and-acid and Foamcrest 21/2 gallon foam fire extinguishers. 6-foot hook. 8-pound flat head axe. McElligott double-female Elkhart clapper valve with 300-pound pressure gauge and ground support. Crow bar. Two 41/2” suction spanner wrenches.1 Zerk high-pressure grease gun. Set of wrenches. 10-ton hydraulic jack. 8-ounce canvas hood cover, and 8-ounce canvas hose bed cover, with securing straps and strap eyes. Weed skid chains for driving wheels."
mbbaumann.com
"What I Found in a Photo
MARCH 25, 2017 / MICHAELWhile enrolled in a basic genealogy online course through Boston University I discovered that you can tell a great deal about the lives of people from looking at old photos and analyzing the objects around them. Nothing is meaningless. To test my research skills I decided to work with a favorite photograph of my maternal grandfather, at the time a young FDNY Lieutenant.
My homework assignment to myself was to find out about the truck and the firehouse. With only visual clues, architecture of the building and a partial side view of the truck, with the engine company number on driver’s door obscured and an “AF” manufacturer’s emblem on the hood, this is what I found (I did not go to my mother or her siblings for any information that would speed the process):
The FDNY Engine Company in the photo is Engine Company 256 housed in the firehouse at 124 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. That was a simple matter of researching the ladder companies that drove the Aherns Fox Pumpers in the FDNY. This was not a common engine. Once I knew the houses to which these engines were assigned, I searched for photos of the firehouses and matched the architecture cues to identify the house.
Once that was done, it was a fast look through the FDNY equipment listings for Ahrens-Fox fire engines and everything fell into place. The truck in the photo is a 1938 Ahrens Fox Model HT-1000 GPM Pumper and Hose Car. Its Ahrens Fox registration number is AF #3442. That is a match to FDNY Engine 256. It left the factory on May 18, 1938: Shipped by Ben E. Graf via B&O and Erie railroads to New York, NY on June 25, 1938.
The engine remained in the FDNY inventory until the early 1960’s when it was sold to Paragon-Texaco Oil Co. It was one of the last remaining in the FDNY inventory.
You can learn a great deal from an old photo! Now I need to go to the FDNY and see if I can name the firefighters in the photo.
If you are interested in the specifications on the truck, as delivered, here they are:
Model HT 1000-GPM piston pumper and hose car with a two-door enclosed cab. 27’ long, weight 18,300 pounds, frame by Parish Pressed Steel Co. Reading, PA. Brown-Lipe 4-speed transmission #T-297496. 50-gallon copper fuel tank under the seat. Timken HX7 front and HX19 worm-drive rear axle, 5.4 to 1 ratio. 4-wheel hydraulic brakes, 16” hand brake. Budd disk wheels, Goodyear 11.25” x 20” 14-ply balloon tires, single front and rear, spare tire on left running board. Ross 760/770204 steering with horn button. Radiator # 539659 with Brewer-Titchener dash-controlled radiator shutters. Painted NY red lacquer. Hosebed with a slatted floor and adjustable rear windshield with 6 Waugh or Lyons hand straps, loop size to fit man’s full sleeve in turnout coat. Compartments including a waterproof box for 1/4 fold 9’ Atlas life net. Approved wire mesh basket 6” deep x 24” wide at the top front of the hose bed. Suction basket holder on tail step.Hercules HXE motor #321758, 53/4″ bore x 6″ stroke, 200 brake horsepower, high-compression aluminum heads, 935 cubic inch, compression ratio 5.44 to 1. Triple ignition (18 spark plugs), Bosch ZR6 two-spark magneto, Exide 6X6K-25-3-R battery on right running board, Auto-Lite MR-4108 starter with an IGC-4064 distributor, Delco-Remy 1106629 generator with 5821 regulator. 2” Zenith updraft carburetor with Air-Maze air cleaner and flame arrester. Ahrens-Fox 6-cylinder high-pressure piston pump, rated 1000 gpm @ 160 psi, 500 @ 320, 400 @ 400, 250 @ 600, at maximum 14’ lift and engine speed of 1600 rpm or less. 3” discharge gates. Engine-to-pump gear ratio 14-62 (4.4286 to 1). Pump pistons 31/4” x 6” minor (2.1417 GPR), 41/4” x 6” major (1.2238 GPR). Ross relief valve.12-volt starting, lighting, Sireno type 51 siren on vacuum chamber, 10” chrome-plated Corcoran-Brown 2205 swiveling searchlight at the right of cab atop 12” locomotive bell. Tachometer, revolution counter, speedometer, 1000,000-mile odometer, temperature gauge, fuel gauge, oil-level gauge, ammeter, oil-pressure gauge, and viscometer on the dash. Two 10” chrome-plate Corcoran-Brown 29233 headlights. Two 6” red cowl lights, Guide model 361H. Two red and white chrome-plated Guide 280R tail lights. Two 4” chrome-plated rear hose pickup lights. 6 chrome-plated lights under the hood, with independent switches. Red Mars light atop the center of cab. 2 chrome-plated Dietz King tubular lanterns on sides of body. Homelite model R gasoline-engine driven generator with pilot light and 3 extra outlets. Two 500-watt Crouse-Hinds floodlights, one 250-watt Crouse-Hinds spotlights, with bulbs. Three 100’ lengths of #16 two-conductor mine cable. 3 sets twist-lock connectors.Hiland enclosed cab, V windshield, safety glass, metal floor boards, leather upholstery, 2 rear-view mirrors, 2 Bosch QW12/1 semaphore signals with red lights, warning light atop cab, 2 adjustable sun visors, 2 Bosch NY1851 electric windshield wipers, 2 electric defrosters, bell on right of cowl. F.D.N.Y. in 4” block letters on cab doors.Morse 2000-gpm turret pipe atop cab roof, with 3” and 31/2” connections under each side of hose bed. Two 12’ scaling ladders. One each Elkhart 21/2 gallon soda-and-acid and Foamcrest 21/2 gallon foam fire extinguishers. 6-foot hook. 8-pound flat head axe. McElligott double-female Elkhart clapper valve with 300-pound pressure gauge and ground support. Crow bar. Two 41/2” suction spanner wrenches.1 Zerk high-pressure grease gun. Set of wrenches. 10-ton hydraulic jack. 8-ounce canvas hood cover, and 8-ounce canvas hose bed cover, with securing straps and strap eyes. Weed skid chains for driving wheels."
What I Found in a Photo
While enrolled in a basic genealogy online course through Boston University I discovered that you can tell a great deal about the lives of people from looking at old photos and analyzing the object…
mbbaumann.com
Brooklyn Fire Department Water Tower 1 - organized 1895 at 125 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn
Water Tower 1 (BFD)/Water Tower 6 (FDNY) history - BFD/FDNY
Water Tower 1 BFD organized 124 DeKalb Street former volunteer company firehouse 1895
Water Tower 1 BFD became Water Tower 1 FDNY 1898
Water Tower 1 disbanded to form Water Tower 6 365 Jay Street at Ladder 68 (Ladder 118) 1903
Water Tower 6 moved to 47/48 Washington Avenue at Engine 251 1936
Water Tower 6 moved to 365 Jay Street at Rescue 2 1936
Water Tower 6 moved to 227 Front Street at Engine 208 1946
Water Tower 6 moved to 26 Hooper Street at Engine 211 1946
Water Tower 6 disbanded 1957
FDNY Water Tower 6 - Jay Street Brooklyn
Water Tower 1 (BFD)/Water Tower 6 (FDNY) history - BFD/FDNY
Water Tower 1 BFD organized 124 DeKalb Street former volunteer company firehouse 1895
Water Tower 1 BFD became Water Tower 1 FDNY 1898
Water Tower 1 disbanded to form Water Tower 6 365 Jay Street at Ladder 68 (Ladder 118) 1903
Water Tower 6 moved to 47/48 Washington Avenue at Engine 251 1936
Water Tower 6 moved to 365 Jay Street at Rescue 2 1936
Water Tower 6 moved to 227 Front Street at Engine 208 1946
Water Tower 6 moved to 26 Hooper Street at Engine 211 1946
Water Tower 6 disbanded 1957
FDNY Water Tower 6 - Jay Street Brooklyn
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That Brooklyn Eagle report on the line-of-duty death of Fireman Jeremiah Looney is inaccurate.
Fireman Looney was assigned to Ladder 106.
Perhaps with the renumbering of Brooklyn companies on 1/1/13, the Eagle was still not up to speed.
Maybe they believed that Ladder 56 (pre-1913) became Ladder 156 and then they mistakenly thought it was Engine 156.
As we know beginning in 1913, the Brooklyn engines added 100 to their numbers but the ladders added only 50.
Fireman Looney was assigned to Ladder 106.
Perhaps with the renumbering of Brooklyn companies on 1/1/13, the Eagle was still not up to speed.
Maybe they believed that Ladder 56 (pre-1913) became Ladder 156 and then they mistakenly thought it was Engine 156.
As we know beginning in 1913, the Brooklyn engines added 100 to their numbers but the ladders added only 50.
Brooklyn Relics
Monday, January 20, 2014
Engine Company 212 - The People's Firehouse
View attachment 9181 The People's Firehouse
F.D.N.Y. Engine Company 212 began as Engine Company 12 of the Brooklyn Fire Department at 136 Wythe Avenue in 1869. The company was reorganized once the Brooklyn Fire department was assimilated with the Fire Department of New York and became Engine Company Number 212 on January 1st 1913. The name “People’s Firehouse” was coined by an NYPD battalion chief who said "We're not going to remove them. It's the people's firehouse." when refusing an order to forcibly remove a group of activists that occupied the firehouse when the city attempted to disband it in 1975.
During the 1970s New York City faced financial difficulty and responded by issuing budget cuts thereby reducing city services. The F.D.N.Y. was one of the city agencies affected by the cuts, and in response ordered many firehouses to be closed. Between 1972 and 1977 51 firehouses were closed and in November of 1975 the People’s Firehouse was among 8 of those stations scheduled to be closed. At the same time that fire stations were being closed cases of arson were on the rise as property owners torched their buildings to collect on insurance and escape the financial losses associated with the dropping property values of a city in decline. With many wood frame homes in the neighborhood and arson on the rise, residents were rightfully concerned. In addition to arson the city allowed a policy of “planned shrinkage” to dominate Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Budgets for city services including fire, police, education and maintenance were reduced and abandoned buildings were often allowed to crumble or burn down rather than be demolished. Local citizens saw the closing of the firehouse as an unacceptable loss of fire protection and a sign that the neighborhood was being abandoned by city hall, setting the stage for the battle that ensued.
On the day the firehouse was to be closed one of the firemen opposed to the station closing repeatedly sounded the air raid siren in an effort to attract attention to the firehouse and more than 200 neighborhood residents arrived to protest the disbanding of Engine Company No. 212. When the doors to the firehouse were opened at the end of the day's shift and scheduled closing, community activists stormed the building and prevented the firemen and engine from exiting the station. While the firemen were eventually able to leave later in the day, the protestors and fire engine remained in the building. The occupation of the People’s Firehouse lasted sixteen months and included a diverse group of people rotating shifts at the firehouse to prevent the retaking of the station. The group included Boy Scouts, the elderly and entire families. In addition to the takeover of the firehouse activists protested at city offices and in front of Deputy Mayor John Zuccotti’s house, shut down traffic on the B.Q.E., as well as lobbied city hall and the state capital to reinstate the fire company.
Eventually City Hall caved into the demands of the community but at first stopped short of restoring the same level of service to the north Williamsburg firehouse. The first attempt to resolve the issue was to move Rescue Company 4 from Maspeth Queens into the firehouse. Like Williamsburg’s Northside residents, Maspeth community members protested and blocked their firehouse to prevent the engine from leaving. After protests and a court order prevented the moving of Rescue Company No. 4 the city resolved the issue by re-commissioning the firehouse as Utility Unit 1. However, the utility unit’s response to local emergency calls was restricted, leading to a continued dispute between the city and local residents. In 1991 the firehouse was occupied once again until engine company 212 was reinstated, restoring the level of service previously enjoyed by the community in north Williamsburg and Greenpoint. The firehouse eventually closed in 2003 due to cuts made by the Bloomberg administration.
After the original sit-in the people of the People’s Firehouse created a nonprofit advocacy group (The People’s Firehouse Inc.) led by Adam Venezki. The group advocated for the development of affordable housing and energy conservation programs, as well as provided tenant legal services and job training. More recently the firehouse was turned into a cultural space and community center for Greenpoint and Williamsburg called the Northside Townhall Community and Cultural Center.
View attachment 9180
Engine Company 212 - The People's Firehouse
The People's Firehouse F.D.N.Y. Engine Company 212 began as Engine Company 12 of the Brooklyn Fire Department at 136 Wythe Avenue in 186...brooklynrelics.blogspot.com
A video released from the Gettin' Salty Podcast regarding "The Peoples Firehouse - FDNY Engine Co 212"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvzOchSP0YQ
1123ken - You are right. The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper reported that FF Looney, LODD, was a member of Engine 156 (became Engine 256) - apparently a mistake. FDNY LODD data lists his company as Ladder 106. The 1913 Fire Engineering report below also indicates he was a member of Ladder 106. Thanks for the correction. FF Looney, Ladder 106, RIP.
Fireman Killed at Greenpoint Fire
ByFire Engineering Staff
12.24.1913
Fireman Killed at Greenpoint Fire
One fireman lost his life and several others were injured recently by falling walls at a fire which destroyed the Lignum Chemical Company’s plant at Van Dam street and Meeker avenue. Greenpoint, New York City. Jeremiah Looney, of Truck Company 106, died at the hospital from injuries received. The fire, which started at noon, totally destroying the three-story frame building occupied by the chemical company, which prepares sawdust for commercial uses. The damage is estimated at about $30,000. A northwest gale prevailed at the time, and it was with difficulty that the fire was confined to the building. There are many frame buildings on all sides of the destroyed plant. In a space of time incredibly short the flames had eaten their way into the heart of the big sawdust piles, where tons of sawdust, used for packing and cleaning purposes, had been heaped high in bags, ready for delivery. Battalion Chief Maher immediately sent in three other alarms, and by his good judgment the fire was confined to the building in which it originated.
Copyright, International News Service.
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ENGINE 332 BROOKLYN
South Gate & Horace Harding Blvd. Qns (Sep. 5, 1938 - Apr. 30, 1941) - organized for 1939-1940 Worlds' Fair
657 Liberty Ave. FQ E-225 (Feb. 21, 1970)
165 Bradford St. W/ L-175 (Jul. 15, 1985)
Former Engine 225 quarters Engine 332 firehouse 1970-1985
South Gate & Horace Harding Blvd. Qns (Sep. 5, 1938 - Apr. 30, 1941) - organized for 1939-1940 Worlds' Fair
657 Liberty Ave. FQ E-225 (Feb. 21, 1970)
165 Bradford St. W/ L-175 (Jul. 15, 1985)
Former Engine 225 quarters Engine 332 firehouse 1970-1985
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