FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies - 2nd Section

Engine 208  firehouse  227 Front Street, Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn Division 10, Battalion 31    DISBANDED

    Engine 8 BFD organized 227 Front Street former volunteer firehouse                                      1869
    Engine 8 BFD new firehouse 227 Front Street                                                                      1872
    Engine 8 BFD became Engine 8 FDNY                                                                                  1898
    Engine 8 became Engine 108                                                                                              1899
    Engine 108 became Engine 208                                                                                          1913
    Engine 208 disbanded                                                                                                        1972

    Engine 208-2  organized 227 Front Street at Engine 208                                                        1917
    Engine 208-2 disbanded                                                                                                      1918

    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


Pre-Brooklyn Fire Department:

    Constitution Engine 7 - organized 1828 - disbanded 1869 - lost 3 members during Civil War

    CONSTITUTION NO. 7, AND BROOKLYN'S FIRST " PIANO BOX "

        "The Constitution and Union Forever" was the motto adopted by Constitution Engine Co. No. 7, when it was organized on October 24, 1828 and the company made a record worthy of their high-sounding motto, not only by gallant service in the Fire Department, but also by contributing of its members to the armies of the United States during the late war, twelve of them having sprung to arms among the first volunteers when the three months' men were called out, and nineteen among these who volunteered for three years.  One was killed at the first battle of Bull Run, and one at the battle of Williamsburgh, one died from disease contracted in camp, and one was wounded at Bull Run. 

          The company, at its organization and for many years afterwards, was located near the Navy Yard gate in the Fifth Ward, and moved later to Front Street, near Bridge.  The quality of its membership was always high, and the company was well known throughout the country for its hospitality to visiting firemen and for making visits to other cities.

          In 1854 they went, ninety-eight strong, on a visit to Relief Engine Co. No. 11, of Albany, N. Y.  In 1858 they received and entertained their Albany friends of No. 11, in connection with Howard Engine, No. 34; and in the same year they received a visit from Hibernia Engine No. 1, of Philadelphia, in company with Americus No. 6 (Tweed's "Big Six") of New York. 

          In 1859 they returned the visit of Hibernia No. 1. taking full one hundred men to Philadelphia, and when the introduction of the Ridgewood water into Brooklyn was celebrated on April 27th and 28th of that year, this company entertained Columbian No. 6, of Newark, N. J., and Washington No. 3 and Red Jacket No. 4, of Elizabeth.  On this occasion the celebration originally set for the 27th had to be postponed to the 28th, a heavy rain satisfying the authorities that, although they were rejoicing over the introduction of water, it was a good thing they could get too much of. The military were dismissed for the day, and the firemen were left to entertain their guests from abroad, who had expressed their willingness to remain over for the postponed parade, the Common Council generously providing that all extra expenses incurred by the men should be paid by the city.

          The firemen, however, were not to be daunted by a little water, more or less, and nine Brooklyn companies, escorting ten visiting companies, made a very creditable improvised parade through the rain, even on the first day; while in the Eastern District, where the information of the postponement came only after the parade had been formed and was ready to start, the firemen resolved after consultation that they would carry out the program for the day in its entirety.  Twenty-eight local companies, together with the visiting companies, traversed a long route, encouraged and cheered by the demonstrations of the throngs of spectators that lined the sidewalks and filled the windows along the route.  On the following day, the whole procession as originally arranged contributed to the demonstrations of the day, which was a memorable one in the annals of Brooklyn pageantry.

          The first " piano " engine made for this company was the most gorgeous piece of apparatus ever introduced into the city. It was delivered to the company on October 16, 1852, and its advent created considerable jealousy among the members of other companies.  The box of this engine was of mahogany, with panels of rosewood, ornamented with carvings and gilt work.  The arms were of polished steel, and the wheels blue, striped with gilt.  There were paintings on three sides of the condenser-case, in oval panels, 22x20 inches.  Attached to the engine was a neat tender, carrying eight lengths of hose; she was named "Independent." Afterward the company had a double-decked engine, built by Jeffers & Co., of Pawtucket, R. I., which was quite celebrated for its effectiveness.  At a trial on Christmas-day, 1859, held at Laird's pole in New York, they played 208 feet- which was literally "high-water mark " for this kind of proficiency.  (from "Our Firemen - the Official History of the Brooklyn Fire Department")

    Sergeant Hugh Bates 2nd Regiment NY Fire Zouaves (73rd NY Regiment) - member Engine 7 - KIA Battle of Williamsburg  May 5, 1862

         

        2nd Regiment NY Fire Zouaves (73rd NY Regiment):

             

             
 
Engine 208 (continued)


Brooklyn Fire Department:

ENGINE COMPANY NO. 8, PROTECTORS OF THE NAVY YARD

    "Engine Company No. 8 was organized on Sept. 15, 1869. The house provided for them was a two-story frame structure which stood on the site of their present commodious quarters on Front Street, near Bridge. For two years the members of the company made themselves as comfortable as possible in the little wooden building. Then the city erected for them a handsome four-story building and fitted it up in a manner which made it what at that time was considered a model house for a fire-company. The house is yet, according to the statements of members of the company, one of the most comfortable in the city, and they are perfectly contented with it. The, old building, prior to the formation of No. 8, was the quarters of Constitution NO- 7, Of the Volunteer Department, and some of old Constitution's men are now members of No. 8. The members of No. 8 are a bright, active, well-built and courageous lot of men, and they are credited with having done some excellent work at the many big fires which have claimed their attention since.

    Their first engine was a U tank. This was soon found to be too small for the work required of it, and it was exchanged for a Clapp & Jones steamer. Two years later this was replaced by an Amoskeag engine, one of the first introduced in the Department. At the present time they have a first-class Amoskeag, which weighs 8,100 pounds. Harry " and " Jim," two fine dapple bay horses, furnish the locomotive power when the engine is in transit to and from fires. Tom," a chestnut sorrel, seventeen hands high, rattles the two-wheeled hose-cart along with surprising speed.

    The first big fire to which the company was called was at Conklin's lumber yard, which covered nearly the entire block bounded by Pearl, Plymouth and John Streets. The loss was over $200,000. On May 10, 1872, the company worked twenty hours on a fire at the sugar refinery, foot of Gold Street. The loss was $300,000. mer of 1875, they did some excellent work at Baxter's paint works on Jay Street. Among the other large fires at which No. 8 rendered valuable services, were those at the Averill Paint Works, on Water Street on Dec. 6, 1872; at ex-Alderman Ruggles's wall- paper and button factory, on Oct. 21, 1884; in the Equipment Department at the Navy Yard, on Jan. 6, 1888; at the carpet works at Front and Washington Streets on Jan. 6, 1883; at Campbell & Thayer's linseed oil factory on Pearl Street, on May 13, 1877; at Harbeck's stores, Nov. 13, 1884, at Haverneyer's sugar refinery in 1882 ; at Pond's Extract factory; at the Brooklyn Oil Refinery ; at the Gowanus Oil Works and E. B. Bartlett's Central grain elevator, Nov. 13, 1888. The damages at these fires ranged from $100,000 to $800,000 One of the worst fires with which the company had to contend was in the Arbuckle Coffee and Spice Mills at the foot of Adams Street in 1883- For eighteen hours they battled with the flames. It was a stubborn fire, and the fight was against the brave men, who never left their post until the building was burned to the ground. In their work at this fire several of the men had their hands badly cut by falling glass. The damage to the building and stock was estimated at $200,000. A paper box factory which stood on the same site had been burned in 1881. The company also did some excellent work at the fire at the Pierrepont stores, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 1890, when the full-rigged iron ship " Pythomene," laden 'with jute butts and linseed meal, was totally destroyed. On that occasion several firemen came very near to being suffocated."

From the date of its organization until July 18, 1892, a period of almost twenty-three years, the Foreman of No. 8, was James WALSH.  The proper place for a sketch of his life is now among the District Engineers, and his services will be found chronicled as the responsible chief of the newly created Tenth District, of which he was placed in command when he was promoted on the above date.  But the history of No. 8 would be incomplete indeed without mention here of the long service as its Captain of District Engineer James WALSH.

Pending the appointment of a successor to Foreman Walsh, the command of the company devolved on Assistant Foreman JOHN McCOLE, who was born in Ireland on March 7, 1837.  He is married, and is the father of eleven children, four of whom are living. He lives at No. 113 Jay Street.  As a member of the Volunteer Department, he had some thrilling experiences while attached
to Constitution Engine No. 7.  He is a retiring man, and dislikes to talk about himself, even to his most intimate friends. Although he never has been injured in the discharge of his duty, it has been
through good luck, for he has many times been in perilous positions while doing his part toward saving valuable property.  He severed his connection with the Volunteer Department on Sept. 15, 1869, when he received his appointment to the Paid Department and was assigned to duty with Engine No. 8.  His valuable services as an ordinary fireman, and strict attention to duty led to his promotion to the grade of Assistant Foreman on March 1, 1887. 
                 
    Engineer FRANCIS J. QUAL, JR., was born in this city, on Aug. 25, 1884, and was appointed to the uniformed force on Dec. 3, 1888.  He was promoted to the grade of engineer on Feb. 16, 1891, and assigned to his present position.  He is a very able, careful man in the discharge of his duty, and is highly esteemed by his superior officers.

    BARTLEY GUNNING sits on the driver's seat of Engine No. 8 and guides the horses "Harry " and " Jim."  He was born in Ireland, on May 10,1846, and was appointed to the force on Sept. 15,1869.

    WILLIAM E. DOLAN was born in this city, on Feb. 27, 1861, and received his appointment to the uniformed force on Feb. 27, 1885.  He distinguished himself about two years ago, at York and Jay Streets, when by his promptness and coolness he saved Lung FOO, a Chinese laundryman, from being killed by a live electric wire, which in its fall had struck the Chinaman and knocked
him down.  Mr. DOLAN never speaks of the affair, but his comrades take pleasure in praising him for the brave act.  He is at present detailed as a lineman at Fire Department Headquarters.

    SAMUEL BURNS was born in Brooklyn, on Nov. 7, 1845, and was appointed a fireman and assigned to Engine No. 8 on Sept. 15, 1869.  At present he is detailed at Fire Headquarters as a telegraph operator.

    JOSEPH G. GREEN was born in New York City, on March 14, 1840, and was appointed to the force Aug. 15,1870, and assigned to duty with Engine No. 8, in the capacity of engineer.  He is at present detailed at the Repair-shops.

    ALEXIS R. LAVIGNE was born in Lowell, Mass., on Nov. 2, 1857, and became a member of the Fire Department on Sept. 17, 1883.  He is detailed at present as lineman at Fire Headquarters.

    WILLIAM SCHIEBEL was born in this city, on Oct. 27, 1868,'and was appointed a fireman on Nov. 16, 1891.

    THOMAS P. CONNOLLY was born in England on Dec. 26, 1853, and entered upon his career as a fireman Feb. 1, 1887.  Prior to becoming a member of Engine No. 8, he did duty with Engine Company No. 5.

    JAMES BRIDGES was born in this city, on Nov. 26, 1870.  He is a fine stalwart young fireman, and his ambition undoubtedly will receive its reward in due time.  He was appointed Nov. 15, 1891.

    JOHN GILLEN is a native of Brooklyn and was born on Jan. 17, 1855.  He entered upon the career of a fireman on May 1, 1881, and has done duty faithfully since he first stepped into his present position.

    JAMES H. QUINN also was born in this city, his natal day being Oct. 27, 1864.  He became a fireman on May 20, 1889.
                 
    JOHN VIRTUE hails from Boston, Mass., in which city he was born on April 7, 1856. It was on June 19, 1882, that his name was enrolled on the blotter of Engine Company No. 8.  He is a thoroughly efficient fireman.
                 
    This completes the roll of membership of Engine Company No. 8.  They are, all in all, a fine body of men, and their standing in the Department as a company is A 1.  They have done good work and are ready to do more, no matter how perilous it may be, whenever the big gong in the engine-house summons them to battle with the flames. Among the large buildings within the district covered by Engine Company No. 8 on a first-alarm are those of Boerum & Pease, manufacturers of fine stationery and books ; the Brass Rolling Mills; Campbell & Thayer's paint works; the Empire Storage Company; the Consolidated White Lead Works; Arbuckle Coffee and Spice Mills; Robert Gavi's paper box factory, and the Navy Yard buildings.  (from "Our Firemen - the Official History of the Brooklyn Fire Department")
   

   
 
Engine 208 (continued)


227 Front Street firehouse:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


History 227 Front Street Firehouse:

    "Name: Originally ?Constitution? Engine Co. 7, Volunteer Fire Dept.; then Engine 8, BFD; then Engine 208 FDNY; now residential
    Address: 227 Front Street
    Cross Streets: Bridge and Gold Streets
    Neighborhood: Vinegar Hill
    Year Built: 1870-71
    Architectural Style: Italianate
    Architect: Unknown, 1903 expansion by H. W. Billard
    Other Work by Architect: Billard ? small projects here and there, with at least one in Williamsburg.
    Landmarked: Yes, part of Vinegar Hill HD (1997)

    The story: This building was built by the Fire Department of the City of Brooklyn around 1870-71 and is on the site of one of the city?s oldest firehouses. Engine Company number 7 started out as a volunteer fire company in 1828, taking as its motto, ?The Constitution and the Union Forever.? They were first located on Hudson Street, near Front Street. They later moved to the south side of Front St, between Bridge and Gold, and then to this location.

    This new firehouse must have been a perfect place for them to show off their two year-old ?piano box? engine, a marvelous machine with a mahogany box with rosewood panels. The box was embellished with carvings and gilt work. According to the ?History of the Brooklyn Fire Department?, written in 1892, ?the arms were of polished steel, and the wheels blue, striped with gilt. There were paintings on three sides of the condenser-case, in oval panels, 22 x 20 inches. Attached to the engine was a neat tender, carrying eight lengths of hose; she was named ?Independent.?

    According to that same source, the fire company ceased being a volunteer company in 1869, and many of the volunteers joined the Brooklyn Fire Department. It was at that time that this firehouse was built for them, on the site of the old one. Though the LPC report says differently, and dates the building for 1855, two different fire department sources seem to confirm this later date for the building. The original building, the one this replaced, appears to have been built in 1855.

    The Brooklyn Fire Department was absorbed into the New York City Fire Dept. in 1898, when the city was consolidated into Greater New York. This attractive Italianate building was still active as a firehouse in this now mixed, industrial and residential neighborhood, and now was now Engine 108.

    In 1903, the city hired architect H.W. Billard to expand the doorway and extend the rear of the building in order to accommodate the newer fire-fighting equipment of the day. He probably removed the Italianate brackets on the lower windows and simplified the lines when he expanded the doorway. The building was an active firehouse, designated Engine 208 from 1913, until it was decommissioned in 1976. The building was sold and converted to residential use that same year.

    Although we don?t know who designed this building, they were good. It?s a handsome building with elegant details. The wooden cornice is quite fine, and has been well maintained as have all of the other features of the building. Of special note are the brick arches around all of the upper story windows, topped off with brownstone keystones, enhanced in the center by a two-story arch that creates a double arch around the two center windows. The keystone above the top floor window is larger, capturing both arches. The result is quite pleasing, and rather ahead of its time, design-wise. Although the door was changed and lower windows simplified, the design still is quite beautiful, and it?s easy to see why this building was snapped up for residential use very quickly."  (from "Brownstoner - Brooklyn In and Out")

    https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/building-of-the-day-227-front-street/

 
Engine 208 (continued)


Engine 208:

   

   


Engine 208 1908 pet rescue:

   


Engine 208 multiple alarm:

   


247 Pearl Street firehouse closed - Water Tower 6 relocates to Engine 208 - 1946:

   
   
   


Engine 208 medal:

    MICHAEL. J. HESLEN, ENGINE 208 March 17,1899

         

         

          Windsor Hotel Fire March 17, 1899  90 killed in fire

             

             

              http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-lost-windsor-hotel-5th-avenue-and.html


Engine 208 LODDs:

    FIREFIGHTER FREDERICK G. BRANDT ENGINE 208 March 25, 1922

         
         
          FF Frederick Brandt, died from injuries responding to alarm for fire, March 25, 1922 

          Fireman Frederick G. Brandt lost his life by being crushed under the wheels of the motor hose truck of Engine 208. The engine was hurrying to answer an alarm that came from Box 86 at Hudson Avenue and York Street just after midnight. The fire was in the rear of a tailor shop. Brandt was the first off the moving truck and somehow stumbled to the ground. He fell under the wheels of the truck, which passed diagonally over his body. He was carried to the sidewalk and weakly said to his mates ?I am cooked, I guess I am done?. Brandt was twenty-six years old and lived with his parents at 146 Woodbine Street. Several days earlier he announced that he was engaged to be married. (from "The Last Alarm)

         

    FIREFIGHTER JAMES J. MORAN ENGINE 208 October 13, 1953

         

         
         
          Fireman James J. Moran, thirty-five years old, was overcome by smoke while fighting a five-alarm fire in a city-owned six-story abandoned factory at 158 Sand Street, Brooklyn. Fireman Moran was operating a hose line on a ladder when he was overcome by smoke. The area of the 31st Battalion had been very busy for the previous two years with a large number of buildings being torched by demolition contractors and homeless, some by accident and others deliberate. The area was being torn down for the building of the Cadman Plaza project and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Fireman Moran was in the Department for just over two years and was married with two children. (from "The Last Alarm")

         

         

    RIP.  Never forget.


Vinegar Hill:

    Vinegar Hill gets its name from the Battle of Vinegar Hill, a battle in Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

    Vinegar Hill was commonly known as "Irishtown" in the 19th century, because of its sizable population of Irish immigrants.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_Hill,_Brooklyn
 
Engine 88/Ladder 38  firehouse  2225 Belmont Avenue,  Belmont, Bronx Division 7, Battalion 18  "First Due at the Zoo"

    Engine 88 organized 2225 Belmont Avenue w/Ladder 38                      1908

    Engine 88-2 organized 2225 Belmont Avenue at Engine 88                    1969
    Engine 88-2 disbanded                                                                      1972

    Ladder 38 organized 2225 Belmont Avenue w/Engine 88                      1908


2225 Belmont Avenue firehouse:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
   
   

   

   


   



 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


Engine 88:

   

   

     

   

   

   

   

   

   

     

   


Engine 88-2:

   


Ladder 38:

   

   

   

   

   
   
   

   

   

   


Engine 88/Ladder 38:

   

   
 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


Engine 88/Ladder 38:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_z1FkyeRNU

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FjPDpCv3tM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_bJpYdhwxg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRHX2F3fg6k

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9XD1bxpbEs

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1RA65L5ao
 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


"Boots" Engine 88/Ladder 38 mascot 1940s:

   

   

   


Fireman Halligan, Engine 88, and brother, PO Halligan - 1916:
 
   

    Chief Halligan - inventor/maker/distributor of Halligan Tool:

         

         


    Deputy Chief Halligan WNYF article - How to Use Halligan Tool - 1950:
   
         

         

         


Engine 88/Ladder 38 Centennial 2008:

         
 

Engine 88/Ladder 38 members (Cardinal Dolan visit) December 2017:

   

 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


Engine 88/Ladder 38 medals:

    HOWARD J. LENT FF. ENG. 88 NOV. 30, 1958 1959 DOUGHERTY

    TIMOTHY J. GALLAGHER CAPT. ENG. 88 MAY 28, 1982 1983 HUGH BONNER

         

         

    LOUIS J. VISCONTI LT. ENG. 88 JAN. 21, 1990 1991 MC ELLIGOTT

         

    JOSEPH BONA CAPT. LAD. 38 1937 1938 STEPHENSON

          Captain Joseph Bona was awarded the Stephenson Medal for the best disciplined company in FDNT during 1937.

    THOMAS F. FITZPATRICK, JR. FF. LAD. 38 FEB. 9, 1970 1971 HUGH BONNER

         

    ALBERT M MISKIEWICZ FF. LAD. 38 FEB. 18, 1973 1974 KRIDEL

           

    PETER J. INCLEDON LT. LAD. 38 DEC. 5, 1974 1975 DOUGHERTY

       

    LEO F. FRACASSI LT. LAD. 38 JUL. 3, 1976 1977 CRIMMINS

         

    THOMAS F. FITZPATRICK, JR. FF. LAD. 38 APR. 9, 1977 1978 KANE

         

    LEO F. FRACASSI LT. LAD. 38 JUN. 24, 1984 1985 LA GUARDIA

         

    JOHN J. KOLLER FF. LAD. 38 AUG. 28, 1986 1987 LANE

         

    CARLOS R. CAMACHO FF. LAD. 38 AUG. 29, 1986 1987 BRUMMER

         

    ROBERT J. WHITE FF. LAD. 38 NOV. 2, 1985 1987 KANE

         

    DANIEL M. MONAHAN FF. LAD. 38 DEC. 7, 1989 1990 GOLDENKRANZ

         

    JOHN E. KEENAN CAPT. LAD. 38 FEB. 15, 1992 1993 COMPANY OFFICERS

         

    RICHARD CRESPIN FF. LAD. 38 JUN. 5, 1994 1995 LA GUARDIA

    JOHN E. KEENAN LT. LAD. 38 JUN. 21, 2007

         

         
 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


Engine 88/Ladder 38 LODDs:

    FIREFIGHTER CHARLES J. GRIECO LADDER 38 MARCH 26, 1968

         

    FIREFIGHTER JOSEPH P. SPOR, JR. RESCUE 3 (PREVIOUSLY ASSIGNED ENGINE 88/LADDER 38) SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

         

         

          FF Joseph P. Spor, Jr. died at the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.  FF Spor joined the New York City Fire Department in 1994. He was assigned to Engine 88/Ladder 38 in the Bronx for 7 years. Three weeks prior to the attacks? he transferred to Rescue 3.

          https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/joseph-p-spor-jr/

          http://www.legacy.com/sept11/story.aspx?personid=147539

    FIREFIGHTER VINCENT J. ALBANESE LADDER 38 JULY 31, 2010

         

         
         
          FF Vincent J. Albanese died from WTC-related illness.

          FF Vincent Albanese, 38 years in Ladder 38:

          As bagpipers played "Going Home" under summer's blue skies Thursday, more than 100 New York City firefighters saluting in their formal blue uniforms joined friends and family to say goodbye to Vincent Albanese. But the death of the retired New York City firefighter, a first responder during the World Trade Center terrorist attacks who later did rescue and recovery at the site, is prompting more calls for funding for ailing 9/11 responders.

          Albanese, 63, died of cancer Saturday, a day after Congress voted down a measure that would have provided $7.4 billion to care for 9/11 responders. Albanese's family said they believed his bladder cancer came from working at "the pile," as the site was known. The cancer was first discovered in 2007, during a World Trade Center medical monitoring exam for first responders.

          Expressing disappointment at the congressional vote last Friday, Albanese's wife, Christine, said: "The government's turning a deaf ear to this - it's like they've forgotten people are dying."

          John Feal of the FealGood Foundation, an advocate for responders who also was hurt while working at Ground Zero, said he has attended 39 funerals of responders who died of cancer and respiratory illnesses in the past four years. Congress let down those who worked to restore the country after the devastating attacks, he said.

          "Congress is going back on Tuesday for a special session," Feal said. "It has the ability to put it on the floor on Tuesday and vote like Americans." If not, Feal plans a rally on Sept. 15 when Congress reconvenes. Thursday, Albanese's oldest daughter, Kelly, of Huntington Station, said she contacted Rep. Steve Israel's office this past Friday to tell him about her father's condition and urge congressional support for the bill. She said she hopes to meet with Israel (D-Huntington), who supports the bill, to discuss what she can do to drum up support.

          Thursday, Albanese's good friend and fellow firefighter, Pat Connelly, of Howard Beach, said of Albanese's work at Ground Zero, "Vinny would have been there anyway. All these guys would have. Congress needs to step up." Kelly Albanese said her father had also gone to New Orleans in 2005 to help with Hurricane Katrina relief work. "He's the type of guy that got things done," she said. "I miss him so much already."

          Advocates for 9/11 responders have been rallying for a bill that would help responders with medical needs related to illnesses from Ground Zero work, and allow the government to track those illnesses. Thursday, an NYPD helicopter flew over Route 110 in Huntington Station as the coffin carrying Albanese, draped with an American flag, was placed in the hearse and the firefighters saluted their friend one last time.  After the burial Mass at St. Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church, family and friends took part in a procession to Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton.

          A 38-year member of Ladder 38 in the Bronx and a longtime Army National Guardsman who flew planes and rose to the rank of brigadier general, Albanese was a man of faith and compassion, who could pull off a great practical joke, said his friends.

          "He really lived, didn't he?" said FDNY Lt. Joe Huber, who worked with Albanese at Ladder 38 and recalled various pranks Albanese played. "I never met a happier man," Huber said, adding the station lost a "great compass" when he retired."

         

    WILLIAM D. KOESTERER ENGINE 88 JANUARY 8, 2016

         

         

          FF William D. Koesterer died from cancer.  His death is Administrative Line of Duty.


    RIP.  Never forget.
 
Engine 88/Ladder 38 (continued):


Belmont:

   

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmont,_Bronx

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU9BzOFnEbs
























 
Bronx fires:

2nd Alarm 188th Street & Hughes Avenue - 1988:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdXP-VW1WFE


All Hands 183rd Street & Jerome Avenue - 1987:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHm-olHRgtA


5th Alarm 2438 Morris Avenue - 1989:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYYvAWUr55A&t=640s


All Hands 168th Street & Sheridan Avenue - 1988:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEnhMQRFkY&t=59s
 
^^^ To add to reply # 1028 above...LT Leo Fracassi who was cited with 2 Medals in 38 was an Aide to General Patton in WW2 hence the Stars on all of LAD*38s Rigs.....also pictured in the Medal Recipients are Father & Son John Keenan's....the CPT Father was the original SQ*41 CPT before LAD*38....also another Double Medal Recipient pictured is Tom Fitzpatrick who was also a FF in R*1 & later an Executive Assistant to the Fire Commissioner.
 
mack said:
Bronx fires:

2nd Alarm 188th Street & Hughes Avenue - 1988:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdXP-VW1WFE


All Hands 183rd Street & Jerome Avenue - 1987:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHm-olHRgtA


5th Alarm 2438 Morris Avenue - 1989:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYYvAWUr55A&t=640s


All Hands 168th Street & Sheridan Avenue - 1988:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEnhMQRFkY&t=59s
Click to expand...

I was working in 33 Truck for the job at 183 St. and Jerome Av. Earlier in the evening, we had a mattress fire in an apartment building. When we returned to the street, we found that the second due truck apparently had some difficulty stopping their rig, resulting in the tip of their aerial going through our rig's windshield and partially removing the cab roof.  We had just gone back into service after equipping a spare tower ladder (formally TL 18's rig). We had the bay doors open, the MPO / senior man in 75 engine was leaning against the front of the firehouse drinking a cup of coffee, I was under the spare tower ladder tightening the last bolt of our mechanical siren that I had just installed (as we were going to have this spare for a long time). Suddenly the MPO yelled, "We've got a job!!" I slid out on the creeper from under the rig to see fire through the roof of the taxpayer right across the street from quarters. Great memories, lot's of work back then.
 
Speaking of mechanical sirens; Engine 88, we had this one particular Lieutenant L aka "run silent, run deep"... Hardly touched the electronic rig siren, if needed, you might hear a chirp...did not matter what type of run, ers nc, phone alarm...he said "it hurts my ears!"...One day we round the corner of 182 St by St. Barnabas, moving at a good clip, we almost come face to face with a delivery truck getting ready to unload his goods at local "MET Supermarket", never heard us coming!.... Following day tour FF Marty comes back from the shops with a "wind-up  mechanical". Captain Tough Timmy loved it. When this Lieutenant would come in we ran the wire to the crew cab, where either one of us could operate the siren. We would let'r rip...we could have parted waters!

Lieut L was a good boss, gentleman and nice guy (RIP, Boss)


PS: First day otj with Lt. L, I caught my first job with E 88 (All hands); Crotona Pkwy & E 180 Street, fire 1st floor vacant apartment house. This structure was about 2 blocks north of "Happy Land".
 
Federal 28 Siren Removed From FDNY Engine 50:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_6eZn7il_o
 
Engine 277/Ladder 112 firehouse 582 Knickerbocker Avenue  Bushwick, Brooklyn Division 15, Battalion 37 "House of Pain" "The Ant Farm"

    Engine 277 organized 582 Knickerbocker Avenue                                      1913
    Engine 277 moved 392 Himrod Street at Engine 271                                  1976
    Engine 277 moved 582 Knickerbocker Avenue                                          1976
    Engine 277 moved 32 Ralph Avenue at Engine 222                                    2002
    Engine 277 new firehouse 582 Knickerbocker Avenue w/Ladder 112            2007

    Ladder 12 BFD organized 1171 Madison Street                                          1893
    Ladder 12 BFD became Ladder 12 FDNY                                                    1898   
    Ladder 12 became Ladder 62                                                                  1899
    Ladder 62 became Ladder 112                                                                  1913
    Ladder 112 moved 582 Knickerbocker Avenue at Engine 277                      1973
    Ladder 112 moved 32 Ralph Avenue at Engine 222                                    1976
    Ladder 112 moved 582 Knickerbocker Avenue at Engine 277                      1976
    Ladder 112 moved 32 Ralph Avenue at Engine 222                                    2002
    Ladder 112 new firehouse w/Engine 277                                                    2007

    Tactical Control Unit 732 located 582 Knickerbocker Avenue at Engine 277  1970-1971


1171 Madison Street firehouse - Ladder 112 - 1893-1973:                                       

   


582 Knickerbocker Avenue firehouse - Engine 277/Ladder 112 - 1913-2002:                                     

   

   

   

   


Time Brings Down What Fire Could Not-Engine Co 277
08-31-2005, 08:22 AM The New York Times

    The old firehouse narrows as it rises over Knickerbocker Avenue like a church spire, but it's not a church, so the firefighters call it the Ant Farm because it's narrow and crowded and it looks like one of those, too. Sometimes they call it the House of Pain.

    The captain of the ladder company has a gray crew cut. He lost his bike to a thief at the corner of Halsey Street and Wilson Avenue where the Monitti Pharmacy used to be. It was a Schwinn Deluxe Hornet, red and black with white racing stripes, and he paid $80 for it in 1956, a lot of currency for a drugstore delivery boy, which is what he was then.

    Now, five decades later, he is a fire captain, Ron Carritue of Ladder Company 112, and he says he will not leave Bushwick until he finds the bike.

    He can stay, but the firehouse he pedaled past and then worked in cannot. The Ant Farm has been shuttered for three years, and workers took out the boiler last week. Before classes start around the corner at I.S. 291 on Sept. 8, the city plans to knock down the brick walls to make way for a new firehouse, an $8 million one with glass walls.

    By rights the Ant Farm has spent its share of luck, outlasting its design, housing two companies in a space built for one and surviving the arsonists who burned most everything around it. New York was tough, and the firehouse was there a while.

    "That's probably the best compliment you can pay a man in this job, to say he's a good fireman," Captain Carritue said, "and there were a lot of good firemen in that house."

    The city has made landmarks of 17 firehouses, four of them in Brooklyn. Others in historic districts were spared the wrecking ball, too, but the Ant Farm was nobody's preservation project. When it comes down, the men will move into a building they do not much care for and they will get used to it and do their jobs.

    For now they wait a few blocks away at a firehouse attached to a police station house on Ralph Avenue. Firefighter Matt Merecka would have preferred a pay raise to a new house. "It was a perfectly good firehouse over here," he said.

    His captain related what was good about it. "Bushwick is known for the three-story frames," Captain Carritue said. That's why the Ant Farm's stones and brick worked best, he said, "The historic solid firehouse look, not the tinny modern look, because that's what gave the neighborhood stability."

    Stability is like anything; it comes and it goes. The 1913 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac said a new firehouse would be built at 582 Knickerbocker Avenue for an engine company; the job was done with slats in the concrete to allow washing out the manure. The 1914 almanac said Engine Company 277 had moved in under command of Capt. J. Maliband.

    Cleaning burned-out basements in the neighborhood, latter-day firefighters would unearth promotional materials from that time, pictures of tree-lined streets with captions in German and Italian saying, "Come to Bushwick." Old-timers would remember people washing their stoops and dancing Saturday nights at Schwabenhall.

    Engine 277 never lost a man until May 26, 1940; on the way to a false alarm the rig hit a truck, and Firefighter Patrick Devlin died of his injuries.

    In September 1973, new schools were planned for Bushwick, and one of two firehouses had to go. A deputy chief ordered Ladder 112 to back up to the wall of its house on Madison Street, then sent over Engine 277 to park in front, said Captain Carritue, then in his third year on the job.

    The engine stuck six inches out the door, so the deputy chief sent both rigs to the firehouse on Knickerbocker Avenue, where they fit front to back with six inches to spare.

    In this manner it was decided. The men of Ladder 112 loaded their lockers onto the rig and moved to the Ant Farm. Two days after they were gone, the firehouse on Madison Street burned to the ground, Captain Carritue said.

    "People knew how to set fires in Bushwick," he said. "Gallon of gas, flight of stairs."

    On Knickerbocker Avenue, a dozen men shared a house built for six, and two rigs parked in a drive built for one, a horse-drawn one. On the third floor the men built tiers and a catwalk to fit in twice as many metal lockers.

    Time was passed sitting on the Dumpsters outside the crowded walls, listening to the Jive Five, the Del Vikings and the Moonglows on the Don K. Reed show.

    "There were two times you could leave - getting lunch and getting a haircut," said Chief Robert Spellman of Battalion 37. "Getting a haircut" could mean a visit with the wife while on duty. Those out of favor with the captain had to come back with clipped hair in a bag.

    "Both companies did so much fire duty, we didn't have time to not get along," said Vincent W. Julius, captain of Ladder 112 in the late 1970's, when they called any fire bigger than three alarms a Bushwick Sunrise. "The men would say, 'When I die, I want a Viking funeral. I want to float down Knickerbocker Avenue on a burning mattress with all the hydrants open.' "

    The companies responded when looters rampaged through Bushwick in the July 1977 blackout. Six days later, some of the same firefighters were on duty when three teenagers in a knitting factory lighted a glue bag to destroy evidence they had sniffed its contents.

    "We had just finished lunch and the box came in," said Les Satterfield, 71, who served with Engine 277 at the time of the emergency call on the fire box. "Just as the box came in, there were people banging on the windows."

    Brooklyn ran out of hands that day. Thirteen units from Manhattan had to come help put out the fire. Twenty-three buildings burned; Schwabenhall was one.

    "It had high ceilings and it was all wood, so that went up pretty fast," Firefighter Satterfield said. "We had a good time in there. And when I say 'good,' I mean we had our hands full."

    The fire-starters, the high, the angry and the desperate, are mostly gone now. Vinnie Figueroa, 45, who works at the bodega across the street from the Ant Farm, points up and down the block to note the lack of vagrants when he says, "Everybody got their own house over here."

    Knickerbocker Avenue is Lola's Hair Designs, the Vasquez Grocery, the Kraupner Pharmacy and the Iglesia Pentecostal Church, where the sign says Cristo Salva y Sana.

    The children climb through a hole in the fence on Palmetto Street with a ball and they shoot granny-style at a hoop in the firehouse yard. On the door somebody has written "Holla Back," and the windows are dark and reflective. Captain Carritue and his company are over on Ralph Avenue waiting for something.

    "You know how many people are trying to go back to the old days?" asked the captain. He has heard somebody started making furniture out of old Schwinns, and he says that might be something.


    (https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/firefighting/firefighters-forum/58512-time-brings-down-what-fire-could-not-engine-co-277)
 
Engine 277/Ladder 112 (continued)


582 Knickerbocker Avenue firehouse - Engine 277/Ladder 112 - 2007-current:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


    https://archinect.com/stv1/project/engine-company-277-brooklyn-ny

 
Engine 277/Ladder 112 (continued):


Engine 277:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


Ladder 112:

   

   

   

   

   


Ladder 112 - 1907:

   


Tactical Control Unit 732:

   


Engine 277/Ladder 112 members:

   

 
Engine 277/Ladder 112 (continued):


Engine 277/Ladder 112:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT3L8QpVe-k

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b0Ji5YPwnU

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K97RZxSUCqA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZW2YdRBqWg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2VygvYMegI
 
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