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Does anyone know what type of facility is across from 88/38? Is it a school or a hospital maybe? Just curious.
FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies
- Thread starter mack
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Aquinas High School. Another thing about that house- despite being busy from the 60's on, it is perhaps one of the best maintained. A lot of pride has gone in to the place and continues to. "Too busy" never caught on there. They don't eat too badly either.
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Thank you scoobyd.
E38, among others, interchanged with E88.
L33, among others, with L38.
Both companies ran with with 3 or 4 relocated sections during the height of the War Years in the late 60's, early 70"s.
Other facts about "First Due at the Zoo":
They really are, first due at the Bronx Zoo.
The only firehouse in the city designed by theater architects. Look at the Amsterdam Theatre on West 42d Street. ..same architects. Marble walls, not tile, and mahogany trim and bannisters throughout the house. The beds in the bunk rooms are still the originals from 1908.
During WWII, Assistant Chief of Department in Command John J. McCarthy (the only one to ever hold that title) and First Deputy Commissioner Hugh Halligan ran the FDNY during the war effort. Both started as Probies together in E88 and left to serve as US Army officers in WWI. Halligan returned and signed out in the house watch journal on his last day of duty after over 40 years of service.
L38 received the Stapleton Award as the best run company in the job in the late 1930's.
Known as a "West Point House" for their professionalism. A jewel of an assignment for any officer or firefighter.
In 1974, E88 led the city in runs, L38 the Bronx in workers. Both among the top 10 in the city from the 1960's through the 90s.
Featured in Brian Hickey 's "Bothers in Battle" documentary.
Perhaps the best menu in the city. 1st due on Arthur Avenue, which is around the corner.
RIP to FF Billy Koesterer, E88, who died of cancer earlier this month. Age 42. Left a wife and 3 young children. One hell of a guy and a great fireman.
L33, among others, with L38.
Both companies ran with with 3 or 4 relocated sections during the height of the War Years in the late 60's, early 70"s.
Other facts about "First Due at the Zoo":
They really are, first due at the Bronx Zoo.
The only firehouse in the city designed by theater architects. Look at the Amsterdam Theatre on West 42d Street. ..same architects. Marble walls, not tile, and mahogany trim and bannisters throughout the house. The beds in the bunk rooms are still the originals from 1908.
During WWII, Assistant Chief of Department in Command John J. McCarthy (the only one to ever hold that title) and First Deputy Commissioner Hugh Halligan ran the FDNY during the war effort. Both started as Probies together in E88 and left to serve as US Army officers in WWI. Halligan returned and signed out in the house watch journal on his last day of duty after over 40 years of service.
L38 received the Stapleton Award as the best run company in the job in the late 1930's.
Known as a "West Point House" for their professionalism. A jewel of an assignment for any officer or firefighter.
In 1974, E88 led the city in runs, L38 the Bronx in workers. Both among the top 10 in the city from the 1960's through the 90s.
Featured in Brian Hickey 's "Bothers in Battle" documentary.
Perhaps the best menu in the city. 1st due on Arthur Avenue, which is around the corner.
RIP to FF Billy Koesterer, E88, who died of cancer earlier this month. Age 42. Left a wife and 3 young children. One hell of a guy and a great fireman.
Another fact if I"m not mistaken- the late Vincent Albanese- senior man of L 38- did 38 years in 38 truck. Retired and passed away not long ago. Another legend I didn't get to know- Lt. Leo "Granpa" Fracassi. WWII vet and did over 40 years FDNY. I think over 20 of them in L 38. And the hardest years to do.
FF Vincent Albanese did do "38 in 38". Appointed in about 1966 when the house was going nuts. Worked there into the next century.
Passed away after only a brief retirement. Commissioner Cassano allowed 38'S rig to leave the city to carry Vinny to his funeral on Long Island.
Leo Fracassi'S grandson works in that house today.
They always go back to Belmont Avenue.
And L38 probably the only rig left in the city to still have a bell. The same one moved from rig to rig for decades.
A lotta legends from/in that house.
Passed away after only a brief retirement. Commissioner Cassano allowed 38'S rig to leave the city to carry Vinny to his funeral on Long Island.
Leo Fracassi'S grandson works in that house today.
They always go back to Belmont Avenue.
And L38 probably the only rig left in the city to still have a bell. The same one moved from rig to rig for decades.
A lotta legends from/in that house.
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LT Leo Fracassi was a big name in LAD*38 in the FDNY WAR YEARS & later.....but also another name during another WAR before becoming an FDNY Member & that was WW-2 when he was General Patton's Aide hence the stars on the bumpers of their Rigs through the years .scoobyd said:
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This latest exchange by 3511,scoobyb, the Chief and Willy D is exactly why I love this Forum ! Great history of a great generation.
Mack,
And a third Halligan brother was a Monsignor in the Roman Catholic Church. Classic Irish family that, a cop, fireman, and priest. Ma and Pa Halligan must have been proud.
Your comment on the area is correct. In your top photo, looking north on Belmont Ave towards the firehouse, also looks towards the neighborhood of the same name (and the singing group). Well preserved. It was first populated by the Irish in the late 1880s. Then came Italian stone masons and artisans who immigrated to build the Jerome Park Reservoir. When that was finished, many moved over to Belmont to build the Bronx Zoo.
Were you to do an about face in front of Martin Court (top photo) you would see blocks of new construction all the way down to Tremont Avenue. It was here, at east 182d St., that the arson wave of the War Years, that had moved steadily northward through the middle of the borough, came to a cold dead stop. It was said that the ethnic residents of Belmont offered form fitting cement shoes and a dip in the Bronx River to anyone who dared torch a building in Belmont.
It worked. Instead of spreading up to Fordham and Bedford Park the arson spread west to University Heights and Belmont and points north were spared the devastation. Good old social engineering, Italian style.
Belmont today is more mixed with many Albanians and Hispanics. But Arthur Ave remains the Little Italy of the Bronx. Great restaurants, shops, and markets...at Bronx prices!
And a third Halligan brother was a Monsignor in the Roman Catholic Church. Classic Irish family that, a cop, fireman, and priest. Ma and Pa Halligan must have been proud.
Your comment on the area is correct. In your top photo, looking north on Belmont Ave towards the firehouse, also looks towards the neighborhood of the same name (and the singing group). Well preserved. It was first populated by the Irish in the late 1880s. Then came Italian stone masons and artisans who immigrated to build the Jerome Park Reservoir. When that was finished, many moved over to Belmont to build the Bronx Zoo.
Were you to do an about face in front of Martin Court (top photo) you would see blocks of new construction all the way down to Tremont Avenue. It was here, at east 182d St., that the arson wave of the War Years, that had moved steadily northward through the middle of the borough, came to a cold dead stop. It was said that the ethnic residents of Belmont offered form fitting cement shoes and a dip in the Bronx River to anyone who dared torch a building in Belmont.
It worked. Instead of spreading up to Fordham and Bedford Park the arson spread west to University Heights and Belmont and points north were spared the devastation. Good old social engineering, Italian style.
Belmont today is more mixed with many Albanians and Hispanics. But Arthur Ave remains the Little Italy of the Bronx. Great restaurants, shops, and markets...at Bronx prices!
And Boots passed away after a long run on Belmont Ave.
He was replaced by another Dalmatian named "Martini". He was a roamer, AWOL from the fire house often, less interested in runs and workers than visiting the local female population. After a time there were a conspicuous number of black spotted pups to be seen, causing the neighbors to complain to the members of 88/38.
One day, Martini never returned home, the mystery of his sudden disappearance never solved.
He was replaced by another Dalmatian named "Martini". He was a roamer, AWOL from the fire house often, less interested in runs and workers than visiting the local female population. After a time there were a conspicuous number of black spotted pups to be seen, causing the neighbors to complain to the members of 88/38.
One day, Martini never returned home, the mystery of his sudden disappearance never solved.
"3511", some great and interesting stories you have to tell. And of course, Thank you Mack.
In your story you mention how the wave of arson had not really touched the Belmont area. I remember seeing a similar story on the TV show "60 Minutes" talking about the low crime in parts of the 48th Police Pct. While the crime in other areas of the 48th skyrocketed. Whatever they did in that neighborhood, it seemed to work. Maybe we should take a lesson from that place !!!
In your story you mention how the wave of arson had not really touched the Belmont area. I remember seeing a similar story on the TV show "60 Minutes" talking about the low crime in parts of the 48th Police Pct. While the crime in other areas of the 48th skyrocketed. Whatever they did in that neighborhood, it seemed to work. Maybe we should take a lesson from that place !!!
3511 - Great history of members, units, firehouse and neighborhood. Thanks.
I looked up information on the Halligan brothers:
Rev John Halligan: a war hero chaplain of the "Lost Battalion" in World War I:
"First Lieutenant and Chaplain, 308th Infantry of "The Lost Battalion" during World War I - On the night of August 23rd, 1918, Chaplain Halligan, displayed a remarkable devotion to duty and utter disregard of his own safety by coming to Ville Savoye in the outpost zone on the Vesle River to arrange for the burial of four officers and two enlisted men who had been killed by shell fire at the entrance to a natural cave on the hillside above the town and in direct observation from the enemy. Owing to unusually heavy enemy artillery activity the Chaplain was forced to abandon plans for the burials that night. On the following night he appeared again, organized a detail when the command post of the battalion commander was under artillery fire, and supervised, personally, under shell fire, and in the moonlight, the interment of the bodies in the hillside near the cave. Again in the Argonne from September 29th to October 1st, 1918 Chaplain Halligan showed the same untiring devotion to duty and disregard of his own safety when he searched for two days through the forest until he found the body of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick E. Smith, 308th Infantry, and arranged for an appropriate funeral in the cemetery of the ruined church at La Harazee. By his encouraging talks with the men, his cheerful and sympathetic letters to anxious relatives at home, and his general cheerfulness under all the hardships incident to field service, this officer contributed immeasurably to the morale of his regiment."
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102418984
Hugh Halligan - FDNY deputy commissioner deputy chief, member of Engine 88
"The name "Halligan" is well known to fire services around the world and is associated with the ubiquitous Halligan Tool. The tool was the brainchild of Hugh Halligan who advanced through the uniformed ranks to Deputy Chief and served as First Deputy Commissioner.
Hugh A. Halligan, born in the "Gas House District" of Manhattan on September 16, 1894, was appointed to the FDNY on June 16, 1916 and was assigned to Engine 88. His career was interrupted by service in the Army during World War I where time he served with the 342nd Fire Guard. Upon his return, he was reassigned to Engine 35 and worked there until he was promoted to Lieutenant on April 16, 1922 and assigned to Engine 20 for two years before he was promoted to Captain on February 1, 1924. He was successively in charge of Engines 86, 92, 35 and 73. Moving up to Battalion Chief on June 1, 1929, the youngest to do so at the time, he commanded the 6th Battalion for three years and the 18th Battalion for an additional two years.
On October 1, 1934, two weeks before his fortieth birthday, Hugh Halligan attained the rank of Deputy Chief. On August 20, 1941, Commissioner Patrick Walsh appointed Halligan to the post of First Deputy Commissioner. Politics being what they are, Halligan was removed from that "civilian" position in March 1942 and assumed his role as Deputy Chief once again.
In 1948, Chief Halligan introduced his improvements upon the "Kelly Tool," developed by Captain John F. Kelly of Ladder 163. The Halligan Tool was drop-forged rather than welded and weighed in at only 8.5 pounds. Ironically, because it was developed by a member, the FDNY did not purchase the first Halligan Tools commercially produced; that distinction went to the Boston Fire Department. After sorting out the legal aspects, the Department acquired the tool as did fire departments throughout the world. Although modifications have been made upon the original, many ? if not all ? subsequent generations have come to be known as "Halligans." Original Halligan Tools are no longer manufactured and have coveted collector's items. The history of the Halligan Tool is part of a permanent exhibit at the New York City Fire Museum, unveiled in 2012.
Hugh A. Halligan mandatorily retired from the FDNY on September 16, 1959; his sixty-fifth birthday.
Chief Halligan's brother, interred next to him, was Monsignor James J. Halligan. a highly respected cleric in the New York area who was also Chaplain of "The Lost Battalion" of World War I."
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=101997384
Chief Halligan's grandson wrote: "I remember Poppa painting the tools and leaving them out to dry in our garage after we moved from the Bronx to Rockland County before rapping them in brown paper, tying them in string, and delivering them to rural volunteer fire departments free of charge. He was an amazing man."
Chief Halligan:
PO Joe Halligan with Hugh Halligan, E 88, in 1916:
I looked up information on the Halligan brothers:
Rev John Halligan: a war hero chaplain of the "Lost Battalion" in World War I:
"First Lieutenant and Chaplain, 308th Infantry of "The Lost Battalion" during World War I - On the night of August 23rd, 1918, Chaplain Halligan, displayed a remarkable devotion to duty and utter disregard of his own safety by coming to Ville Savoye in the outpost zone on the Vesle River to arrange for the burial of four officers and two enlisted men who had been killed by shell fire at the entrance to a natural cave on the hillside above the town and in direct observation from the enemy. Owing to unusually heavy enemy artillery activity the Chaplain was forced to abandon plans for the burials that night. On the following night he appeared again, organized a detail when the command post of the battalion commander was under artillery fire, and supervised, personally, under shell fire, and in the moonlight, the interment of the bodies in the hillside near the cave. Again in the Argonne from September 29th to October 1st, 1918 Chaplain Halligan showed the same untiring devotion to duty and disregard of his own safety when he searched for two days through the forest until he found the body of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick E. Smith, 308th Infantry, and arranged for an appropriate funeral in the cemetery of the ruined church at La Harazee. By his encouraging talks with the men, his cheerful and sympathetic letters to anxious relatives at home, and his general cheerfulness under all the hardships incident to field service, this officer contributed immeasurably to the morale of his regiment."
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102418984
Hugh Halligan - FDNY deputy commissioner deputy chief, member of Engine 88
"The name "Halligan" is well known to fire services around the world and is associated with the ubiquitous Halligan Tool. The tool was the brainchild of Hugh Halligan who advanced through the uniformed ranks to Deputy Chief and served as First Deputy Commissioner.
Hugh A. Halligan, born in the "Gas House District" of Manhattan on September 16, 1894, was appointed to the FDNY on June 16, 1916 and was assigned to Engine 88. His career was interrupted by service in the Army during World War I where time he served with the 342nd Fire Guard. Upon his return, he was reassigned to Engine 35 and worked there until he was promoted to Lieutenant on April 16, 1922 and assigned to Engine 20 for two years before he was promoted to Captain on February 1, 1924. He was successively in charge of Engines 86, 92, 35 and 73. Moving up to Battalion Chief on June 1, 1929, the youngest to do so at the time, he commanded the 6th Battalion for three years and the 18th Battalion for an additional two years.
On October 1, 1934, two weeks before his fortieth birthday, Hugh Halligan attained the rank of Deputy Chief. On August 20, 1941, Commissioner Patrick Walsh appointed Halligan to the post of First Deputy Commissioner. Politics being what they are, Halligan was removed from that "civilian" position in March 1942 and assumed his role as Deputy Chief once again.
In 1948, Chief Halligan introduced his improvements upon the "Kelly Tool," developed by Captain John F. Kelly of Ladder 163. The Halligan Tool was drop-forged rather than welded and weighed in at only 8.5 pounds. Ironically, because it was developed by a member, the FDNY did not purchase the first Halligan Tools commercially produced; that distinction went to the Boston Fire Department. After sorting out the legal aspects, the Department acquired the tool as did fire departments throughout the world. Although modifications have been made upon the original, many ? if not all ? subsequent generations have come to be known as "Halligans." Original Halligan Tools are no longer manufactured and have coveted collector's items. The history of the Halligan Tool is part of a permanent exhibit at the New York City Fire Museum, unveiled in 2012.
Hugh A. Halligan mandatorily retired from the FDNY on September 16, 1959; his sixty-fifth birthday.
Chief Halligan's brother, interred next to him, was Monsignor James J. Halligan. a highly respected cleric in the New York area who was also Chaplain of "The Lost Battalion" of World War I."
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=101997384
Chief Halligan's grandson wrote: "I remember Poppa painting the tools and leaving them out to dry in our garage after we moved from the Bronx to Rockland County before rapping them in brown paper, tying them in string, and delivering them to rural volunteer fire departments free of charge. He was an amazing man."
Chief Halligan:
PO Joe Halligan with Hugh Halligan, E 88, in 1916:
Nfd....cement shoes...works every time.
Mack, I believe there is an error in that article regarding the Chief, which has popped up before.
He was captain of E82, not E92. He was not listed on E92 roll call at its Centennial
At E82 he had a piano brought to the house and would entertain the FF'S and local residents with his keyboard skills and Irish tenor voice.
Mack, I believe there is an error in that article regarding the Chief, which has popped up before.
He was captain of E82, not E92. He was not listed on E92 roll call at its Centennial
At E82 he had a piano brought to the house and would entertain the FF'S and local residents with his keyboard skills and Irish tenor voice.
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