FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies

[mack]

Ladder 78 original firehouse  3 Brook Street    Tompkinsville/St. George, Staten Island

    Ladder 103 organized 3 Brook Street former firehouse volunteer Tompkins Hose Company 6    1905
    Ladder 103 became Ladder 78                                                                                            1913
    Ladder 78 new firehouse 14 Brighton Avenue w/Engine 155                                                  1931

Notes: 
1.  Tompkins Hose Company 6 was organized 1st Avenue and Richmond Turnpike (Victory Blvd) in 1890 and maintained a roster of 28 firemen.  It moved to a new firehouse at 3 Brook Street, which still stands at the corner of Victory Blvd as a residence.  The firehouse cost $3000 to build and served FDNY as Ladder 103 (later Ladder 78) quarters for 18 years.

2.  Tompkins Hose Company 6 was part of the North Shore Fire Department (NSFD) organized in 1874 with 5 volunteer companies.  The NSFD grew to approximately 15 volunteer companies (engines, ladders, hose, fire patrol) before being disbanded in 1905 when the FDNY expanded to protect SI. It had 2700 active volunteer firefighters when disbanded and many became FDNY members.  FDNY purchased several NSFD firehouses and apparatus.

3.  Original FDNY companies organized on SI:

  Engine 201 (became Engine 151)
  Engine 202 (became Engine 152)
  Engine 203 (became Engine 153)
  Engine 204 (became Engine 154)
  Engine 205 (became Engine 155)
  Engine 206 (became Engine 156)
  Engine 207 (became Engine 157)
  Engine 208 (became Engine 158)
  Hose 7 (became Engine 159)
  Hook & Ladder 101 (became Hook & Ladder 76)
  Hook & Ladder 102 (became Hook & Ladder 77)
  Hook & Ladder 103 (became Hook & Ladder 78)
  Hook & Ladder 104 (became Hook & Ladder 79)
  Hook & Ladder 105 (became Hook & Ladder 80)
  Engine 51 Marine (became Marine 9)
  Battalion 1 (became Battalion 21)
  Battalion 2 (became Battalion 22)
  Division 10 (became Division 7, then Division 8)
      - update thanks to FDNYhistorian

4.  New FDNY engine companies were organized with: 1 captain; 2 lieutenants; 2 engineers of steamer; and 8 firefighters

5.  New FDNY H&L companies went into service with: 1 captain; 1 lieutenant; 9 firefighters

6.  New FDNY hose companies were organized with: 1 officer; 4 firefighters 


Ladder 78 firehouse 3 Brook Street approximately 1915:


3 Brook Street former firehouse (current):

 

[fdhistorian]

Engine 208 was a Staten Island company from 1905 to 1913.
From 1913 to 1972, it was a Brooklyn company.
When Brooklyn Engine 208 was disbanded in 1972, Staten Island Engine 167 was formed (as mentioned by JOR176)

The Staten Island Division originated as Division 10 in 1905, was renumbered 6 briefly in 1906, was renumbered 7 later in 1906, and was renumbered 8 in 1907.  It was out of service from 1975 to 1990.

 

[mack]

Port Authority NY/NJ  Holland Tunnel police emergency vehicles firehouse

1950:






LODD BC Gunther Beake, BN 3, died as a result of injuries from this fire.





Current:


History:  http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/holland-tunnel-history.html

Building the Holland Tunnel:  http://www.nyhistory.org/community/holland-tunnel-built

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97-7_wvgrhE


May 19, 1949  Holland Tunnel Fire:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel_fire

 

[mack]

Port Authority NY/NJ  Lincoln Tunnel  Police emergency equipment building    NJ tunnel entrance











Mack Emergency Wrecker:



Lincoln Tunnel Info:

Width of each tunnel roadway: 21 feet, 6 inches

Operating headroom: 13 feet

External diameter of tunnel: 31 feet

Maximum depth from mean high water to roadway: 97 feet

Length of tunnel (portal to portal)
North tube: 7,482 feet
Center tube: 8,216 feet
South tube: 8,006 feet

Number of toll lanes: 13

Opened to traffic
North tube: February 1, 1945
Center tube: December 22, 1937
South tube: May 25,1957

2013 Traffic Volumes

Total New York-bound (eastbound) traffic: 18,745,951 vehicles


History: http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/lincoln-tunnel-history.html


Constructing the Lincoln Tunnel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mav9SgzAsfw

http://ny-pictures.com/nyc/photo/topic/6180/Lincoln_Tunnel

 

[mack]

Port Authority NY/NJ    George Washington Bridge    Police emergency vehicle station











PANYNJ Police Administration Building - Upper Level:



1967 Mack GWB pumper:


GWB apparatus:











George Washington Bridge information:

Opened to traffic
Upper level: October 25, 1931
Lower level: August 29, 1962

Bus Station opened: January 17, 1963

Length of bridge between anchorages: 4,760 feet
Width of bridge: 119 feet
Width of roadway: 90 feet
Height of tower above water: 604 feet
Water clearance at mid-span: 212 feet

Number of toll lanes:
Upper level: 12
Lower level: 10
Palisades Interstate Parkway: 7 (E-ZPass only overnight)

2013 Traffic Volumes

Total New York-bound (eastbound) traffic: 49,402,245 vehicles


George Washington Bridge construction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhx9XDcb2CY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ7wE3_oj1g




George Washington Bridge history:

http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/gwb-history.html

GWB opening ceremonies 1931:


GWB toll booths 1931:


1931 GWB PANYNJ police 1931:


PANYNJ police:

Date/location unknown


GWB 1940s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gWRcqmbrU

PANYNJ Police Department:

http://www.panynj.gov/police/about-police.html

 

[mack]

Site with FDNY firehouse pictures:

http://www.pinterest.com/nycfirestore/fdny-firehouses/

 

[mack]

Empire Hose 40 - volunteer company - firehouse 70 Barrow Street  West Village

    Empire Hose 40 organized 2 Leroy St                        1843
    Empire Hose 40 moved to Barrow St and Hudson St  Unknown date
    Empire Hose 40 moved to 70 Barrow Street              1851
    Empire Hose 40 disbanded                                      1865



70 Barrow Street former firehouse:







Daytonia in Manhattan - "The 1843 Empire Hose Company No. 40 - 70 Barrow Street":

"Before the end of the Civil War, New York City?s fire fighting relied on a relatively disorganized assortment of volunteer companies.  Young men, most of whom had other, paying, occupations, joined their neighborhood fire companies, becoming ?laddies.?  When a fire broke out, the alarm sent the men scrambling to the fire houses and companies would vie with one another to arrive at the blaze first, or become the most skilled at putting fires out.  The fire houses doubled as social clubs for the men who were often boisterous and rowdy.  But the services of the companies were invaluable to the merchants and residents of the neighborhood.  By the 1840s Greenwich Village had burgeoned from a sleepy hamlet north of the city to a thriving community.  Rowhouses in the Federal style of a generation earlier were being upstaged by wide Greek Revival or Anglo-Italianate homes.    The need for a fire house was clear.

At the gentle curve of Barrow Street just west of Bedford Street a new building was constructed around 1843 for Empire Hose Company No. 40.  While many of the fire houses of this period were vernacular, no-nonsense brick structures, this one went a step further.  The red brick building with brownstone trim smacked of the newly-popular Anglo-Italianate style.  The centered, arched carriage entrance beneath a stone cornice was framed in brownstone.  The carved, faceted keystones at street level and at the third floor were an added touch of sophistication to the handsome four-story structure.  Unusually tall windows, deft brickwork and a deeply-overhanging cornice set the fire house apart from the norm.  The brownstone of the cornice and other trim gently contrasted with the red brick structure. Two of the fire fighters lived full-time in the station.  In 1857 they were John H. Read, a gasfitter by profession, and Alexander Kimburgh, a ?cartman? or deliveryman.    The Company had an enviable fire ?carriage? built just two years earlier by the respected carriage and fire equipment makers, Pine & Hartshorn.

At the time there were 30 members of Empire Hose Company No. 40.  But an inspection that year by the Board of Aldermen called the house ?in bad condition and too small.?  The inspector did note, however, that the company had 1000 feet of hose, ?all of which is good.? Year after year the city sent inspectors and despite the attractive architecture of the fire station, the evaluation was always the same.  In 1862 the inspector wrote down again ?House in bad order.?  The fire fighters maintained their fire truck well, however; for just as the station was always found lacking, the carriage was always listed ?in good condition.?  Nevertheless that year the company acquired a new carriage ?built by Charles E. Hartshorn," according to the inspection papers.

Blind recesses in the brickwork create spandrels and visual interest--an extra touch by the architect. In 1865 the two volunteers who lived upstairs were T. F. West, a painter, and J. Dealy, another cartman.  The Company was down to 23 men and, happily for them, the inspector rated the house as ?in good condition.?  Not that it would long matter. That year reformers pressed the State Assembly to organize a professional, unified fire department.  A highly-publicized fire destroyed Barnum?s Museum later that year added to the pressure and the Act of 1865 was enacted.  It established the ?Metropolitan District? fire department?a paid force that merged Brooklyn?s and New York?s firefighting efforts and eliminated the scattered volunteer groups. 

The second half of the 19th century saw a distinct change in Greenwich Village.  Several sections were now lined with squalid tenements filled with desperately impoverished immigrants.  While most streets remained respectable and safe, some harbored ?vile dens? where crime and degraded women could be found.  Religious reformers attacked sin with gusto and the fire house at No. 70 Barrow became the Gospel Mission.  It was here on September 29, 1878 that the energetic Dr. D. J. Lyster preached on the subject of ?The Angelic Study of the Gospel.?  The building was purchased by brothers Adolph and Aaron Weiss in 1926 and for half a century it would be home to various small manufacturers and businesses.  Then in 1971 it was converted to residential apartments.  The large double carriage doors are long gone and the carriage entrance has been bricked half-way up to create a window; but overall the handsome brick building that was home to fire laddies and missionaries survives handsomely intact."

 

[mack]

Engine 226  -  firehouse  -  409 State Street  Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

    Engine 26 BFD organized 409 State Street                    1889
    Engine 26 BFD became Engine 26 FDNY                        1898
    Engine 26 became Engine 126                                      1899
    Engine 126 became Engine 226                                    1913


Engine 26 BFD - "Our firemen - the official history of the Brooklyn Fire Department":


Engine 26 BFD 409 State Street 1889:


Engine 226 1939 Ahrens Fox:




Engine 226 1940s:


Firehouse 1959:


Engine 226 1959:


Engine 226 1960 Ward LaFrance 1000 GPM pumper:


Engine 226 1969 Mack:


Engine 226 1979 Mack:


Firehouse 409 State Street:












Engine 226:







Engine 226 LODDs:

1902 Arbuckle Fire wall collapse killed 3 FDNY firefighters - Lt William Jeffrey  Engine 126 (later Engine 226) LODD  December 26, 1902


Lt William Jeffrey:

Engine 126 - detailed to Water Tower 6 December 26, 1902


Minneapolis Journal  December 26, 1902 - FF Thomas Jeffries actually LT William Jeffrey Engine 126 (Engine 226)

Note: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle for Dec. 26, 1902, reported on a fire at Arbuckle Cooperage at 214 Plymouth St. that took the lives of three Brooklyn firefighters. The firemen were killed when a wall collapsed at the 50-year-old building that housed the ?cooperage,? meaning a firm that made wooden barrels. The Eagle pointed out that a fire at that location was very dangerous, since the company was surrounded by a paint factory, machine shops, a cork factory and a brewery, all of them containing flammable material.

December 26, 1902  Arbuckle fire:

"The first alarm came from Box 36 at Bridge and Plymouth Streets at 12:31 in the morning. The fourth alarm was sounded at 12:37 followed by a general alarm at 12:39 and a special call for five more engines at 1:08 and another special call for three more engines at 1:19. First arriving companies found fire throughout the five-story building. The fire had spread to a cork factory next door.
Water Tower 6 was placed in front of the building under the direction of Chief Thomas S. Coppinger, Chief of the 23rd District (now Battalion 33). Chief Coppinger, age forty-two, was assigned to Water Tower 6 earlier in his career. Only operating for less than thirty minutes, the front wall bulged out and fell without warning. The wall destroyed the Water Tower and the men standing on it.
Chief Coppinger was still breathing when pulled out from the rubble only to die on the way to the hospital. Assistant Foreman William Jeffrey, age fifty-four of Engine 126 (now Engine 226) who was detailed to Water Tower 6 and Fireman Michael J. O'Toole, age twenty-four of Ladder 55 (now Ladder 105), were killed instantly in the collapse. The fire was brought under control by 3:00 o'clock.
Chief Coppinger had been a fireman since March 7, 1888 and left a wife and six children behind. Assistant Foreman Jeffrey was appointed on March 15, 1888 and Fireman O'Toole had been appointed only the previous June 19th." (From "The Last Alarm" by Boucher, Urbanowicz & Melahn, M.T. Publishers, 2006)



2001 World Trade Center -

Lt Bob Wallace Engine 226 LODD  September 11, 2001

FF Stan Smagala  Engine 226  September 11, 2001

FF Brian McAleese  Engine 226  September 11, 2001



http://www.fdny226.com/


Boerum Hill, Brooklyn:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerum_Hill

http://forgotten-ny.com/2009/12/boerum-hill-brooklyn/

Engine 226 responding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8sHYoM2-Us

 

[FDNY793727]

Reverse of the shirt with the last picture on the front

 

[mack]

Squad 252  firehouse 617 Central Avenue Bushwick, Brooklyn  "In Squad We Trust"   

  Engine 52 BFD/Engine 152/Engine 252/Division 9/Division 13/Division 15/Division 17/Squad 252 - firehouse 617 Central Avenue

    Engine 52 BFD organized 617 Central Avenue                    1897
    Engine 52 BFD became Engine 52 FDNY                            1898
    Engine 52 became Engine 152                                          1899
    Engine 152 became Engine 252                                        1913
    Engine 252 moved to 243 Hull Street at Engine 233            1933
    Engine 252 moved to 617 Central Avenue                          1933
    Engine 252 became Squad 252                                        1998

    Hazardous Materials Technician Unit Brooklyn organized at 617 Central Avenue at Squad 252 1998

    Division 9 organized at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 152                    1900
    Division 9 became Division 13                                                            1906
    Division 13 moved to 998 Liberty Avenue at Engine 236                        1927
      Note: Division 13 moved to Queens in 1930

    Division 15 organized at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 252                  1930
    Divison 15 moved to 143 Hull Street at Engine 233                              1948
        Note:  Division 15 later moved to Engines: 283; 233; 257; 233; and 283

    Division 17 organized at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 252                  1969
    Division 17 disbanded                                                                        1975
        Note: Division 17 served during "War Years" with Battalions 28, 37, 38 and 57
       
        Thanks fdhistorian

Engine 52 steamer 1890s:


Engine 152 steamer 1900s:


Engine 152 hose wagon 1900s:


617 Central Avenue:






617 Central Avenue 1980s:


617 Central Avenue:


























Hazmat Technician Unit:


Squad 252 web site:  http://www.squad252.com/index.php

Engine 252 mascot 1913:  http://frenchhatchingcat.com/2014/03/13/1913-peter-the-pole-sliding-fire-cat-of-bushwick-brooklyn/

617 Central Avenue firehouse history:  http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2012/05/building-of-the-day-617-central-avenue/

Engine 252 history:  http://nyfd.com/history/engine_252_1.html

617 Central Avenue firehouse:  http://forgotten-ny.com/2013/02/engine-252-bushwick/


Engine 252 LODD:  On July 17, 1920, Fireman Harry Wilson gave his life in the performance of his duty. The company was responding to a telephone pole on fire at Irving and Putman Avenues. While mounting the rig in front of quarters, Wilson slipped and fell under the rear wheels of the apparatus. The weight of the fire truck crushed his leg and he received internal injuries. He was taken to Wyckoff Hospital were his right leg was amputated. He died of his injuries at 11:15 that night. Fireman Wilson was 41 years old and left a widow. He was buried at St. Johns Cemetery in Queens.


Squad 252 September 11, 2011 Memorial:  http://www.squad252.com/911.php


Squad 252 visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULOayyQ6gEE

Squad 252 response:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3niHsJaldM

Bushwick Brooklyn:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushwick,_Brooklyn

  http://forgotten-ny.com/2001/02/bushwick-brooklyn/

Bushwick 1970s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEG3btn3dQM

 

[fdhistorian]

    Division 9 located at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 152                    1906-1906

    Division 13 located at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 152/Engine 252 1906-1927

    Division 15 located at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 252                  1930-1948

    Division 17 located at 617 Central Avenue at Engine 252                  1969-1975
        Note: Division 17 served during "War Years" with Battalions 28, 37, 38 and 57

Original Division 9 was organized in 1900.  They were renumbered as 13 in 1906 when Brooklyn Divisions 6, 7, 8, & 9 became Divisions 10, 11, 12, & 13.  Division 9 did not reappear until 1968 in the Bronx.

Division 15 was established three years after Division 13 was moved to Queens in the original quarters of 13.  Makes you wonder why they didn't just establish 15 in Queens.

Similarly, Division 17 was created in the Division 15/13 neighborhood when the 15 moved further south.  When 17 was disbanded in 1975, 15 moved back north.

 

[lucky]

Several of the 3 story brick buildings on the exposures of 252's quarters had firemen's heads wearing helmets built into their front cornices. All of those buildings came down in the 70's.

 

[3511]

Lucky,

That is one hell of a great piece of information. Not only a part of NYC architectural history but of the City's respect for FF's as well. Might 252 have a photo of that in their quarters? If not, we should find one.

 

[mack]

Lucky - 3511 is right.  That is really something - that architects and building owners designed the neighboring buildings with cornices of firefighters.  Seems like a tribute of respect for Engine 252.  Too bad those buildings did not make it through the 1970s.

 

[manhattan]

http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/a-west-broadway-buildings-valves-and-hydrants/

FDNY?s High Pressure Services Headquarters

 

[68jk09]

Several of the 3 story brick buildings on the exposures of 252's quarters had firemen's heads wearing helmets built into their front cornices. All of those buildings came down in the 70's.

I remember seeing those great sculptures before they succumded to the destruction of our great City back then...i always thought that maybe back when these bldgs were built that FDNY Members & Families might have lived in these bldg's...i just hope that these piece's of sculpture are saved somewhere by whoever & were not destroyed.

 

[811]

There is a building at 257 Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street) Brooklyn that was once the New Utrecht Fireman's Hall - now a church.  Carvings of frontpieces of Brooklyn Volunteer Companies are above the windows.  Scroll down at the ForgottenNewYork website http://forgotten-ny.com/2007/08/leifs-that-are-green-the-lief-ericson-corridor-park/

 

[mack]

Engine 8  firehouse  Freedomland    Bronx, NYC

Freedomland was an amusement park which operated in the NE Bronx from 1960-1964,  A major attraction was a Chicago fire theme building which caught fire every 20 minutes.  A hand pumper with audience volunteers successfully put the fire out.  Engine 8 had a firehouse as part of the park attraction.  Freedomland was bigger than Disneyland but proved unsuccessful due to mosquitoes and lack of subway accessibility.

Freedomland firehouse:






Fire building:


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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNx5fZXu-YM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huvqCz-YpsA

History:
http://narrative.ly/stories/freedomland-forever/

http://backinthebronx.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive/bronxezine/newest/

Co op City high rise housing complex, the largest cooperative housing development in the world, was then built on the Freedomland site and occupied in 1968.  The firehouse of Engine 66 and Ladder 61 was built to protect Co op City and the neighboring communities.

Thanks fdny1075k

 

[fdny1075k]

My father remembers going to Freedomland back in the '60s.

The firehouse of Engine 96 and Ladder 54 was built to protect Co op City and the neighboring communities.

Wouldn't that be Engine 66/Ladder 61 on Asch Loop in Co-Op City?

 

[johnd248]

I remember visiting Freedomland with my brother.  It was supposed to the Disneyland of the East, long before Disney World.  Had a neat set up but never succeeded.