FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies

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MACK as always you have unearthed some great FDNY history.....some clarification on the pictures if i may.....the first 2 color pictures of the RM are actually the same Rig.... the 1st photo shown is after 103-1 got rid of the short-lived TL & got the RM when 103-2 was disbanded......the 2nd picture of the RM is when 103-2 had it & Jack C. handpainted the "103 TWO" logo on it.....the photo of the plywood covered ALF w/the "VW" Bus logo on the front is actually 103-2s 1st rig (even though no "2" is on it at the time) if i remember it may have  came from 128 ? the Second Section had the ALF then the RM during their existence.......in the black & white  photo at the start of the thread is a mid '60s  shot of the block w/bldgs on all sides of the FH .......these bldgs on both sides of the FH as well as the bldgs in the rear of the FH on Georgia Ave all were gone by the end of the '70s......when the bldgs were gone the FH had fenced in parking lot on the right side of the FH then as new bldgs were constructed the lot was moved to the left side of the FH....now in 2015 the whole block is once agin reconstructed & there is no lot on either side of the FH......there is another early photo (not in this thread) of when the FH was 1st opened (w/different Co Numbers visible above the doors) that showed the block prior to the tenements shown in the '60s picture having been built ......now for another round the block is once again rebuilt.....oddly two  dwellings opposite the FH rode out the Firestorm & still remain....also now Sheffield Av has been made a Northbound St to facilitate response now that construction vehicles & new residents cars line the curb's......rotate arrows to see the modern day block...                                                                        http://www.vpike.com/?place=480+sheffield+ave+brooklyn+ny&submit=Street+View&r=e
 
Love the pictures of the firehouse when there were buildings next to it.  I do not believe that lasted very long.
 
Bxboro said:
Why was a Tower Ladder assigned ?
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When the 1st Sections '68 ALF Tiller was up for replacement the Job replaced it w/a TL  it was not that warmly welcomed & John V. a Chauf had around the same time been selected to appear on a Q&A w/then FC/COD John T. O'Hagan (on the old NYC FH Drill channel 31 on UHF)......John brought up the Rig to the FC & pushed for a return to a non TL & when the 2nd Section was disbanded it happened.
 
My company in CT is going from a TL to a RM.....I am pleased but would like to hear the advantages/ disadvantages from the FDNY members ........what do you think JK?
 
Bxboro said:
My company in CT is going from a TL to a RM.....I am pleased but would like to hear the advantages/ disadvantages from the FDNY members ........what do you think JK?
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I personally liked a conventional Aerial over a TL (especially a Tiller Rig for street maneuverability)....TLs were always slow in set up operation & boom response & seemed to have gotten even slower as newer models come out......also once the TL is up there is no going up & down the ladder which is possible & often done w/an Aerial w/o moving it....... in the FDNY also an Aerial has more reach than a TL .....just a few of my thought's.
 
In the last picture of 103s rearmount would anybody know the year the picture was taken? I can ballpark it for the mid 80s actually trying to possibly identify the chauffeur
 
lad72der said:
In the last picture of 103s rearmount would anybody know the year the picture was taken? I can ballpark it for the mid 80s actually trying to possibly identify the chauffeur
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Picture taken early 1980s?  Ladder 103 had a new Seagrave RM in 1984 or 1985.







 
L 103 group - early 1980s?


Duane Wood, John Sullivan, Dom Carino, Pat McEvoy, Jerry Clinton, Mike Dougherty
 
The original 1970 Seagrave rearmounts were delivered with two red strobe lights atop the cab rather than the rotating beacons that were standard.  I believe all strobes were replaced within a year or two.  Not sure what the reason was but the story going around at the time was that the strobes could induce seizures in some people. I don't think strobes were delivered on any other model of FDNY apparatus at the time.

Also note in the above head-on rearmount photo (with man leaning out of "telephone booth"), the numbers below the center of windshield are not the standard gold FDNY reflective numerals used at the time, but similar numbers that were obtained from Transit Shops on Jamaica Ave.  Many companies had acquired these numbers. This style font had been used by Transit for many years on their buses, and even on streetcars before that.
 
Mack ,811...Thanks and thank you for all your great pictures and info .quick question I see pictures of the Mack CF engines with the 4 door cabs with the second set of doors removed . Was that a common practice in the summer months?
 
Ladder 103 originated as Brooklyn Fire Department Ladder 3 in 1869 in Downtown Brooklyn (vicinity of soon-to-be-constructed Brooklyn Bridge.  They were organized in the former volunteer firehouse of Clinton Ladder 2 at 236 Gold Street.


BFD Ladder 3 236 Gold Street:

   


BFD Ladder 3 moved to new firehouse 183 Concord Street in 1875  (1931 pictures):

   

   

    183 Concord Street former firehouse today:
   

   


BFD Ladder 3 became FDNY Ladder 3 in 1898 and later, FDNY Ladder 103, in 1913.  Ladder 103 relocated to Engine 290 in East New York in 1932:

   


Engine 290/Ladder 103 history - http://www.nyfd.com/brooklyn_engines/engine_290/engine290_history.pdf
 
Engine 55 firehouse 363 Broome Street. Little Italy, Manhattan    "Cinquantacinque"

    Engine 55 organized 173 Elm Street (185 Lafayette Street)        1887
    Engine 55 new firehouse 363 Broome Street                              1899
    Engine 55 moved 257 Lafayette Street at Ladder 20                    1998
    Engine 55 returned 363 Broome Street                                      1999
    Engine 55 moved 257 Lafayette Street at Ladder 20                    2008
    Engine 55 returned 363 Broome Street                                      2008

    Division 2 located at 363 Broome Street at Engine 55                  1917

    Engine 31 located at 363 Broome Street at Engine 55      1965, 1970-1972

    Squad 8 located at 363 Broome Street at Engine 55                    1965

    Battalion 2 located at 363 Broome Street at Engine 55            1975-1998


173 Elm Street firehouse - original quarters of FDNY Engine 55 - former quarters of volunteer Lady Washington Engine 40 and NY Fire Patrol 2:
 
   

   

   


363 Broome Street firehouse:

   

    1930s:
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


Engine 55:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   



Engine 55:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvyTmNP7FSk

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvSw70eerYc

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQZRhGm4OK8


363 Broome Street:  "The firehouse was designed by R. H. Robertson and finished in 1899. At the time architectural style was moving toward the ornate Beaux Arts style and away from Renaissance Revival, and the firehouse represents something of a transitional style. There are 5 arched windows with two lions? heads between the arches on the top floor on which unintimidated pigeons find good perching. A bronze plaque inscribed with the names of the architect, fire commissioner, and fire chief is affixed to the wall between the two windows on the second floor." - "forgotten new york"

    http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-engine-company-55-363-broome.html

    http://www.nyc-architecture.com/SOH/SOH064.htm


363 Broome Street Landmark status:

      http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/1998FireEngineCo55.pdf


Engine 55 LODDs:

   

          FF Richard J. Joyce, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-189, 180-190 Mott Street, wall collapse, December 21, 1903


          FF Francis R. Twomey, Engine 55, Sergeant, 306th Regiment, US Army, World War I military service, acute pulmonary edema, March 16, 1918


    World Trade Center   

         


          Lt. Peter L. Freund, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-8087, World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

         


          FF Robert T. Lane, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-8087, World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

       


          FF Christopher Mozzillo, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-8087, World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

         


          FF Stephen P. Russell, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-8087, World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

         


          FF Faustino Apostol, Engine 55, Manhattan Box 55-8087, World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

         


    Lt. Vincent A. Barrone, Engine 55, died from injuries due to 2009 fire, February 7, 2012

   


Memorial plaque for BC Turner, Battalion 2, at Engine 55:

   


    Never forget.


History - 173 Elm Street firehouse - former volunteer Lady Washington Engine 40:

   


Little Italy neighborhood:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Italy,_Manhattan

    http://nypost.com/2014/03/30/changing-times-pushing-little-italy-to-brink-of-extinction/








 
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