FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies

[68jk09]

There was a point in the later '70s that a hair brained scheme was floated by HQ where as a substitute for ENG*212  R*4 would be moved there & also have a Pumper to respond to local boxes as an ENG but still have to respond to the regular QNS Rescue assignments.....the day R*4 was supposed to leave QNS Blvd to move there a very large turnout of local concerned civilians blocked the front of 292/R*4s QTRS bringing light to the situation which was sh*t canned....another scheme was the forming of Utility Unit 1 in place of 212...that failed also but in the end the city finally got their way.

 

[mack]

There was a point in the later '70s that a hair brained scheme was floated by HQ where as a substitute for ENG*212  R*4 would be moved there & also have a Pumper to respond to local boxes as an ENG but still have to respond to the regular QNS Rescue assignments.....the day R*4 was supposed to leave QNS Blvd to move there a very large turnout of local concerned civilians blocked the front of 292/R*4s QTRS bringing light to the situation which was sh*t canned....another scheme was the forming of Utility Unit 1 in place of 212...that failed also but in the end the city finally got their way.

Chief - Thanks for the background.  Engine 212 appeared to have strong neighborhood support and had a unique and contested closure history.  The article below seems to be a pretty good summary of the Engine 212 history you describe. 

Utility 1 seems to have been formed to give the appearance of the same level of Williamsburg fire protection.  But without sufficient staffing, the Utility 1 could not provide the protection the closed Engine 212 had been providing to Greenpoint and Williamsburg for over 100 years.  It seems like public fraud - but Utility 1 appears to have been in existence for over a year.  What could it actually do and how did it last that long?  Did it operate 24/7?

It was also a terrible precedent - to replace companies providing fire protection with units that appear to be the same but are not staffed and cannot fight fires.  If Utility 1 continued, it could have been the model for further units being disbanded and replaced with unstaffed or understaffed apparatus.  It would appear that a neighborhood had fire protection that it did not.  Also, the planned Rescue 4 move was probably worse because it would have displaced a critical FDNY asset and made them unavailable while they would have been responding as an engine. Engine 212 had 1782 runs in 1974, the year before they were disbanded.  Rescue 4 would have been unavailable 1782 times if moved to Williamsburg in 1975 - and they would have been in a poor location to protect Queens at a time FDNY did not have Squad 288 and Squad 270.


Article:

"Engine 212 - The People's Firehouse

    F.D.N.Y. Engine Company 212 began as Engine Company 12 of the Brooklyn Fire Department at 136 Wythe Avenue in 1869.[1] The company was reorganized once the Brooklyn Fire department was assimilated with the Fire Department of New York and became Engine Company Number 212 on January 1st 1913. The name ?People?s Firehouse? was coined by an NYPD battalion chief who said "We're not going to remove them. It's the people's firehouse." when refusing an order to forcibly remove a group of activists that occupied the firehouse when the city attempted to disband it in 1975.[4]

During the 1970s New York City faced financial difficulty and responded by issuing budget cuts thereby reducing city services. The F.D.N.Y. was one of the city agencies affected by the cuts, and in response ordered many firehouses to be closed. Between 1972 and 1977 51 firehouses were closed and in November of 1975 the People?s Firehouse was among 8 of those stations scheduled to be closed.[2][3] At the same time that fire stations were being closed cases of arson were on the rise as property owners torched their buildings to collect on insurance and escape the financial losses associated with the dropping property values of a city in decline. With many wood frame homes in the neighborhood and arson on the rise, residents were rightfully concerned. In addition to arson the city allowed a policy of ?planned shrinkage? to dominate Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Budgets for city services including fire, police, education and maintenance were reduced and abandoned buildings were often allowed to crumble or burn down rather than be demolished. Local citizens saw the closing of the firehouse as an unacceptable loss of fire protection and a sign that the neighborhood was being abandoned by city hall, setting the stage for the battle that ensued.

On the day the firehouse was to be closed one of the firemen opposed to the station closing repeatedly sounded the air raid siren in an effort to attract attention to the firehouse and more than 200 neighborhood residents arrived to protest the disbanding of Engine Company No. 212. When the doors to the firehouse were opened at the end of the day's shift and scheduled closing, community activists stormed the building and prevented the firemen and engine from exiting the station. While the firemen were eventually able to leave later in the day, the protestors and fire engine remained in the building. The occupation of the People?s Firehouse lasted sixteen months and included a diverse group of people rotating shifts at the firehouse to prevent the retaking of the station. The group included Boy Scouts, the elderly and entire families.[4] In addition to the takeover of the firehouse activists protested at city offices and in front of Deputy Mayor John Zuccotti?s house, shut down traffic on the B.Q.E., as well as lobbied city hall and the state capital to reinstate the fire company.[5]

Eventually City Hall caved into the demands of the community but at first stopped short of restoring the same level of service to the north Williamsburg firehouse. The first attempt to resolve the issue was to move Rescue Company 4 from Maspeth Queens into the firehouse.[5] Like Williamsburg?s Northside residents, Maspeth community members protested and blocked their firehouse to prevent the engine from leaving.[6] After protests and a court order prevented the moving of Rescue Company No. 4 the city resolved the issue by re-commissioning the firehouse as Utility Unit 1. However, the utility unit?s response to local emergency calls was restricted, leading to a continued dispute between the city and local residents. In 1991 the firehouse was occupied once again until engine company 212 was reinstated, restoring the level of service previously enjoyed by the community in north Williamsburg and Greenpoint. The firehouse eventually closed in 2003 due to cuts made by the Bloomberg administration."  -  https://brooklynrelics.blogspot.com/2014/01/engine-company-212-peoples-firehouse.html

 

[mack]

This video may have been posted before but excellent pictures from 1970s and 1980s - as it has been said "the best of times and the worst of times":

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dL9nzqVPvY

 

[1261Truckie]

Mack,
Thanks for posting the video. Some familiar faces, some familiar companies and many memories.
Jim (aka 1261)

 

[68jk09]

I know a few posts have been made about Signs & or Numbers over FH Doors & i had posted about the Richardson St FH Lettering in the past however i just saw this picture of 229/146 on Firewire.....some good history on the lettering as follows ... the large ENGINE 229 numbers were made by a LT assigned to 229 back in the '70s ...he used a technique pouring molten metal into a "sand casting"  then chroming them & the Truck side of 146 who became a TL in the '70s had the only FDNY FH lettering using the word TOWER which they "got" from a previous no longer in existence WATER TOWER FH & added it to the old Hook & Ladder  lettering minus the Hook letters .... https://www.facebook.com/nycfirewire/photos/pb.492465197497698.-2207520000.1506064366./1459643460779862/?type=3&theater

 

[811]

L146 was organized on Richardson Street in January 1916.  I understood the new quarters was supposed to house the (never organized) Water Tower 7.  So as built, one bay may have lettered Hook & Ladder 146, and the other Water Tower 7.  Just before that E229 moved to that house in 1915.  I think the one bay may have been lettered Water Tower 7 till early 1970s, when the Lieut made the Engine 229 numbers, and "Tower" letters moved to the Truck Bay.. 

 

[mack]

I know a few posts have been made about Signs & or Numbers over FH Doors & i had posted about the Richardson St FH Lettering in the past however i just saw this picture of 229/146 on Firewire.....some good history on the lettering as follows ... the large ENGINE 229 numbers were made by a LT assigned to 229 back in the '70s ...he used a technique pouring molten metal into a "sand casting"  then chroming them & the Truck side of 146 who became a TL in the '70s had the only FDNY FH lettering using the word TOWER which they "got" from a previous no longer in existence WATER TOWER FH & added it to the old Hook & Ladder  lettering minus the Hook letters .... https://www.facebook.com/nycfirewire/photos/pb.492465197497698.-2207520000.1506064366./1459643460779862/?type=3&theater

L146 was organized on Richardson Street in January 1916.  I understood the new quarters was supposed to house the (never organized) Water Tower 7.  So as built, one bay may have lettered Hook & Ladder 146, and the other Water Tower 7.  Just before that E229 moved to that house in 1915.  I think the one bay may have been lettered Water Tower 7 till early 1970s, when the Lieut made the Engine 229 numbers, and "Tower" letters moved to the Truck Bay..

    Engine 29 BFD organized at 246 Frost St.                                    1890
    Engine 29 BFD became Engine 29 FDNY                                      1898
    Engine 29 became Engine 129                                                    1913
    Engine 129 became Engine 229                                                  1913
    Engine 229 moved to new firehouse 75 Richardson St. W/ D 11    1915

    Ladder 146 organized 75 Richardson St. at Engine 229                      1916

    Water Tower 7 never organized


75 Richardson Street firehouse 1947:

   


75 Richardson Street firehouse 2017:

   

   

 

[mack]

I know a few posts have been made about Signs & or Numbers over FH Doors & i had posted about the Richardson St FH Lettering in the past however i just saw this picture of 229/146 on Firewire.....some good history on the lettering as follows ... the large ENGINE 229 numbers were made by a LT assigned to 229 back in the '70s ...he used a technique pouring molten metal into a "sand casting"  then chroming them & the Truck side of 146 who became a TL in the '70s had the only FDNY FH lettering using the word TOWER which they "got" from a previous no longer in existence WATER TOWER FH & added it to the old Hook & Ladder  lettering minus the Hook letters .... https://www.facebook.com/nycfirewire/photos/pb.492465197497698.-2207520000.1506064366./1459643460779862/?type=3&theater

L146 was organized on Richardson Street in January 1916.  I understood the new quarters was supposed to house the (never organized) Water Tower 7.  So as built, one bay may have lettered Hook & Ladder 146, and the other Water Tower 7.  Just before that E229 moved to that house in 1915.  I think the one bay may have been lettered Water Tower 7 till early 1970s, when the Lieut made the Engine 229 numbers, and "Tower" letters moved to the Truck Bay..

    Engine 29 BFD organized at 246 Frost St.                                    1890
    Engine 29 BFD became Engine 29 FDNY                                      1898
    Engine 29 became Engine 129                                                    1913
    Engine 129 became Engine 229                                                  1913
    Engine 229 moved to new firehouse 75 Richardson St. W/ D 11    1915

    Ladder 146 organized 75 Richardson St. at Engine 229                      1916

    Water Tower 7 never organized


75 Richardson Street firehouse 1947:

   


75 Richardson Street firehouse 2017:

   

   

Engine 229 LODD plaque dedication in picture above:

    FF George Nigro, Engine 229, SSG US Army, 11th Infantry, KIA, Germany, February 13, 1945

         

         

    RIP.  Never forget.


Note:  FF Nigro was a member of the 11th Infantry Regiment.  The 11th Infantry landed in Normandy on 10 July 1944 and fought its way across France as part of the 5th Infantry Division, which was assigned to General Patton's famed Third Army. The 11th Infantry played a prominent role in the reduction of the fortified city of Metz in the fall of 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 11th counter-attacked into the southern portion of the Bulge, engaging the Germans in bitter winter fighting. On 22 March 1945, the 1st Battalion made a night river assault across the Rhine River at Oppenheim, giving General Patton a division bridgehead over the Rhine two days ahead of Field Marshal Montgomery's famous crossing. The 11th Infantry ended the war in Czechoslovakia.

    http://www.joedemadio.com/5th-infantry-division/11th-infantry-regiment/

 

[mack]

Engine 229/Ladder 146  Firehouse  75 Richardson Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn  11th Division, 32nd Battalion 

    Engine 29 BFD organized new firehouse 246 Frost Street                        1890
    Engine 29 BFD became Engine 29 FDNY                                                1898
    Engine 29 became Engine 129                                                              1899
    Engine 129 became Engine 229                                                            1913
    Engine 229 new firehouse 75 Richardson Street w/Division 11                1915

    Ladder 146 organized 75 Richardson Street at Engine 229                      1916

    Division 11 located at 75 Richardson Street at Engine 229    1915-1927, 1930-1948, 1951-1990

    Purple K Unit 229 organized 75 Richardson Street at Engine 229            1995


Engine 29 BFD:
   
   

   


246 Frost Street former firehouse:

   
   
   


75 Richardson Street firehouse:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


Engine 229:

   

   

   

   

   



Ladder 146:

   

   

   

   

   


Purple K Unit 229:
   
   


Engine 229/Ladder 146:

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

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSEUVj0YWJE

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4qBl_RbXDY


Purple K Unit 229:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8R6ztuby2g


Engine 229/Ladder 146 FDNY Medals:

    GEORGE N. ROBERTS FF. ENG. 229 APR. 1, 1946 1947 DEPARTMENT

    RICHARD G. MC KEEGAN FF. ENG. 229 E-66 SEP. 10, 1954 1955 O'DWYER

    MICHAEL J. MILLER FF. ENG. 229 APR. 5, 1988 1989 HISPANIC

    ALEXANDER J. KELLY LT. LAD. 146 OCT. 15, 1935 1936 HUGH BONNER

    FRANCIS R. HARRINGTON FF. LAD. 146 SEP. 20, 1935 1936 KENNY

          FF Harrington rescued several occupants at 2nd alarm, 4 story tenement fire, 563 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, 3:00 AM

    JOHN FRANCIS BRENNAN FF. LAD. 146 DEC. 24, 1944 1945 DELEHANTY

    JOHN J. QUINN FF. LAD. 146 APR. 1, 1946 1947 DEPARTMENT

    JOSEPH T. KOWALSKI PROBIE LAD. 146 OFF DUTY NOV. 5, 1953 1954 STIEFEL

    GERALD MC CORMICK FF. LAD. 146 MAY 7, 1975 1976 GOLDENKRANZ


Engine 229/Ladder 146 LODDs:

    FF Peter Clark, Engine 129 (229), responding to alarm - engine crashed to avoid child, September 11, 1904

         


    FF George Nigro, E 229, SSG US Army, World War II, KIA, February 13, 19451945

         

         
   
         


    FF William Kot, Engine 229, Brooklyn Box 0098, April 5, 1954

         


    FF Daniel F. Pujdak, L 146, fell climbing onto roof, Brooklyn Box 75-0247, June 21, 2007

         

          http://www.nydailynews.com/news/bravest-60-foot-horror-plunge-article-1.221699

          http://www.dannypujdak.com/index_b.html

   
          RIP.  Never forget.



   

   

   

   

 

[mack]

Engine 162/Ladder 82  Firehouse  256 Nelson Avenue, Great Kills, Staten Island  8th Division, 23rd Battalion  ?Shore Patrol?

    Engine 162 organized 256 Nelson Avenue  w/Ladder 82                                1928
    Engine 162 moved Engine 167 345 Annadale Road at Engine 167                  2013
    Engine 162 returned 256 Nelson Avenue w/Ladder 82                                  2013

    Ladder 82 organized 256 Nelson Avenue w/Engine 162                                1928
    Ladder 82 relocated 3067 Richmond Road at Engine 165                              2013
    Ladder 82 returned 256 Nelson Avenue w/Engine 162                                  2013

    Battalion 23 organized 256 Nelson Avenue at Engine 162                            1930
    Battalion 23 relocated 1100 Rossville Road at Engine168                              2013
    Battalion 23 returned 256 Nelson Avenue w/Engine 162                              2013
          Note: Battalion 23 (Bklyn) operational at 409 State Street at Engine 26  1898-1906

    Brush Fire Patrol 162 organized 256 Nelson Avenue at Engine 162                1955
    Brush Fire Patrol 162 disbanded                                                                  1957

    Brush Fire Unit 82 organized 256 Nelson Avenue at Engine 162                    1980
    Brush Fire Unit 82 disbanded                                                                      1981
 
    Brush Fire Unit 162 organized 256 Nelson Avenue at Engine 162                  1981
    Brush Fire Unit 82 disbanded                                                                      1982

    Brush Fire Unit 502 organized 256 Nelson Avenue at Engine 162                  1982
    Brush Fire Unit 82 disbanded                                                                      1997


Engine 162/Ladder 82 organized 1928:

   

   


256 Nelson Avenue firehouse:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   


Engine 162:

   

   


Engine 162 345 Annadale Road at Engine 167:

   


Ladder 82:

   

   

   

   


Ladder 82 3067 Richmond Road at Engine 165::

     


Engine 162/Ladder 82/Battalion 23:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI06UuOyVGA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRjZr88KgI

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


Ladder 82 LODDs:

    LT John J. Rober, April 28, 1959

          Lt. John J. Rober suffered a heart attack operating at Richmond Box 3041, 219 Fairbanks Avenue, Oakwood.  He was a 21-year veteran.

    FF Olin L. Blair, August 19, 1964

          FF Blair was struck by a car in front of quarters washing apparatus.

         

         


    FF Frederick M. Kubera, November 23, 1965

          FF Kubera died as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty.

         

         


    RIP.  Never forget.
       
         
Great Kills pre-FDNY volunteer fire companies:

    Great Kills Engine 1 organized 1903 Amboy Road                                                1902
    Great Kills Engine 1 new firehouse 22 Hillside Terrace                                          1905
    Great Kills Engine 1 disbanded                                                                            1928
    Great Kills ?Constitution? Hook & Ladder 1 1903 Amboy Road                                1902
    Great Kills ?Constitution? Hook & Ladder 1 new firehouse 22 Hillside Terrace          1905
    Great Kills ?Constitution? Hook & Ladder 1 disbanded                                            1928


Great Kills Engine 1/Great Kills H&L 1 former firehouse 22 Hillside Terrace:

   

   

   


Great Kills Engine 1/Great Kills H&L 1 former firehouse 22 Hillside Terrace current - Knights of Columbus:

         


Great Kills:

   

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Kills,_Staten_Island

   
Great Kills Park - location of frequent multiple alarm brush fires:   

          http://www.nyharborparks.org/visit/grki.html

          http://www.traverseoutfitters.com/gateway-staten-island/

         

                 


Great Kills Park 5th alarm - 88-55-8480 - 9/9/10:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzkM-YuiYw&feature=youtu.be

 

[memory master]

Nice photo of 82's Quad. Thanks Mack.

 

[mack]

Nice photo of 82's Quad. Thanks Mack.

I think FDNY purchased 7 or 8 Ward LaFrance Quads in the early 1950s.  They were a combination pumper, ladder truck and hose wagon  with water tank and booster line.  Staten Island had 4 Quads - oddly two assigned to engine companies and two assigned to ladder companies.

    Engine 152 - Was a single engine company with no near-by truck company.  Engine 160 and Engine 161 were nearby single engine companies.  Ladder 81 was still located miles away at Engine 159 and had a very large response area.  It did not move to Engine 161 until 1960 when Ladder 85 was organized.

    Engine 161 - Same as Engine 152 above. 

    Ladder 76 -  Had a large response area with a lot of undeveloped brush fire neighborhoods.  They were located with Engine 151 but the closest engine and truck were Engine 164 and Ladder 84, also miles away, and both had even larger response areas. 

    Ladder 82 - Located with Engine 162 but saw a lot of brush fires in response area including Great Kills Park.

Quads provided versatility and seem to make sense for single SI engine companies who had to operate for long periods of time without nearby-truck companies.  Engine members had ladder capability when operating alone even though a single engine with ladder capability was not a good substitute for an assigned engine and truck company at a fire. 

The SI ladder companies that had Quads unfortunately had a significant limitation - no aerial.  They seemed to be unpopular apparatus for truck companies because of limitations and the assignment of engine work at minor fires.  Quad apparatus made truck companies unavailable when being used to do engine work at brush fires and garbage fires.

There were only 9 ladder companies to cover all of SI and one of the truck companies, Ladder 78, was used to staff Rescue 5, when needed, so it could not respond out of its first due area.  There were three truck companies (Ladders 76, 82, 84) to cover the entire South Shore (New Dorp to Tottenville) of SI and two trucks had Quads.  There were no truck companies on the West Shore (Mariners Harbor to Charleston) of SI and no truck companies on the East Shore (Rosebank to Great Kills).  There was no VN Bridge for Brooklyn companies to respond to SI.  Truck companies were a very limited resource and had large response areas.  Quads offered flexibility but limited capability. 

The Quads assigned to Ladders 76 and 82 did not seem to be a good strategic apparatus choice, but they did provide brush fire fighting capability to help the limited SI South Shore engine companies (Engine 151, 164, 162) during busy brush fire seasons when the SI water supply was also poor.  New companies (E 165, E 166, E 167, E 168, L 85, L 86, L 87, R 5) would be established after 1960 and the VN Bridge would also be opened to diminish the usefulness of the multi-purpose Quads.

Some of the Quads had further FDNY life as modified hose carriers.  The Quads were unique and colorful apparatus for both engine and truck companies. 

There were only 9 ladder companies to cover all       

 

[memory master]

Thanks Mack for the S.I. Quad history. I do remember Quads also assigned E96 in the Bronx when they were a single company house on Bruckner Blvd, E251 and E312 also single houses in Queens.

 

[guitarman314]

Ladder 76 had their quad (shop #2614) for a short time. It was replaced with a new 1955 FWD 75ft. wooden aerial. Their quad was reassigned to E267 (double engine house) in the Rockaways because L121 had been relocated from E266/E267 to E265.

 

[guitarman314]

Thanks Mack for the S.I. Quad history. I do remember Quads also assigned E96 in the Bronx when they were a single company house on Bruckner Blvd, E251 and E312 also single houses in Queens.

E96's quad (#2613) was reassigned to E310 with E96 getting E310's standard 1951 WLF pumper. That same quad was later sent to E323 with E310 getting E323's 1953 WLF.  Engine 251 had their quad for a long time, I believe until 1968. 

 

[mack]

Thanks Mack for the S.I. Quad history. I do remember Quads also assigned E96 in the Bronx when they were a single company house on Bruckner Blvd, E251 and E312 also single houses in Queens.

E96's quad (#2613) was reassigned to E310 with E96 getting E310's standard 1951 WLF pumper. That same quad was later sent to E323 with E310 getting E323's 1953 WLF.  Engine 251 had their quad for a long time, I believe until 1968. 

Thanks Gman.  Do you know how long some of the other Quads stayed in service where assigned.  And if they were 2nd pieces?  I think Engine 161 had their Quad for a long time but I don't think Ladder 82 kept theirs long.

I believe many of the old Quad debates were similar to the current Quint debates in departments.  Is versatility good and what do you give up to be versatile? 

 

[memory master]

With that Quad bouncing around in southern Brooklyn, you would think that getting the Quad was a sort of punishment. My dad's company in Manhattan had a brand new Mack, circa 1941, and somehow a Chief got a hair up, well you know, and when my old man came back from his swing there sat an old beat up Ahrens-Fox.
They had it for a few years.

 

[mack]

WNYF - "The New Quad" - October 1951:

Engine 161 - rear ladder compartment and booster:

   

WNYF:

   


Truck company tools were mounted outside on the officer's side of the apparatus

 

[guitarman314]

Thanks Mack for the S.I. Quad history. I do remember Quads also assigned E96 in the Bronx when they were a single company house on Bruckner Blvd, E251 and E312 also single houses in Queens.

E96's quad (#2613) was reassigned to E310 with E96 getting E310's standard 1951 WLF pumper. That same quad was later sent to E323 with E310 getting E323's 1953 WLF.  Engine 251 had their quad for a long time, I believe until 1968. 

Thanks Gman.  Do you know how long some of the other Quads stayed in service where assigned.  And if they were 2nd pieces?  I think Engine 161 had their Quad for a long time but I don't think Ladder 82 kept theirs long.

I believe many of the old Quad debates were similar to the current Quint debates in departments.  Is versatility good and what do you give up to be versatile?

  E161 had their quad until 1961 when they got former E296's 1951 WLF which was right after L81 came over from E159.  I don't know how long E152 had their quad but my lists show E289's Mack C was reassigned to E152 when 289 got a new 1963 Mack C.

 

[guitarman314]

  I was told by a retired chief that the WLF quads had "pump and roll" capability but they were extremely long and sometimes got bogged down.