VINTAGE FDNY RIG PHOTOS.

When i came OTJ in 1968 some older Officers in 108 still responded BACK to Qtrs. Lights & Siren as it was still in the Regs about responding BACK to an unmanned FH.....this stopped a few yrs later & only the Bell was tolled intermittently to alert pedestrians then the Bells also disappeared except for a few Units who kept their own.....after the Job stopped ordering Apparatus Bells your Bell had to be removed from your Rig when it went to the Shops or it would disappear.
 
An FDNY WATER TOWER outside of the former 3 bay Qtrs of ENG*31 on Lafayette St in lower MANH.

EBAY SELLERS DESCRIPTION ....

NEW MOTOR PROPELLED WATER TOWER, NEW YORK. AFTER LOOKING LONG AND HARD I FOUND THE STATION IN NYC. IT IS NOW DECOMMISSIONED IN 1972, AND ON THE NATIONAL REGISTRY OF HISTORIC PLACES. IT IS DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY TELEVISION CENTER AT 87 LAFAYETTE STREET. THE BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND IS A CHATEAU- LIKE FIREHOUSE BUILT BY NAPOLEON LE BRUN IN 1896. HOME OF ENGINE 31 UNTIL 1972. "

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The Original idea of returning to quarters using light and siren & yes, the Bell on the rig, goes back to the days, long ago. up to the 1960s, when FDNY rigs did not have radios. The exception early on was the Fireboats/Marine Units., they had radios very early. The unit had no way to know to respond to the next box or run, until they were back in quarters and had access to the Telegraph Alarm system bells in quarters. Now alot of units use sirens and lights, with care, to get back to quarters through the often-heavy NYC traffic in a reasonable amount of time.
The photo above is of FDNY Engine 31 quarters on White St. in lower Manhattan. I was inside the E-31 firehouse long after it was closed and used due to a crack in the foundations. Engine 31 was disbanded I think in the late 1960s. I worked at one time in FDNY Engine 27 at 173 Franklyn St. not far south of this beautiful firehouse.
Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired
 
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