Blog 3: Firehouse Patrick will work 24h shift

August 18, 2009 16:17

Engine 216: 125 YEARS OF SERVICE TO WILLIAMSBURG

Williamsburg was first settled in 1660 when Dutch framers laid out farms. The City of Brooklyn annexed the Village of Williamsburg in 1855. This new area would become known has the "Eastern District". Five years after the end Civil War, Brooklyn replaced its volunteer fire department with a fully paid department.

On Sept 15, 1872, the BFD placed two new fire companies in service in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg sections. The population of these two areas was spreading out further from the center of town as new people moved into the area. With this migration the fire department needed more companies. Engine 15(215) was located in Greenpoint and Engine 16(216) in the southern section of Williamsburg.

The fire protection in Williamsburg was provided by  Engine 16 which was placed in the former volunteer quarters of Eagle Engine Company No. 6, located on Stagg Street near Union. The house was built around 1854 for Bucket Company 6 and Engine 6 moved into the house replacing the Bucket Company a short time later. Around the corner on Scholes Street was Continental Hose 6. The old house of Engine 16 was in such dilapidated condition that plans for a new house were drawn up. The former house of Continental Hose 6 on Scholes was torn down and a new fire station was built. The lot was purchased from Mark Fowler and his wife for $800 on July 18, 1856. In 1893 Engine 16 moved into the new building at 16 Scholes Street. The two-story house cost $10,000 to build on the 25 x 100-foot lot.

The fire station was the standard style Brooklyn house. The first floor had room for the apparatus and stalls for the horses. In the rear was the feed room and horse supplies. The house watch was located up front and on one side wall were the racks for drying out the hoses. Upstairs had three rooms, one room for the officer, a bunkroom with built in lockers for the firemen and a recreation room.

One hundred and twenty-five years ago the fireman life was a hard one. He would work 24 hours a day for seven days and have the eight day off. He could go home for meals twice a day. During his hours firehouse the time was taken up with housewatch duty, hydrant inspection, messenger service, detail to other companies for meals, house cleaning chores, and taking care of the horses. The salary for a first grade fireman was $700 a year or $13.46 a week for the 168 hour work week.

The Cities of New York (including the Bronx), Brooklyn, Long Island City, parts of Western Queens, and Staten Island merged into the five Boroughs of New York City on January 1, 1898. Engine 16 officially became part of the FDNY on January 28th. On October 1, 1899, Engine 16 was renumbered to Engine 116 to avoid confusion with Engine 16 in Manhattan. The ladder companies were given fifty to their number and Ladder 1 became Ladder 51. Engine 116 was renumbered to Engine 216 on January 1, 1913.

After WW II the Fire Department started a rebuilding program. The front wall of Engine 216 cracking and needed replacing. It's not known when it was rebuilt but it gave the house a new look. By the late fifties the station was in need of being replaced. A study on fire station locations also recommended that many stations could be closed and the companies combined.  A new combined fire and police station was built at 187 Union Avenue off of Broadway. Ladder 108 moved in on August 9, 1971 along with Battalion 35. Engine 216 relocated from Scholes Street on October 13, 1971.

Engine 216 has served the Community of Williamsburg faithfully for the past 125 years. No matter what the need was, a fire, or emergency the Company was always ready to protect the citizens of New York City.

The Job Swap is an initiative of the Henry Hudson 400 Foundation and BKB, in cooperation with the NY400. The Wildcard contest is organized together with newspapers Het Parool (Amsterdam) and AM New York (New York).