Fire Department City of New York: The Bravest; An Illustrated History 1865-2002

New York City Fire Department 1865 — 1946

The badge of the new Metropolitan Fire Department in 1865.

The paid Fire Department of the City of New York had its origins in An Act to Create a Metropolitan Fire District and Establish a Fire Department Therein. This placed the fire departments of New York and the Eastern and Western Districts of Brooklyn under an organization known as the Board of Metropolitan Fire Commissioners. These first commissioners — G.C. Pinckney, F.W. Engs, James W. Booth and M.B. Brown — were appointed by and reported to the Governor of New York State.

These men met on May 2, 1865, to organize a paid department for the city. A series of court cases followed in an attempt to stop this change, until finally on June 23, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the new board and new department.

Volunteer Chief John Decker answered the new commissioners’ request to remain as head of the department during the transition by asking to be relieved as soon as possible. Assistant Chief Elisha Kingsland was elected as chief and took control of department operations at this critical juncture.

The first of the professional units, Engine Company Number 1, went into service on July 31, 1865, at four Centre Street. The remainder of the new companies that would be the original units of the Metropolitan Fire Department were organized in September, October and November of 1865. The last of these companies, Ladder 12, went into service on December 1, 1865, and protected the city up to 87th Street. The sections of Manhattan North still were protected by volunteers.

On April 9, 1865, the Civil War ended and five days later, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The country was trying to find itself after the war and cities such as New York were adjusting to the newly rejoined nation. It seemed as if all of Europe was crossing the Atlantic to jam the already over-crowded streets. Little Old New York was bursting at the seams. The rich began moving uptown into the new brownstone buildings, while the extremely wealthy began building their mansions along Fifth Avenue.

Gaslights lined the sidewalks. Horses pulled wagons and carriages across the cobblestone streets. Pushcarts lined and further strangled the narrow streets in the poor neighborhoods. Banking and other financial interests had taken over the downtown section of Broadway; the tenements all through lower Manhattan were filled with the working poor. Telegraph wires crisscrossed the sky like a giant spider’s web.

The city’s skyline was made up of ships’ masts and church steeples. South Street was the center of the American shipping industry and the docks and nearby warehouses bustled with activity.

The establishment of the Metropolitan Fire Department was a power play between Albany and Tammany, with the state government trying to break up the strength that the Bosses had developed. Many believed the base of this power was the volunteer fire department and, even if it wasn’t true, the volunteers were proving hard to control.

Volunteers were, however, given preference in the hiring of the new firemen and the ranks soon were filled. By November of 1865, the paid force consisted of an Assistant Engineer (Joseph Perley), 13 Engineers (Battalion Chiefs), 34 Engine Companies and 12 Ladder Companies.

Bell Towers

When the paid department came into existence in 1865, bell towers were spread throughout the city. These bellringers watched over the city, manning each tower in three-hour shifts. Their duty was to discover fires, telegraph the location of the fire to the fire alarm Central Office in City Hall and then sound the alarm by striking the district number on the tower bell.

The central office then would telegraph the other tower bellringers south of 33rd Street, who would pick up the alarm for about 10 minutes. By November of 1865, the ringing of bells south of 14th Street was discontinued with the installation of alarm-receiving systems in the firehouses in that area. As the alarm system spread to all firehouses, the need for and use of the bell towers as ) a system of alarm notification was eliminated. Seven towers still were being used for lookout duty, but the duty now was covered by uniformed firemen detailed from their companies in lieu of Street Patrol duty.

Running To Fires

A fire officer leads a steamer and a ladder truck through the crowded streets.

The volunteer practice of running on foot to fires was continued after the establishment of the Metropolitan Fire Department, principally because the apparatus in use had been designed for drawing by hand and did not provide facilities for carrying more than two or three men. Running boards were added to the trucks a few years later. In the interim, the firemen ran along next to the trucks. The first fireman killed in the line of duty was run over by a steamer during a response.

During the first few years of the paid department, the District Chiefs had to make their inspections and get to fires on foot because they were not provided with horses and buggies.

The first rules of the Metropolitan Fire Department, issued on September 18, 1865, prescribed the number of men who might ride on the apparatus and specifically prohibited the Company Commanders from riding, either to or from fires.

SECTION 17 — The officer in command shall precede his apparatus in going to or returning from a fire.

SECTION 18 — The driver, engineer and stoker may ride on the Engine, and the driver and one man on the Tender, and no more.

The early records of the paid department disclose several cases of company officers being disciplined for violation of these rules. In the case of Forman McGill, Engine 13, charged with failure to fully comply with Section 17, it was shown that having run as far as he was able, Foreman McGill was forced to get on the Engine. The Medical Officer testified for the Captain and he was let off with a reprimand.

On July 1, 1868, three years after the establishment of the paid department, General Orders No. 16 were issued on the subject of Riding to Fires.

It is the intention of the Commissioners to furnish facilities for the men to ride to fire alarms, but until the Engines are provided with new Tenders or have the old ones altered to the style recently adopted, no general rule can be prescribed about riding.

The Foreman of Engine Companies will ride habitually upon the ash panes of Steamers with their Engineers. They will require one man to keep ahead of the horses and see that he is relieved frequently, using the Stoker for that purpose if necessary, and themselves taking the lead upon approaching a fire. No man running ahead of the horses should leave his position until relieved by someone sent ahead by the Foreman for that purpose. No more than two persons should ride upon the ash pan, except upon very smooth pavement, and where the pavement is very rough, the Foreman should require every man except the Driver to dismount.

In the lower part of the City where the runs are short and the progress of the apparatus frequently are retarded by vehicles, it will be found an advantage to have a number of men on the street ahead of the horses, clearing the way, instead of riding on the Tender or running on the sidewalk behind the apparatus.

While General Orders No. 16 permitted some of the men to ride going to fires, only the drivers were allowed to ride back to the Engine Houses. General Orders No. 11, May 18, 1868, took official notice of the increasing habit of the men to loiter on the streets while walking back from fires and expressed the disapproval of the Commissioners in this language:

The habit of loitering home after an alarm of fire must be discontinued. Hereafter, when a Company is ready to return home, either from a working fire or an alarm of fire without work, the men will be formed and marched on the street ahead of the apparatus in two ranks, with the officers ahead, or on the sidewalks abreast of the Engine or Truck horses, in one rank, with the officers ahead. The files will not be more than one pace apart, either in one or two ranks.

Most of the early rescues involved ladders. With no breathing equipment available and the normal delay in waiting for the steamer to get up enough pressure to charge the hose lines, the most effective efforts were over ladders. The standard ladder truck was pulled by two horses and carried wooden portable ladders, both extension and straight, in sizes up to 73 feet. Two officers, a Foreman and Assistant Foreman (Captain and Lieutenant), a driver and eight men were assigned to each ladder company. The company commander was required by department regulations to keep at least nine men in quarters at all times, to ensure adequate manpower to raise the ladders.

The remaining volunteers in Manhattan were abolished in 1867 with the organization of five engines and three ladder companies in the upper end of the island. The fire alarm telegraph system was extended to the new territories. In January of 1874, fire protection was provided to the newly annexed sections of the Bronx and a 900-foot submarine cable was laid under the Harlem River to establish fire alarm box coverage.

Just three years after the start of the paid force, the Metropolitan Fire Department began a system of recording the heroic deeds of its members. The following resolution was made by the department’s Committee of appointments on November 22, 1868:

Resolved, that the secretary be instructed to open and keep under his personal supervision, a book of record, which shall be called, The Roll of Merit M.F.D., in which shall be entered the names of such officers and members of the department as may have, in the judgment of the board of commissioners, distinguished themselves in the discharge of their duties, with a full record of the act by which they have become entitled to the honor of being there enrolled. Opposite to each name shall be stated the action taken by this Board in making rewards in each case.

The heroic acts of Assistant Foreman Minthorne Tompkins and other members of the department the night of November 14, 1868, probably prompted this official recognition. At about 11:45 p.m., a fire was discovered in the first-floor kitchen area of the Stewart House, a hotel and restaurant located at 480 Broadway, near Broome Street in lower Manhattan. Flames raced through the rear portion of the building and to the upper floors with lightning speed.

The first-arriving firemen were informed that numerous people were trapped within the building. As many as a dozen guests were cut off, as well as nearly all of the hotel’s servants who lived in the attic.

In an effort to reach the upper floors, several long ladders were placed to the upper-floor windows. Tompkins started up the first ladder as it was lowered into the building. Almost immediately, he became engulfed in hot, swirling smoke. The extended wooden ladder was springing with each step he took. Groping in the inky blackness, feeling with his hands and feet for each rung, he continued. Step by step, Tompkins inched his way toward the sounds of a woman above him, pleading for help.

Assistant Foreman Minthorne Tompkins of Ladder Company 1, the first recipient of the James Gordon Bennett Medal.

The dense smoke cleared momentarily as the fire officer approached the top of the ladder. Leaning dangerously out the window above Tompkins was a woman trapped by the flames. Nearly overcome and exhausted, she attempted to find clear air in the clouds of smoke swirling around her. Darkness closed in again as he continued up blindly.

Tompkins climbed to the very top rung. With nothing to steady himself, he slowly stood straight up, leaning in against the wall of the fire building. Choked by smoke, he told her to get ready. He extended his arms above his head slowly, until he could feel her legs. Tompkins grasped the woman firmly and carefully began to pull her toward him. She held fast to the windowsill, until he commanded her to let go. Tompkins now was holding her entire weight over his head. Only his balance held them on the ladder. Slowly, he began to lower her and placed her across his shoulder. Carefully, step by step, he descended the ladder to the street.

Assistant Foreman Tompkins paused briefly for a few breaths of fresh air after first assuring that the rescued woman was being attended. The fire officer studied the fire conditions, then returned to direct the operations of his company.

Inch by inch, the hose teams pushed in. Enduring tremendous punishment, they were able to hold the flames to the rear portion of the building. Their efforts allowed the rescue work to continue. Deep inside the blazing structure, Tompkins led his men on a difficult search.

Tompkins pressed on, despite a painful injury received during the initial phases of the interior search. Exhaustion was beginning to set in from his ladder work and operating in the heavy smoke. Even under these extreme conditions, the members of Ladder 1 were able to locate and safely remove another six people. They dragged or carried them to other firemen, waiting on ladders at the front windows.

Fireman Christopher C. Flick of Engine Company 20 made one of the most dramatic rescues as members saved another dozen people. The gutsy young fireman was able to dive into a third-floor window and locate a woman and her baby. With flames closing in, he crawled, carrying the baby under one arm, while dragging the mother to the window. Moments after he had handed the victims out to fellow firemen and scrambled out onto the ladder himself, the window filled with flames.

For his tremendous rescue efforts and his leadership on the fireground, Minthorne Tompkins became the first member of the paid force to be placed on the new Roll of Merit. Four others also were honored for their heroics at that fire: Foreman James Heaney of Ladder 9, Assistant Foreman Patrick Donohue of Ladder Co. 9 and Firemen Flick and John Kavanagh, both of Engine 20.

In 1869, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., sent a letter to the Fire Commissioner that said, in part:

My father, being desirous of adding an additional competition to the members of the Metropolitan Fire Department in the discipline, courage and honesty with which their duties are now performed and which were particularly called to his attention at the fire to his summer residence last September, has directed me to enclose the sum of $1500 and requests that you will pay $500 to Messrs. Tiffany & Co. for the die of a medal they are preparing and use the income from the balance in procuring annually a gold medal to be struck from the same, to be conferred by you and your successors in this trust, upon such members of the Fire Department as you may, in your judgment, consider best entitled to the reward.

The medal was struck and in 1870, both Tompkins and Gicquel were called to the Fire Commissioner’s office. The Bennett medal then was presented by General Alexander Shaler, President of the Board of Fire Commissioners, and Joseph L. Perley, Chief of Department, to Tompkins for his rescue in 1868 and to Gicquel for his rescue in 1869. For 27 years, until 1897, the Bennett was the only medal for valor in the department.

The James Gordon Bennett Medal was endowed in 1869. For 27 years, it was the only medal of valor in the New York City Fire Department.

Foreman Benjamin A. Gicquel of Engine Company 9, the second Bennett Medal winner.

Another outstanding rescue that warranted recognition was made by Foreman Benjamin A. Gicquel of Engine Company 9. Gicquel, like Tompkins, was also an original member of the department. His actions on September 26, 1869, during fire department operations at 73 Montgomery Street, would add his name to the Roll of Merit.

The night was filled with the cries of people trapped within the building as department apparatus pulled up. As many as 20 families were imperiled by the fire as arriving firemen went to work. Battalion Chief Eli Bates, later to become Chief of Department, rescued a mother and her child using a ladder placed at a fifth-story window.

Members of Ladder 6 swarmed over the front of the blazing structure, rescuing civilians as they appeared. After many rescues had been accomplished, a rumor swept through the crowd. Two widows and their two children were believed to be trapped in one of the upper floors and probably already perished in the fire.

Acting on these rumors. Gicquel entered the top floor of the blazing structure and began searching for the missing people. The extreme conditions forced the fire officer to crawl forward on his stomach, finding air where he could. Room after room, Gicquel continued, the heat building up around him. The already heavy smoke was becoming a thick, noxious shroud around him. Nearly spent, he came upon the apparently lifeless form of a child. Scooping up the little one, he quickly retraced his path. Just inside the window, he was met by Fireman Denton Helmsworth, who also had entered the dense smoke. Gicquel handed him the child and returned for the others. Helmsworth then handed the youngster out the window to other members of Ladder 6. This process was repeated three times as Foreman Gicquel passed victim after victim to Helmsworth, who passed them to other firemen, who were perched dangerously at the top of the ladder. Amazingly, all four of the victims survived.

Across the East River in the City of Brooklyn, the growth of fire protection was moving along at almost the same pace as in New York City. The first six firemen were appointed in 1772 for the protection of the village. The first fire company, Washington Number 1, was formed on April 30, 1785, and was provided an engine, built by Jacob Roome of New York for the sum of 150 pounds. The Legislature took action to formally organize the department in 1788. The first Hook and Ladder Company went into service in 1817 and became known as Lafayette.

In Williamsburg, two engines were purchased and companies formed in 1834. A ladder company was started in June of 1836 and in 1837, the department was organized with David Garrett elected as Chief of the Volunteer Department of Williamsburg.

The process of establishing a paid department in Brooklyn started as early as 1858, but was unsuccessful until 1869. From 1865 until 1869, the fire companies in the Eastern and Western Districts of

The plaza at Canal Street and East Broadway was filled with spectators on September 14, 1875, waiting to see the Fire Department demonstrate a newly patented aerial ladder. At six a.m., the device was taken by department members to the corner of East Broadway and Canal Street and was run up a few sections to ensure proper operations for the 10:30 a.m. test. A rope also was tied to the top rung and the weight of nine men placed on the aerial to test its strength. Battalion Chief William H. Nash, a Civil War veteran and holder of the Bennett Medal, led the way up the fully extended ladder.

The demonstration of the Scott-Uda aerial, moments before it broke and took the lives of three firemen.

The six-foot-tall Nash wore a large, handle-bar mustache and was renowned for his fearless ladder work. As the young chief reached the top, he turned and waved to the crowd below. He was followed by Fireman Philip J. Maus of Ladder 6 and then by Fireman William Hughes of Engine 9. Four other firemen climbed up the ladder and were in the process of spacing themselves when the ladder bent forward and canted to one side.

Nash immediately called down, Tighten those ropes! Before anything could be done, a loud, cracking sound was heard as the ladder snapped at a point about 30 feet above the ground. The three men at the top fell to the cobblestones below. Nash and Maus were killed instantly; Hughes died a few minutes later. The four men on the bottom escaped with only bruises.

Nash, only 43 years old, left behind a wife and three children. The coroner’s inquest ruled that the deaths were a result of the ladder being made of inferior wood and faulty construction. The Board of Fire Commissioners were censured emphatically for not submitting the apparatus to both scientific and practical tests before allowing the members of the department to use it. They unhesitatingly condemned the further use of those aerial ladders in the department. The four aerial ladders were placed in storage and never used. It was not until 1886 that the FDNY would purchase and finally use aerial ladders.

Battalion Chief William Nash, Civil War veteran and holder of the Bennett Medal.

Brooklyn had been part of the Metropolitan Department. By the Act of 1869, the Brooklyn Districts were removed from the Metropolitan Department and Fire Commissioners were appointed. They were directed to reorganize the department and select a Chief Engineer. On May 31, 1869, John Cunningham was appointed Chief Engineer with John W. Smith as his assistant. They were in charge of 13 engine companies and six truck companies that officially went into service on September 15, 1869. A year later, Cunningham retired and 27-year-old Thomas F. Nevins was named as Chief Engineer, a position he held for 24