Education - FDNY History

A Quick History of the FDNY - by Peter Rothenberg and Geoff Giglierano
Chapter 1: Begining With a Blaze	Chapter 8: The Process of Professionalization
Chapter 2: The First Fire Engines	Chapter 9: Faster and Better in a Changing City
Chapter 3: Competition	Chapter 10: Covering More Ground
Chapter 4: Hear the Loud Alarm Bells	Chapter 11: Firefighting Starts Becoming a Science
Chapter 5: Pumpers and Politics	Chapter 12: Larger Events Affect the Department
Chapter 6: Decline of the Volunteer System	Chapter 13: FDNY and Times of Social Upheaval
Chapter 7: Volunteer Department's Demise	Chapter 14 The Job Goes On

Chapter 2: The First Fire Engines

"Resolved: With all convenient speed to procure two complete fire engines..."
May 16, 1731 resolution, Common Council of the City of New York

New York imported its first two fire engines from Richard Newsham of England in 1731 They were made of wood with a pump that was operated in a see-saw fashion. Small and heavy the engines were pulled by men to fires. The first engines had no suction hose and had to be filled with buckets. The engines were housed in two shacks near City Hall and creatively named Engine 1 and Engine 2.

In 1737 the Volunteer Department of the City of New York was established with an act calling for "the appointment of able, discreet, and sober men who shall be known as Firemen of the City of New York, to be ready for service by night and by day and be diligent, industrious and vigilant."

The department started with 35 members, all respected men from a variety of trades. More members and fire engines were added as the city expanded. By 1784 it consisted of fifteen engine and two ladder companies. In 1798 the department was reorganized as The Fire Department of the City of New York, with the added right to raise money for themselves and for widows and orphans of firefighters.

"Exempt status" was given to firefighters in 1816. Men who served 10 years did not have to sit on a jury or join the military. To encourage men to become firefighters, the term was reduced to seven years in 1829 and to five in 1847.

Firefighting in Brooklyn developed similarly. A volunteer fire fighting force of five men and one captain formed in 1785 when the City of Brooklyn purchased its first engine. Cumbersome and boxy, yet capable of throwing a stream of water 60 feet, the New York manufactured engine was named Washington No. 1.

One important advancement in the early 19th century was the introduction of hoses, which replaced the fire bucket. The first hoses were stitched along their entire length and subsequently were very leaky. In 1808 more water tight riveted leather hose was introduced. In 1819 the use of buckets at fires officially ended. The city adapted older engines to use hose, and bought new, specially designed hose carts as well. Separate hose companies were formed and joined in the race to fires.