Engine 8 - From the 1898 Annual Report Bureau of Fire Philadelphia, Page 15, we learned that “The new firehouse at the corner of Second Street and Drinker’s Alley has just been completed for $13,490.” This new firehouse was located at 147 N. 2nd Street and is now the home of Fireman’s Hall Museum!
Learn more about the history of Engine 8 on our PFD Historian's Blog: /engine-8/
On the morning of December 14, 1994, an employee of the Metropolitan Reporting Bureau at 1913 Walnut Street, who had fallen asleep at his desk the night before, awoke to find himself surrounded by smoke. He immediately called to report a fire, and the FCC transmitted Box 698 at 19th & Walnut at 5:02am, awakening the "D" Platoon. The multi-occupancy building was 4 story brick measuring 20 ft. X 100 ft. going back to Moravian Street. First alarm companies encountered very heavy smoke and couldn't discover the seat of the fire. At 5:24am, Battalion 1 requested an Air Unit. With interior conditions becoming untenable, Battalion 1 withdrew the companies, and ordered the 2nd alarm at 5:30am. The fire was spreading to 1915 Walnut, a similar building, and the 3rd alarm was ordered by Deputy 1 at 5:49am. Two floors collapsed in the fire building along with part of the roof. The fire had been feeding on a large amount of paper records stored at the Reporting Bureau. Tower Ladder 6 was special called by Deputy 1 at 6:05am.
The fire had spread inside the walls of this 1897 building, which had been the home of Francis Potts, an iron company mogul. With the arrival of Car 1, Commissioner Hairston, 3 more alarms were struck by 6:47am. The blaze was not declared under control until 9:15am.
The photo shows Tower Ladder 6, and Squrt 8, which had come on the 2nd alarm, in a parking lot off of Sansom Street in the rear of the fire building.
Soon after the fire, the buildings were demolished. A high-rise apartment building now stands on the site and the Sansom Street parking lot.
Join us on Wednesday, May 20th. Register today online or call the museum for more details. Can't join us on the 20th? Consider supporting the museum through a sponsorship!
On International Firefighters’ Day, celebrate by reflecting on the early history of firefighting in America. 🚒🔔
The Fireman’s Hall Museum offers visitors a look at the history, art, and science of firefighting in the city where organized fire service first took shape. Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1736, the nation’s first volunteer fire company began here, and that legacy is preserved through the museum’s collection and exhibits.
The museum brings firefighting history to life, from early bucket brigades to the crews who serve today.
🔗 Click the link in bio for more info on the Fireman's Hall Museum
#discoverPHL
This firehouse was built in 1926 at 54th & Haverford Avenues in West Philadelphia to house the newly organized Engine 65 and Ladder 24. Engine 65's apparatus was a 1926 American LaFrance hose & chemical wagon and a 1926 American LaFrance 900gpm pumper. Ladder 24 had a 1925 American LaFrance 75 ft. wooden tillered aerial. Rescue 3 (heavy rescue) would be added to the station in 1949, and stayed there until June 5, 1953 when it moved to Engine 68's station at 50th & Baltimore. In addition, Rescue 3A (light rescue) would also be housed there in 1951. Later moved up Haverford Avenue to Engine 41 in 1957, and was known as Rescue 9. On March 23, 1959, a swap was made, with Ladder 24's 1950 American LaFrance 85 ft. metal tillered aerial moving to Engine 41, and Rescue 9 returning to Engine 65.
Because the city was experiencing financial problems, on June 18, 1988, Engine 65 was disbanded and the station closed. Rescue 9 went Engine 57 at 56th & Chestnut, and Engine 65's 1987 Seagrave 54 ft. Squrt also went there.
The station remained vacant until 1993, when Hollywood made a brief stop there. A pilot for a TV series to be called "Philly Heat" starring hometown actor, Peter Boyle was shot there. Unfortunately, the pilot was never picked up by a network. A few years later, the interior was renovated to be a community center. Today, it’s known as Firehouse Active Adult Center. It's obvious that the building was a firehouse with its arched apparatus doors still in place, in addition to its hose tower.
This is Engine 38's 2012 KME 1500gpm, 50 ft. Snozzle on the apron of its station at Magee Avenue & Keystone Street in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia. A similar apparatus was delivered that year to Engine 57 in West Philadelphia. These pieces were given the designation of "Water Tower." They differed from their cousin "Squrts" in that their articulating boom was mounted in the middle of the engine rather than at the rear, and their Snozzle was capable of delivering a more powerful straight stream. The water tower name was a resurrection of the water tower aerial apparatus of the first half of the 20th Century.
Interestingly, Engine 38 has a history of pumpers with articulating booms. Its first one was put in service in 1980. It was a 1971 Pierce/Oshkosh 1000gpm pumper with a 54 ft. Squrt. It was the first pumper delivered to the PFD with an already mounted Squrt, and had been in service at Engine 43.
Coincidentally, it had "Tower Pumper" written on the side of its cab.
Today, Water Tower 38 still runs with this 2012 KME Snozzle.
Photo by @amott919
At 2:30am on Friday, November 13, 1959, police on patrol discovered a fire in the 4 story, brick Quaker City Cold Storage on the northeast corner of American & Callowhill Street. Police radio notified the Fire Alarm Room, which dispatched Engine 8, Ladder 2, & Battalion Chief 4 with the "C" Platoon on duty. At 2:36am, Battalion 4 requested a box be struck out. At 3:09am, the fire broke through the roof sending firebrands into the air, and the 2nd alarm was struck. Some of the brands landed on a building on the south side of Callowhill, but were quickly extinguished.
Meanwhile, the fire in the L-shaped storage building was spreading to the rear involving George Wells Meat's 4-story building at 402-04 N. 2nd Street, and the 3rd alarm was requested at 3:13am. With the fire also spreading along the roofs of 6 businesses along the north side of Callowhill down to 2nd Street, 2 more alarms were sounded before the fire Chief Hink placed it under control at 4:15am.
The warehouse building, which was on the edge of a wholesale food market area, was about to undergo demolition. At the end of the fire, only the brick walls remained standing. Shown in the photo is Ladder 4's Maxim-Magirus, rear-mount 100 ft. aerial, which had come on the 2nd alarm, in service on the neighboring properties.
Today, a large vacant lot on Callowhill, which extends from 2nd Street to where American Street used to be, occupies the fire site. Only one business of the wholesale food district remains. It's a poultry business on Front Street just off Callowhill to the south.
