The history of New York has been marked by a series of terrible fires,
which have destroyed many lives and swept away millions of dollars worth
of property. In 1741 the first of these conflagrations swept over the
lower part of the city, consuming many houses, among them the old Dutch
fort and church. On the 21st of September, 1776, during the occupation
of the city by the British, 493 houses were burned, and great distress
entailed in consequence upon the people. On the 9th of August, 1778, a
third fire destroyed nearly 300 buildings east of Broadway and below
Pearl street. In May, 1811, a fourth fire broke out in Chatham street
and consumed nearly 100 houses. In 1828 a fifth fire destroyed about a
million of dollars worth of property. On the 16th of December, 1835,
began the sixth and most disastrous of these conflagrations. It raged
for three days and nights continuously, swept over an area of 45 acres,
destroyed 648 buildings, and entailed upon the citizens a loss of
$18,000,000. In the face of this great disaster the insurance companies
unanimously suspended. On the 19th of July, 1845, the seventh and last
fire broke out in New street, near Wall street, and swept in a southerly
direction, destroying 345 buildings. The loss was $5,000,000.
As a matter of course, a city that has suffered so much from fires is in
especial need of the best known means of preventing and suppressing them.
Since the year 1653 there has been a Fire Department in New York, and it
would be an interesting task to review its history had we the space to do
so. In its early days it was considered an honor to be a member of a
fire company, and some of the best of the old-time citizens were to be
found in the ranks of the various organizations. The city took care to
keep the force provided with the most improved machines, and every effort
was made to render it as efficient as possible. As the city increased in
wealth and population the character of the firemen changed. The
respectable men left the organization, and their places were filled with
men who were drawn into it by the excitement which was to be found in
such a life. Soon the department passed entirely into the hands of the
Bowery boys and other disreputable characters. The engine houses were
rallying places for the worst characters of the vicinity, who amused
themselves in their leisure hours by fighting among themselves, or by
assaulting respectable passers-by. A fire was the dread of the city, not
only for the damage the conflagration was sure to do, but for the
disturbance it brought about on the streets. As soon as an alarm was
sounded the streets were filled with a yelling, reckless crowd, through
which the engines and hose-carriages dashed, regardless of those who were
run over. Pandemonium seemed to have broken loose and taken possession
of the great thoroughfares. If two rival companies met on the streets
they would leave the fire to work its will and fight their battle then
and there. There was scarcely a fire without its accompanying riot. The
fires themselves were disastrous. Very little good was accomplished by
the firemen, and the losses were tremendous. Adjoining buildings were
often broken open and robbed under pretence of saving them from the
flames. In short, the whole department was a nuisance, and thinking men
saw that it was a great nursery of criminals and blackguards. Efforts
were made to remedy the evil, but without success. The members of the
department were volunteers, and were particularly impatient of control.
Many of the companies owned their own engines and other apparatus, and
refused to submit to any sort of restraint. There was but one way to
bring good out of this evil, and at length the best men of the city
determined upon abolishing the old system entirely. The demand for a
change grew stronger every day, and at last the Legislature of the State
set on foot measures for the abolition of the volunteer system and the
substitution of a paid force.
In March, 1865, the Legislature passed the bill creating the Metropolitan
Fire Department, and it at once received the Executive signature. The
friends of the old system resolved to resist the attempt to overthrow it.
A case involving the constitutionality of the bill was brought before the
Court of Appeals, which body sustained the law. Efforts were made by the
newly-appointed Commissioners to get the new system at work as soon as
possible; but in the meanwhile the partizans of the old system endeavored
to be revenged by disbanding the old force and leaving the city without
any means of extinguishing fires. The danger was great, but it was
averted by detailing a force from the police to act as firemen in case of
necessity. By November, 1865, the new system was thoroughly organized
and fairly at work. Each succeeding year has witnessed some fresh
improvement, and at present New York has the best appointed and most
efficient Fire Department in the Union.
The force, as at present organized, is under the control of five
commissioners, appointed by the Mayor of the city. They make rules and
regulations for the government of the force, exercise a general
supervision over its affairs, and are responsible to the municipal
government for their acts. The force consists of a chief engineer, an
assistant engineer, ten district engineers, and 587 officers and men.
Each company consists of twelve persons, viz.: a foreman, assistant
foreman, engineer of steamer, a stoker, a driver, and seven firemen.
Each company is provided with a house, with engine room, stables,
quarters for the men, and rooms for study, drill, etc. The basement
contains a furnace, by means of which the building is warmed and the
water in the engine kept hot. Everything is kept in perfect order. The
houses are clean and neat, and the engines and hose-carriages shine like
gold and silver.
The men are all paid by the city. The firemen receive $1000 dollars per
annum, and the officers a higher sum, according to their duties and
responsibilities. The men undergo a rigid physical examination, and are
required to present proofs of their good moral character before they are
admitted to the force. The object is to have none but men perfectly
sound and free from habits tending to impair their usefulness in the
force. They are generally fine specimens of manhood, are noticeably neat
in their dress and habits, and are just the opposite of the old-time
volunteer firemen. Furthermore, they may be relied upon in any
emergency.
There are thirty-seven steam-engines in the department. They are of the
second class or size, and perfect in all their appointments. They were
built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, of Manchester, New
Hampshire, and cost $4000 a-piece. There is also a powerful floating
engine located on a steamboat, and used for extinguishing fires on the
piers or on vessels in the harbor. It is kept near the Battery, so as to
be convenient to points in either river. There are four hand engines,
located in the upper part of the island, and twelve hook and ladder
companies in the department. Several engines are kept in reserve, and
are not counted in the active force.
The horses of the department are 156 in number. They are large and
powerful animals, and are kept with the greatest care. They are groomed
every day, and are fed punctually at six o'clock morning and evening. If
not used on duty, they are exercised every day by being led to and fro in
the streets adjoining the engine-house. They are thoroughly trained, and
will stand with perfect steadiness under the most exciting circumstances.
They know the sound of the alarm-bell as well as their driver, and the
moment it strikes they exhibit an impatience to be off which is
remarkable. They are kept harnessed constantly, and it takes but a few
seconds to attach them to the engines.
The men are not allowed to have any other employment. The department
claims their whole duty. A certain number are required to be always at
the engine-house. In case of an alarm being sounded during the absence
of a fireman from the engine-house he runs directly to the fire, where he
is sure to find his company. A watch is always kept in the engine-room
day and night. After ten at night the men are allowed to go to bed, but
must so arrange matters beforehand that they shall lose no time in
dressing. The horses stand harnessed in their stalls, the boiler is
filled with hot water, and the furnaces are supplied with wood which
burns at the touch of a match. It requires but fifteen seconds in the
day and but one minute at night to be ready for action and on the way to
the fire.
Scattered through the city are lofty towers, from which men keep a
constant watch for fires. They are thoroughly acquainted with the
various localities of New York, and can tell at a glance the exact
neighborhood of the fire. From their lofty elevation they see the first
cloud of smoke if it be day, or the first red glare if at night, and the
next instant the alarm is sent over the city on the wings of electricity.
All signals and messages connected with the Fire Department are
transmitted by telegraph, and for this purpose there is a distinct line
through the city for the use of the department. By means of this line
the various engine-houses are brought into communication with each other
and with the central station and police headquarters. As the
station-houses alone, however, would not suffice for the prompt
communication of alarms, signal-boxes are scattered through the city at
the most convenient points. These boxes are so situated that they may be
reached from any point in a few minutes. They are several hundred in
number, and are being multiplied as rapidly as possible. The engraving
accompanying this chapter shows the appearance and mechanism of the
signal box.
The box is attached to the telegraph pole, and is about twenty-four
inches high, by twelve inches wide, and five inches deep. Every officer
and member of the Fire Department, every officer and member of the Police
Force, and every officer of the Fire Insurance Patrol is furnished with a
key which will open all the boxes. A key is also deposited with the
occupant of a building near the box, and a notice showing the location of
this key is always placed in a glass case at the top of the box.
Key-holders are cautioned not to open the box except in case of fire; not
to give an alarm unless sure of a fire; not to give an alarm for a fire
seen at a distance; not to pull down the hook more than once in giving an
alarm; to be sure, after giving an alarm, that the door of the box is
securely fastened; and not to let the key go out of their possession
except when demanded by proper authority.
[Picture: FIRE ALARM SIGNAL-BOX.]
The engraving referred to will show the manner of giving an alarm. There
are two doors to each box, an outer and an inner door, lettered
respectively F and G in the engraving. The door G is to be kept closed
unless it becomes necessary to repeat the alarm. The outer door, F, is
opened, and the catch A is drawn down firmly. This winds up a spring, by
means of the lever B, which sets in motion the wheel C, and strikes the
number of the box on the gong D and on the instrument at the Fire
Department headquarters. Should it be necessary to give a second or
third alarm, the door G is opened and the Morse key E is struck ten
times.
In this way all alarms are sent, first to the central office, and thence
to the various engine-houses. The alarm from the central office is
struck on a large gong placed in a conspicuous part of the engine-room of
every engine or hook and ladder company. The locality, and often the
precise site of the fire can be ascertained by means of these signals.
For instance, the bell strikes 157 thus: _one_--a pause--_five_--another
pause--_seven_. The indicator will show that this alarm-box is at the
corner of the Bowery and Grand street. The fire is either at this point
or within its immediate neighborhood. The signals are repeated on all
the bells in the fire-towers of the city, and the citizens, by consulting
their printed indicators, can inform themselves of the location of the
fire. On an alarm of fire about one-sixth of the whole force goes to the
place of danger. If the alarm be repeated the number is increased by
another sixth, and so on until the necessary force is obtained. Each
company is restricted to certain portions of the city, so that there is
no confusion in sending out the proper force.
As soon as the sharp strokes of the gong give the signal of danger, and
point out the locality, every man springs to his post. The horses are
attached in a few seconds, the fire is lighted in the furnace, and the
steamer and hose carriage start for the scene of action. The foreman
runs on foot, ahead of his steamer, to clear the way, and the driver may
keep up with him, but is not allowed to pass him. Only the engineer, his
assistant, and the stoker are allowed to ride on the engine. The rest of
the company go on foot. Fast driving is severely punished, and racing is
absolutely prohibited. The men are required to be quiet and orderly in
their deportment in going to and returning from fires. The engines have
the right of way in all the streets. This is well understood, and it is
astonishing to see the rapidity with which a route is cleared for them
through the most crowded streets.
Upon reaching the fire, communication is made between the plug or hydrant
and the engine, and the work begins. The chief engineer is required to
attend all fires, and all orders proceed from him. The most rigid
discipline is preserved, and the work goes on with a rapidity and
precision which are in striking contrast to the noise and inefficiency of
the old system.
A force of policemen is at once sent to a fire. They stretch ropes
across the streets at proper distances from the burning buildings, and no
one but the members of the Fire Department is allowed to pass these
barriers. In this way the firemen have room for the performance of their
duties, lookers-on are kept at a safe distance, and the movable property
in the burning house is saved from thieves. Merchants and others have
frequently given grateful testimony to the protection afforded their
property by the firemen. Upon one occasion the members of the department
had complete possession for several hours of every part of the building
containing the immense and valuable stock of jewelry of Messrs. Tiffany &
Co. This firm made a public declaration that after a rigid investigation
they had not missed a penny's worth of their property, and gratefully
acknowledged the protection afforded them. Under the old system Messrs.
Tiffany & Co. would have been ruined.
[Picture: A FIRE IN NEW YORK.]
The life of a fireman is very arduous and dangerous, but the applicants
for vacancies in the department are numerous. The men are often called
upon not only to face great personal danger, but they are also subjected
to a severe physical strain from the loss of rest, and fatigue.
Sometimes they will be called out and worked hard every night in the
week, and all the while they are required to be as prompt and active as
though they had never lost a night's rest. They are constantly
performing deeds of heroism, which pass unnoticed in the bustle and whirl
of the busy life around them, but which are treasured up in the grateful
heart of some mother, wife, or parent, whose loved ones owe their lives
to the fireman's gallantry.
During the recent visit to New York of the Prince Alexis of Russia, a
pleasing instance of the efficiency of the department was given. The
Prince had just reviewed a detachment of the department, and had returned
to his hotel (the Clarendon), in Fourth avenue, just out of Union Square.
One of the Fire Commissioners proposed to him to test the efficiency of
the force he had just inspected, and accompanied him to the alarm box at
the corner of Fourth avenue and Seventeenth street, about half a block
from the hotel. The box being opened, the Prince gave the signal, and
immediately returned to his hotel. Before he had reached the balcony,
the sharp clatter of wheels was heard in the distance, and in a few
seconds several steamers clashed up, "breathing fire and smoke," followed
by a hook and ladder detachment and the Insurance Patrol. Within three
minutes after the alarm had been sounded, two streams were thrown on the
Everett House, and within five minutes ladders were raised to the hotel
windows, and the men were on the roofs of the adjoining buildings.
Thanks to the model department, New York feels a security from fires
unknown until now. The hopes of the friends of the new system have been
more than realized. The fire statistics speak more eloquently than words
could, and they show a steady decrease of the loss by fire. In 1866,
there were 796 fires, involving a loss of $6,428,000; in 1867, the number
of fires was 873, and the loss $5,711,000; in 1868, the fires were 740 in
number, and the loss was $4,342,371; and in 1869 there were 850 fires,
with a loss of $2,626,393. In the last mentioned year, only 43 out of
the 850 fires were communicated to the adjoining buildings, a fact which
speaks volumes for the exertions of the department.
The Headquarters of the department are located at 127 Mercer street, in a
handsome building known as Fireman's Hall. Here are the offices of the
Commissioners, the Chief Engineer, Secretary, Medical officer, Telegraph
Bureau, Bureau of Combustible materials, and Fireman's Lyceum. The
Lyceum contains a library of over 4000 volumes, and a collection of
engravings, documents, and relics relating to the old Fire Department.
All fines exacted of firemen, and those imposed on citizens for violating
the ordinances relating to hatchways and kerosene lamps, are paid into
the treasury of the "Fire Department Relief Fund," for the maintenance of
the widows and orphans of firemen.