New York's Bravest in black and white: Stunning photographs from first half of the century show courageous FDNY fire fighters in action
The
Fire Department of the City of New York has had a proud and expansive
history, tracing its beginnings to when New York was merely a small
Dutch settlement. In the 1640s, the Fire Ordinance was comprised of
eight wardens who would take turns standing watch against potentially
deadly flames.
But
the FDNY had its official beginnings following the Revolutionary War,
and remained to be a volunteer organisation well into the 19th century.
Paid companies were gradually added after Westchester and Richmond
Counties (now the Bronx and Staten Island) were incorporated into the
city in 1898.
The
FDNY changed remarkably in the next century, incorporating motor
vehicles into their arsenals instead of carriages, and sirens instead of
bells. But the bravery of the men – and later, women – who fought to
protect the more than 8million residents living within 320 square miles is still the same it was centuries ago. Pictures preserved by the New York City Department of Records from the mid 1910s to the 1930s show moments of such courage.
Burning: A fire at Furman Street stores was combated by two engines
Assessing: Two fire chiefs are seen at the scene
of fire - one may be Chief 'Smokey Joe' Martin, according to New York
City's records
Fire fighters: Engine 258 is seen fighting a blaze soon after the turn of the century; they used a steam engine
Cinder and smoke: A fire is brought under control using high panel hoses as onlookers watch the burning
Ablaze: Firemen are seen fighting a roaring tenement blaze that sent angry black smoke into the air
Fire and ice: A man looks on at the mounds of frozen icicles following the FDNY extinguished a building fire in December 1917
Damages: A fire at Pathe Sound Studios on 134th Street and Park Avenue killed four girls and six men
Derailed: Fire fighters help evacuate riders after a collision on the elevated subway
Fight fire with water: An aerial view of fire at Grace Line Pier Five, Pier 57, at West 15th Street
Learning experience: Fire fighters demonstrate window-access technique as a fireman torches the window bars
Island alight: A massive blaze at Coney Island in Brooklyn
Casualty: A wrecked hose tender lays destroyed amid piles of bricks and a crumbling building frame
Billowing: Smoke from a large fire fills the horizon
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