Positioning of fire stations, right place or wrong place.

[Guest]

In Peekskill i think that we have the right # of stations, in the right places, thay are spread out all over the city and i think that each house is in the perfect spot. does any think that a house in there city should be mived or the dept. should have more houses or less houses.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

I am not from Westchester but enjoy this site, one of the best sites dedicated to a single county. As for station placement I think this seems to be true for any county, the older Departments that run or ran as individual companies seem to have multiple stations in the same area as others. This was caused by the towns way back when being smaller and the "downtown" area being in one place. When Companies were formed many were formed to compete with each other, and as social clubs. In many towns being part of a Fire Company was the thing to do. As communities grew, and were built up most firehouses stayed put. 100 years later you have 2 or 3 stations sometimes within a small radius. Newer Departments were able to form and place stations in more strategic locations.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

LOL. You are kidding me right.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

LOL.  You are kidding me right.

if u are speaking of my post...no im not, check your history, back in the day fire companies would compete with each other to a degree that was almost unthinkable today, cutting hoses from water sources so the other company could get water on the fire, fist fights.....Check out old district maps from the late 1800's and early 1900's....the stations are all around the center of town which was the most built up areas on the maps.......they all would build stations near the center of town to beat each other to the fire. Some departments have many companies with the "#1" designation...engine co.1, hose co.1, steamer co.1, ladder co.1, chemical co. 1...everyone wanted to be #1...really.

[efdny2003 16]

I'm only a jr with Elmsford FD, but its true to an extent the fighting. We have Ladder Co. 1, nd Engine Co. 1, so right there u know theres a feud, ladder nd engine. but that feud is kept to a certain point. jus hangin around, or at drills/parades will u see pranks bein pulled, yea. ladder guys have put the Out of Service tag on the engines, stuff has been written on the unit durin winter when its all dirty, but thas as far as it goes. when the tones go out nd we get a call, it doesnt matter wat company ur from, there is a possible fire, u have a job to do nd the full guys all know it nd put the differences of their company aside.

[bmfd231 3]

I'm only a jr with Elmsford FD, but its true to an extent the fighting. We have Ladder Co. 1, nd Engine Co. 1, so right there u know theres a feud, ladder nd engine. but that feud is kept to a certain point. jus hangin around, or at drills/parades will u see pranks bein pulled, yea. ladder guys have put the Out of Service tag on the engines, stuff has been written on the unit durin winter when its all dirty, but thas as far as it goes. when the tones go out nd we get a call, it doesnt matter wat company ur from, there is a possible fire, u have a job to do nd the full guys all know it nd put the differences of their company aside.

EFDNY, I think that your statement could not be any further from the truth. I believe that you view the competitive nature between the companies as feuding, its not. The firehouse has been the place to "bust horns" back to early days. Sure, there is politics, but those neever have a permanent effect. I think that you will see that as you get older and get to understand the comaraderie that you only find in the fire dept.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

L-47, no not your post. LOL. I didn't realize you got a post in before me.

Your exactly on the mark, if you look at many departments with multiple stations they are stacked on top of each other and positioned to assist with hilly terrain for the old hand drawns.

[firecapt32 282]

to add to als in olden days stations were located at the place where the horses galllop ended. and another piece of history--- the dalmation was there not for rescue or to smell the fire it was there to run along side the horses to nip at the heels of the horses to make them run faster. just my 2 cents

[xfirefighter484x 234]

to add to als in olden days  stations were located  at the place where the horses galllop ended. and another piece of history--- the dalmation was there  not for rescue or to smell the fire it was there to run along side the horses to nip at the heels of the horses to make them run faster.  just my 2 cents

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Just out of curiosity firecapt, are you sure it was to nip at the heels of the horses? I mean, that may have been one of their functions, but from what I have been told (remember, this is what I have been told, truth or not, I am actually asking) I thought that their job was to run in front of the wagons, and basically alert people the fire department was coming, making a pathway. Dalmations are not known for their speed, but more for their endurance. They would be better suited for those long runs than other dogs. Also, once on the scene of a fire, the dalmations would stay with the horses and wagons, and keep people, other than firefighters, dogs, and other animals away from the horses, to prevent them from getting spooked and running off with the wagon. One last point, dalmations were used as "fire dogs" because the horses could distinguish them more easily than any other dog.

Any other input, corrections, or validating what I have heard???

Yes, a slight tangent from the main topic, but I am really curious if anyone else knows about this!!!

[cas2383 22]

Just remember too, as towns grew and decreased land either bacame scarse or there was no money to relocate a firehouse to a better tactical position. Many stayed where they were at the height of their use.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Back in the early 1900's when my fire company was organized, people in my woard saw a need to have another company. Back then, the areas were small and most of the apparatus were hand drawns still with a few having horses pull the trucks. We didn't motorize until 1918-1921. So my firehouse is located only less than a 1/4 mile from the older company in my section of town, but the populations of the area is still large for a 1.5 square mile area of our town.

Most fire companies had several reasons like previosuly mentioned by others in this threar, but also many were fourmed due to social, ethnic, religious, just plain "we don't like how they are doing it so we'll do it better" and of course spliting the membership to form another company because of the rapid growth of villages and towns.

Check out all the fire company sites on thier histories, some of them are quite interesting.

[firecapt32 282]

you could be right I do remember reading it some place. hey beards were the first filter masks werent they. now you cant have one!! my how times have changed we all have to move ahead

[Guest]

I have to agree with most of the posts here, that most houses in multi company departments are laid out in a manner conducive to either hand drawn or horse drawn response. I don't believe however that this is entirely our fault.

The problems really began in the county after the second world war with the “suburbanization “of our communities. What were essentially small mill/ industrial villages, farming and estate communities began to see insane levels of expansion due to returning veterans and people fleeing the decline of the city. In some cases there was some short sightedness on the part of fire service leaders while this was taking place. But, in many others, a conscious political decision was made to not place firehouses/ fire equipment in these new developments. This continues today and has even taken on its' own acronym “NIMBY" ... Not in My Backyard!

Are we attached to our old buildings and neighborhoods? Sure we are, aside from the fact that no one likes change, they hold a special place in our collective memories and feel like "home". Does the old firehouse need to be closed, and the company moved? Not necessarily. Is the firehouse fiscally viable? Is it a station built at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century and is it becoming a money pit? But a serious look at where equipment is stationed and whether it would be in the best interest of the public to move it is definitely warranted.

Of course this leads to the great NIMBY argument. Unfortunately arguing with the general public is generally like running head first into a brick wall, but it is something that we must keep up.

[ajsbear 11]

The days of the competition between companies, and the fighting dates back to the days of when people had the old fire plaques ontheir homes or businesses and the insurance company would pay the individual "fire company" for putting out the fire in that building. That dates back to Ben Franklin in old Philadelphia.

Just an old piece of history of the fire service.

[GoshenFD 0]

Another thing about placement of firehouses is when there was a rail line running through the middle of a town, most often they would erect a station on either side. That way if a long train was going through, one side of town wouldn't get blocked off. But that is probably common knowledge.

My departement in Orange County has 3 companies and up until a few years ago they were all located within a 1/4 mile of the center of town. Now my compny has moved about 1 mile outside of town and the other engine company has moved to a new firehouse as well, but still is somewhat centrally located. The only disadvantage to our new firehouse on the outskirts is that most of our members live in the village and have to travel farther to get to the station for a call.

With volunteer houses you have to take into consideration where the majority of your population and members live when you plan the location of a new firehouse. This is less applicable for career departments who have a greater flexibility to their location.