The Fire Stations of the FDNY

Fire stations are structures or areas for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire hoses and other specialized equipment. They may also contain working and living areas for firefighters. Some stations are manned by full-time firefighters and have beds for them to sleep at night while on duty. Others are staffed by part-time firefighters who sleep at home and return to the station for their shift. The FDNY has 218 firehouses, 39 EMS stations and other support facilities. Its headquarters is in Brooklyn, its fire academy is on Randall’s Island and it operates a fleet of more than 1,300 firefighting apparatus, specialty vehicles, ambulances and fireboats.

Each FDNY battalion contains three to eight firehouses. Those stations house fire companies, which are similar to military companies and are made up of firefighters who are assigned to the same tour or shift. The companies are commanded by an officer, such as a lieutenant or captain, and are staffed with four to five firefighters for engine or ladder companies and six firefighters for squad or rescue companies.

If an emergency occurs, civilians can call a specific number to contact the corresponding fire company. The most common method involves calling 9-1-1, which is answered by NYPD operators and then transferred to the proper borough fire department communications dispatch office. The other way is to dial a seven-digit phone number that is published in each borough and used exclusively for reporting fires.

A call to the fire department can be made by using a mobile telephone or landline. Civilians can also use a special number, called the fire department’s “fire alarm box” number, which at one time lined street corners and the fronts of special buildings throughout the city. Those who call the “box” number are connected to an FDNY fire alarm dispatcher.

Firefighters also serve as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and provide basic life support services to people who are sick or injured. They can perform first aid and transport patients to the hospital for further care. They are also trained in hazardous materials response and search and rescue operations.

In addition to the normal firefighting equipment, some stations also have a brush unit, which is equipped with a four-wheel drive vehicle that can travel through hills and other terrain to reach remote or hilly locations where forest fires may break out.

In 1865, the volunteer fire departments in Manhattan and Brooklyn were abolished by an act of the state legislature which created the Metropolitan Fire District and the modern-day FDNY. The new professional force was composed of 13 Chief Officers and 552 company officers and firemen who worked a 24-hour tour of duty, with three hours off for meals and a day off each month. The new department was the first to establish rules and regulations for its members. The FDNY is the largest fire department in the United States. A number of television series have been produced portraying FDNY firefighters, including the NBC drama Third Watch from 1999 to 2005 and the CBS show Rescue Me from 2004 to 2011. The 2019 semi-autobiographical film King of Staten Island stars comedian Pete Davidson as his father, a Staten Island firefighter who died in the World Trade Center attack.