What Are Fire Stations?

Fire stations, or firehouses, are where firefighters live and work while they’re off on calls. They have living areas and rooms where they wait for a callout, usually with an alarm system to let them know if there’s a fire or another emergency in their district. They’ll also have an area for their vehicles, and most of them have garages to store at least one fire engine.

Some cities, such as New York City, have multiple fire stations within a single district. The reason for this is that the city has a large area to cover and it costs a lot of money to keep several types of fire trucks in service. So, to save money, the fire department has centralized dispatching and assigns districts to stations to ensure coverage of the city’s five boroughs. These districts are then subdivided into four to seven battalions and each is headed by a deputy chief, which is one of the highest positions in the fire department.

The five boroughs are also divided into firefighting divisions and each is led by a battalion chief, which is the second highest position in the fire department. There are four to seven firefighting companies that make up each division, which means there are between eight and 21 firefighting departments in all. The company leaders are called lieutenants and they are ranked from lieutenant to captain.

Besides the main companies, some departments also have specialized rescue companies and bomb squads. These companies are tasked with responding to and dealing with technical fire rescue incidents that fall outside the scope of a regular engine or ladder company’s duties. These include building collapse rescues, confined space rescues, trench/excavation rescues, machinery and vehicle extrications/rescues and water rescues.

A fire company is also tasked with responding to non-fire emergencies, such as accidents and medical aid calls. This includes providing first aid to people injured in an accident, as well as assisting ambulances to the scene of an emergency. In addition, the fire department also responds to alarms that come in from a variety of sources: telephone; fire alarm boxes; “Class 3” alarms (which are for more serious incidents); and verbal alarms.

There are 197 Engine Companies and 107 Ladder Companies in the FDNY, and all of them have their own individual responsibilities and tools for their jobs. To get a closer look at what they use to do their job, Manhattan Sideways got exclusive access to visit Engine 16 and Ladder 7 in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We spent a full twenty-four hours with the men and women of this busy firehouse, following them on virtually every run they made. We even got to ride in the firetruck! Check out the video above to learn more about this historic firehouse. We’re very grateful to the members of the FDNY who allowed us to spend time with them and share their work. They’re truly the heroes of this city. Thanks again to everyone at Firehouse 17!