Fire Stations

A fire station (also known as a fire hall, firemen’s hall, or engine house) is a building or other area used for storage and maintenance of firefighting apparatus such as vehicles, fire hoses, and personal protective equipment. A fire station often contains living and working space for firefighters and other staff.

The fire department may also provide specialized services, such as emergency medical care. In such cases, a station’s administrative area would house the firefighter dispatch center. Firefighters are summoned to duty by sirens or by radio and pagers, and they must be at the station by a certain time in order to respond to an alarm. Fire stations may have offices for the fire chief, administration, fire prevention bureau, and Wildfire Prevention division as well as standard firefighter workstations and lockers. Some have training and computer testing areas for firefighters, as well as a vehicle maintenance bay.

Firehouses may be designed with a variety of architectural styles, including Victorian, Art Deco, and modern, with an emphasis on safety and efficiency. A number of FDNY stations are listed on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s register of historic sites, and many have been featured in films, including the 2004 documentary Brotherhood: Life in the Firehouse, which follows members of Squad 252 in Brooklyn, Rescue 4 in Queens, and Battalion 1 in Manhattan, and the 2002 Sesame Street video Elmo Visits the Firehouse.

Most FDNY fire stations have some form of a memorial garden for firefighters killed in the line of duty. This is usually in a prominent location within the facility, along with an inscription. The names of those who died are inscribed on a plaque or other monument placed in the garden.

Each firehouse is staffed by firefighters assigned to the apparatus company that operates it. Each company is commanded by an officer, such as a lieutenant or captain. In addition to the officer, a typical crew consists of four to five firefighters for an engine company and four to six for ladder companies, rescue, or squad companies.

Each company is assigned a specific area of responsibility, and the station must be able to supply the requisite amount of firefighting resources to that region. The responsibilities of an engine company include securing water from fire hydrants, deploying handlines to fight a fire, and extinguishing the flames. A truck company, on the other hand, has a pump that can deliver water to an incident scene at a greater rate and is equipped with a ground extension ladder, medical supplies, firefighting tools, and a variety of fire fighting supplies. Lastly, an ambulance is located at each fire station in case a caller requires emergency medical assistance. The FDNY also records information about the type and location of an alarm, the fire company it is being called to, and any other relevant details that the firefighter dispatchers deem important. This information is printed on each fire ticket and can be read by FDNY units as they approach an incident.