WELCOME TO THE BRIGADE! (NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT, 2055)
Where they've come from and what's next.
A Brigade Fire Hopper (Fire Marshall Version) NY, 2055
When I started to write this page, I was going to make it full of science fiction nonsense, such as self hardening foam that produces breathable fireproof enclosures, or electromagnetic heat shields, but then I started to read about the New York Fire Department (wiki) and found that history was way more interesting than any nonsense I could write 😀 Therefore this is going to be more about their history than their future. I hope you enjoy it! (and thank you every wiki contributor)
Next to the NYPD, New York’s most important nonmilitary service is the fire department. That remains true in 2050+. I have written little about them so far, though I’m planning to change that soon...
In the Cortex novels I call the FDNY The Brigade, as in Fire Brigade, which is the English term for Fire Department. (I just felt that Brigade was a more original name than Department 🤷🏻♂️)
The London Fire Brigade, 2019.
The New York Fire Department, 2019.
I could be wrong, but the British Brigade seems somewhat quaint in comparison.
Before I wrote The Paradise Factory I thought the FDNY were only responsible for fire protection but much to my surprise the FDNY are the primary response to biological, chemical, and radioactive hazards, as well as providing EMS (emergency medical services) to the five boroughs of New York City. (Hmm… a service that responds to radioactive hazards. I can do something with that . . . 😀)
The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the largest fire department in the United States, and the second largest in the world after Tokyo. It employs eleven thousand uniformed firefighters, four thousand uniformed paramedics and EMTs, and two thousand civilian employees. That’s a lot!
This illustration is of a specialist Fire Marshal Hopper. Fire Marshals straddle the line between firefighting and police work, working primarily in the fire service, investigating the causes of fires and enforcing the fire code. Their training and responsibilities build upon those of fire investigators, but focus much more on the law enforcement aspect of the job. Fire marshals work for state, regional, and local fire and law-enforcement agencies and can work for a diverse range of departments that include state police, departments of finance, offices of fire investigation, planning and building departments.
The origins of the New York City fire department go back to 1648 when the first fire ordinance was adopted in what was then the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Four wardens were appointed to supervise the chimneys of thatched-roofed wooden houses, charging a penalty to owners whose chimneys were improperly swept. Hooks, ladders, and buckets were financed through the collection of fines for dirty chimneys.
(I just got a $100 fine for having my recycle bags “not arrayed in the correct manner,” so it’s good to see that positive NY spirit is alive and well 350 years later 😬).
Original sheet celebrating the official formation
of the Metropolitan Fire Department, 1866
A fire watch was then established, consisting of eight wardens drawn from the general population. This group was known as the Prowlers as they patrolled the streets—with buckets, ladders, and hooks—from nine in the evening until dawn looking for fires.
In 1664 New Amsterdam became a British settlement (which was, of course, absolutely the right thing to do 😃) and was renamed New York. The first New York fire brigade entered service in 1731, equipped with hand-drawn pumpers transported from London, England. These pumpers formed engine companies 1 and 2.
The city’s first fire houses were built in 1736 on Broad Street. A year later the NY General Assembly created the Volunteer Fire Department of New York, appointing thirty men who remained on call permanently in exchange for exemption from militia duty. The city’s first official firemen were required to be “able, discrete, and sober men” which, if you have to be ready to run into a burning building, sounds like a tall order to me!
Battalion Chief John J. Bresnan (left) answering a call in 1887
In 1865 the state abolished the Volunteer Fire Department, and replaced it with the Metropolitan Fire District, giving control of the fire departments in the cities of New York and Brooklyn to the governor.
On January 1, 1898, the different areas of New York were consolidated, which ushered fire department into the era we know now, with all the fire forces in the various sections under the unified command of the Fire Commissioner.
An FDNY ambulance in 1949.
Next week I'm going to bring the FDNY from the 1950s to the 2050s...
I love hearing from you so if you ever have questions or thoughts on anything in the Cortex Universe drop me an email and let's chat! 😀