PATERSON FIRE HISTORY
  • HOME
  • OVERVIEW
    • FIRST CENTURY
    • EVENTS 1890-1894
    • EVENTS 1895-1899
    • EVENTS 1900-1910
    • EVENTS 1911-1919
    • EVENTS 1920-1939
    • EVENTS 1940-1959
    • EVENTS 1960-1979
    • EVENTS 1980-1999
    • EVENTS 2000-2019
    • EVENTS 2020-2023
  • FIREFIGHTERS
  • CHIEF ENGINEERS
    • ASSISTANT CHIEFS
    • DEPUTY CHIEFS
    • BATTALION CHIEFS
    • CHIEF GIGS
  • THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
    • MEMORIAL SERVICE
  • OBITUARIES / DEATHS
    • 1889-1919 DEATHS
    • 1920-1939 DEATHS
    • 1940-1959 DEATHS
    • 1960-1969 DEATHS
    • 1970-1979 DEATHS
    • 1980-1999 DEATHS
    • 2000-2009 DEATHS
    • 2010 AND LATER
  • NOTABLE FIREFIGHTERS
    • CALAMITA FAMILY
    • CAPTAIN JOHN WEBER
    • CUSACK FAMILY
    • FLEMING FAMILY
    • GERARD DUGAN
    • HANCOCK FAMILY
    • HENRY OTIS HARRIS
    • ISAAC FELICIANO
    • JOHN GILMORE
    • JOSEPH DAYSPRING
    • KEARNEY-FAMILY
    • MARIANI FAMILY
    • McLAUGHLIN FAMILY
    • SALMANOWITZ BROTHERS
    • THE SIMONTONS
    • THE SWEENEYS
  • NOTABLE FIRES/INCIDENTS
  • SPECIAL OP EVENTS
  • TAKING THE HEAT BOOK
  • HISTORICAL REVIEWS
  • 1907 GUARDIAN
  • 1936 HEARD & SEEN COLUMN
  • FIREHOUSE PHOTOS / FACTS
  • SPECIAL OPERATIONS
  • EMS
    • EMS ROSTER
  • COMPANY & FH HISTORY
  • COMMUNICATIONS / FA
    • FIRE BOX LISTS
    • FIRE BOXES & STANCHIONS
    • EVRS STATION LIST
  • FIRE VIDEOS 1991-2011
  • FIRE VIDEOS 2014-2022
  • DOCUDRAMAS
  • APPARATUS
  • APPARATUS VIDEOS
  • NOTABLE EVENTS INDEX
    • PFD STORIES
    • APPARATUS NOTABLES
    • APPTS & PROMOTIONS
    • AWARDS
    • 1960 CHIEF SELECTION
    • GRAND STREET RIOT 1917
    • GROUND ZERO
    • MILITARY
    • PARADES PAID DEPT
    • RED MASS
    • RESCUES
    • RETIREMENTS
    • SISTER LORETTA
    • SPORTS
    • THEATRE DETAIL
  • MEMORABILIA
  • PATCHES DECALS LOGOS SHIRTS
  • WALLPAPER
  • DEPARTMENT PETS
  • TRAINING
  • VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENT
    • 1821 - 1854 HISTORY
    • 1815-1890 VOLUNTEER HISTORY
    • 1888 HISTORICAL SUMMARY
    • LOOKING BACKWARDS
    • VOLUNTEER PARADES
    • ANNUAL REPORTS
    • VOLUNTEER CHIEFS >
      • CHIEF ELECTIONS
      • CHIEF BIOS
    • VOLUNTEER PROFILES
    • ANDREW MOSER
    • ENGINE CO APPARATUS LIST
    • OLD GOOSENECK
    • JEFFERS STEAMER
    • VOLUNTEER COMPANIES
  • AUXILIARY FIRE DEPARTMENT
  • EXEMPT ASSOCIATION
    • EXEMPT 1892 BALL
    • EXEMPT BY-LAWS 1902
  • EXEMPT HOME & RELICS
  • FMBA / PFA
    • FMBA BY-LAWS
    • FMBA 1949 FOLLIES
  • BALLBOOKS
    • 1909 BALL BOOK
    • 1916 BALL BOOK
    • 1918 BALL BOOK
    • 1921 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1923 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1928 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1935 PFD BOOSTER
    • 1936 JANUARY PICTORIAL
    • 1936 DECEMBER PICTORIAL
    • 1937 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1938 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1939 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1941 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1942 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1943 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1944 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1945 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1946 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1947 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1948 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1949 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1950 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1951 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1952 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1953 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1954 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1955 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1956 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1957 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1958 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1959 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1960 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1961 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1962 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1963 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1964 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1965 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1966 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1967 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1968 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1969 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1970 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1971 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1972 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1973 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1975 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1976 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1977 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1979 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1980 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1981 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1982 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1983 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1984 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1985 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1986 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1987 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1988 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1989 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1990 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1991 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1992 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1993 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1994 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1995 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1996 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1997 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1998 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1999 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2000 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2001 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2002 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2003 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2004 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2005 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2010 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2011 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2014 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2016 ANNUAL BALL
  • ANNUAL REPORTS
  • PFH CONTRIBUTORS
  • ORAL HISTORY
  • STATISTICS
  • CONTACT
  • CITY OF PATERSON

Overtime the following companies were in existence: listed below in order of their origin:
ENGINE COMPANIES
Passaic Engine Company 1  July 4th, 1815

CLICK HERE
Neptune Engine Company 2  December, 1820

CLICK HERE
Washington Engine Company 3 April 20, 1828

click here
Phoenix Engine Company 4  September 12, 1828 [see bottom of this page]

Protection Engine Company 5 Spring of 1832 

click here
Engine Company Number 6  spring of 1840  [see bottom of this page]

Jackson Engine Company 4  Fall of 1855

click here
Vigilant Engine Company 6  January 1, 1867

click here
Union Fire Engine Company 7 1867    Soon disbanded    [see bottom of this page]
Lexington Engine Company 7 1868   Soon disbanded    [see bottom of this page]

Liberty Engine Company 7 Organized August 9th, 1871
​

Click here
Lafayette Engine Company 8 Organized 1872

click here
Paterson Engine Company 9  was organized in 1882
click here
Lincoln Engine Company 10 - proposed but never established [see below]
HOSE COMPANIES
Columbia Hose Company 1 ​ Organized in April, 1855
Click here
Cataract Hose Company 2  Organized June 10th, 1869, and went into service December 1
click here
Hibernia Hose Company 3  Organized in 1869, and went into service February 1, 1870
click here
HOOK AND LADDER COMPANIES
Eagle Hook and Ladder Company 1  Organized March 22, 1839
click here
Germania Hook and Ladder 2  Instituted in fall of 1871 
click here
Rapid Hook and Ladder 3
​
Instituted November 17, 1888
click here

TRANSIENT VOLUNTEER COMPANIES

Phoenix Engine Company 4

​This company was organized September 12th, 1828. Their apparatus was the double decker owned by the Phoenix Manufacturing Co., and operated by employees. During the brief (14 year) existence of the company they were quartered in a two-story frame building on the south side of Boudinot (later called Van Houten) street. Their machine, seen below, was the only double-decker apparatus ever in service in Paterson, and the membership, as a rule, was composed of persons in the employ of the Phoenix Corporation.

The term double decker is explained as follows: Look closely at the etching below: notice what looks like slabs of wood on the top surface of the water tank above the front and rear wheels. They are actually foldouts (like leafs on a table) on which firemen would stand as they lifted and pushed down on the side arms (called brakes) that extend from the pumping cylinder. Those arms are quite long so in this type of apparatus some men also stood on the ground and did their "pumping." So with men on the ground and on the "deck" of the engine the term double deck was used. On every other Paterson hand pumper, men stood on the ground to use the arms (brakes).
Picture
Each member was provided with a white duck coat which hung on a peg in the engine house. The question of who was to pay sundry hills incurred by the company and other petty squabbles were the cause of frequent debates at meetings of the fire wardens, and finally, on August 11th, 1842, the wardens notified the company that their services were no longer needed, and their connection with the fire department of the town of Paterson was severed. 
​
February 2, 1883: Alderman Pollitt's history of the Paterson Fire Department
​(from the Firemen's Herald)  Phoenix Company 4
Picture
Picture
Paterson Press

Engine Company 6

When a new goose-neck engine was purchased for Neptune No. 2, in the spring of 1840, their old engine was placed in charge of a new company which was stationed at the corner of Broadway and Mulberry streets. The company was short-lived, never having over thirteen members, and they were disbanded December 6, 1842. 

Union Engine Company 7

Paterson citizens residing in the Totowa areas organized a new fire company and officers were elected. A lot on Sheridan Ave was donated to build a house. They planned to petition the Council for an old apparatus. This may have been the forbearer company of Lexington Engine 7 discussed below.
Picture
Guardian - Curtesy Dennis Morrison
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October 25, 1867 Press
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November 12, 1867 Press

Lexington Engine Company 7

This company was instituted in 1868 and was composed of residents of Totowa, and their engine was the Smith machine previously used by Washington Engine No. 3 at the time the latter company's Jeffers steamer came (circa 1863). They were quartered in a one-story frame building at the corner of Sheridan Avenue and Henry street. The company was soon disbanded. Their last appearance in public was on a Saturday afternoon, when they took their engine to "Molly Ann's" brook for a "wash" and left her there.
Picture
January 4 1868 Press
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February 8, 1868 Guardian

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February 10, 1868 Press
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January 16 Press

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November 5, 1869 Guardian courtesy Dennis Morrison
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April 14, 1868 Press
July 22, 1879: New hose company organized and hopeful of recognition - to be called Knickerbocker or Manchester
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Press
December 6, 1884: Alderman Bramhall proposes old steamer of Protection Engine 5 be stationed at West Paterson (Stony Road) for proposed Lincoln Engine Company 10
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Guardian
December 31, 1885:  Initial organization of Lincoln Engine 10 - Was never established
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Guardian
January 2, 1886: Members of Lincoln Engine 10 determined to get a fire company approved
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Guardian
January 21, 1886: Lincoln Engine 10 still seeking approval for a steamer
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March 21, 1886: Lincoln 10 garnering Aldermen votes
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Paterson Press
March 22, 1886: Board of Aldermen does not allow formation of Lincoln 10 will not happen
Picture
Guardian
Firehouse Location in 1887
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  • HOME
  • OVERVIEW
    • FIRST CENTURY
    • EVENTS 1890-1894
    • EVENTS 1895-1899
    • EVENTS 1900-1910
    • EVENTS 1911-1919
    • EVENTS 1920-1939
    • EVENTS 1940-1959
    • EVENTS 1960-1979
    • EVENTS 1980-1999
    • EVENTS 2000-2019
    • EVENTS 2020-2023
  • FIREFIGHTERS
  • CHIEF ENGINEERS
    • ASSISTANT CHIEFS
    • DEPUTY CHIEFS
    • BATTALION CHIEFS
    • CHIEF GIGS
  • THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
    • MEMORIAL SERVICE
  • OBITUARIES / DEATHS
    • 1889-1919 DEATHS
    • 1920-1939 DEATHS
    • 1940-1959 DEATHS
    • 1960-1969 DEATHS
    • 1970-1979 DEATHS
    • 1980-1999 DEATHS
    • 2000-2009 DEATHS
    • 2010 AND LATER
  • NOTABLE FIREFIGHTERS
    • CALAMITA FAMILY
    • CAPTAIN JOHN WEBER
    • CUSACK FAMILY
    • FLEMING FAMILY
    • GERARD DUGAN
    • HANCOCK FAMILY
    • HENRY OTIS HARRIS
    • ISAAC FELICIANO
    • JOHN GILMORE
    • JOSEPH DAYSPRING
    • KEARNEY-FAMILY
    • MARIANI FAMILY
    • McLAUGHLIN FAMILY
    • SALMANOWITZ BROTHERS
    • THE SIMONTONS
    • THE SWEENEYS
  • NOTABLE FIRES/INCIDENTS
  • SPECIAL OP EVENTS
  • TAKING THE HEAT BOOK
  • HISTORICAL REVIEWS
  • 1907 GUARDIAN
  • 1936 HEARD & SEEN COLUMN
  • FIREHOUSE PHOTOS / FACTS
  • SPECIAL OPERATIONS
  • EMS
    • EMS ROSTER
  • COMPANY & FH HISTORY
  • COMMUNICATIONS / FA
    • FIRE BOX LISTS
    • FIRE BOXES & STANCHIONS
    • EVRS STATION LIST
  • FIRE VIDEOS 1991-2011
  • FIRE VIDEOS 2014-2022
  • DOCUDRAMAS
  • APPARATUS
  • APPARATUS VIDEOS
  • NOTABLE EVENTS INDEX
    • PFD STORIES
    • APPARATUS NOTABLES
    • APPTS & PROMOTIONS
    • AWARDS
    • 1960 CHIEF SELECTION
    • GRAND STREET RIOT 1917
    • GROUND ZERO
    • MILITARY
    • PARADES PAID DEPT
    • RED MASS
    • RESCUES
    • RETIREMENTS
    • SISTER LORETTA
    • SPORTS
    • THEATRE DETAIL
  • MEMORABILIA
  • PATCHES DECALS LOGOS SHIRTS
  • WALLPAPER
  • DEPARTMENT PETS
  • TRAINING
  • VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENT
    • 1821 - 1854 HISTORY
    • 1815-1890 VOLUNTEER HISTORY
    • 1888 HISTORICAL SUMMARY
    • LOOKING BACKWARDS
    • VOLUNTEER PARADES
    • ANNUAL REPORTS
    • VOLUNTEER CHIEFS >
      • CHIEF ELECTIONS
      • CHIEF BIOS
    • VOLUNTEER PROFILES
    • ANDREW MOSER
    • ENGINE CO APPARATUS LIST
    • OLD GOOSENECK
    • JEFFERS STEAMER
    • VOLUNTEER COMPANIES
  • AUXILIARY FIRE DEPARTMENT
  • EXEMPT ASSOCIATION
    • EXEMPT 1892 BALL
    • EXEMPT BY-LAWS 1902
  • EXEMPT HOME & RELICS
  • FMBA / PFA
    • FMBA BY-LAWS
    • FMBA 1949 FOLLIES
  • BALLBOOKS
    • 1909 BALL BOOK
    • 1916 BALL BOOK
    • 1918 BALL BOOK
    • 1921 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1923 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1928 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1935 PFD BOOSTER
    • 1936 JANUARY PICTORIAL
    • 1936 DECEMBER PICTORIAL
    • 1937 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1938 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1939 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1941 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1942 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1943 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1944 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1945 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1946 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1947 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1948 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1949 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1950 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1951 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1952 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1953 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1954 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1955 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1956 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1957 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1958 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1959 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1960 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1961 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1962 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1963 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1964 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1965 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1966 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1967 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1968 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1969 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1970 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1971 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1972 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1973 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1975 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1976 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1977 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1979 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1980 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1981 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1982 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1983 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1984 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1985 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1986 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1987 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1988 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1989 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1990 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1991 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1992 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1993 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1994 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1995 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1996 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1997 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1998 ANNUAL BALL
    • 1999 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2000 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2001 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2002 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2003 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2004 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2005 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2010 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2011 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2014 ANNUAL BALL
    • 2016 ANNUAL BALL
  • ANNUAL REPORTS
  • PFH CONTRIBUTORS
  • ORAL HISTORY
  • STATISTICS
  • CONTACT
  • CITY OF PATERSON