FDNY Squad 18 Remembers

By Justin Enzmann and K. Sharp

FDNY Squad 18, which is located on West 10th Street between Greenwich Avenue and Waverly Place, is one of the oldest fire companies in New York City. Founded on September 14, 1865, as Engine Company 18, Squad 18 is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Those passing by the firehouse recently will have most likely noticed the fine new refurbished firehouse façade, which the members of the company have been hard at work on for a number of weeks.

On October 17, the 49th anniversary of the tragic 23rd Street Fire in 1966, Squad 18 held a memorial Mass at St. Joseph’s Church on 6th Avenue, followed by a broader FDNY sponsored ceremony in Chelsea. A remembrance is held on October 17 every year, as the 23rd Street Fire was the cause of the largest loss of life in the history of the FDNY up until 9/11. Twelve firefighters were killed in the line of duty on that day, five of them from then Engine Company 18.

July 31,1865 marks the day when the first paid Fire Department Engine Company went into service in lower Manhattan. Over the next six months 33 additional engine companies and 12 ladder companies were established. Engine Company 18 went into service in the Quarters of Volunteer Guardian Engine 29 located at what was then 26 West 10th Street and would later be assigned the address 132 West 10th Street. The first professional firemen had a horse drawn hose tender and steam engine built by Lee and Larned in 1859. This new equipment was a significant improvement over the hand pumpers hitherto pulled by volunteers to a fire.

Many of these first professional firemen at Company 18 were returning Civil War veterans. Robert Beattie, the first “driver” of Engine 18 in 1865 had served as a Private in the horse drawn fire company of the 24th New York Cavalry, a unit that suffered heavy losses in the Wilderness Campaign and was then combined with the Army of the Potomac and fought in the final battles through Virginia before the surrender of the Confederacy at Appomattox. Other examples were William Elliott, who fought with the 60th New York State Volunteers at Gettysburg, and Clinton McDonald, who had been a Private in the 160th New York Infantry and had survived Vicksburg, the fall of Atlanta and Sherman’s March.

In 1891, Engine 18 was temporarily relocated to quarters on West 4th Street and Barrow, while a new firehouse was built. On May 21, 1892, Engine 18 moved into this new firehouse, which remains their home today. Engine 18 operated at many historic fires, such as The Manhattan Screw and Stamping Company Fire in February 1907 on Greenwich Avenue and Perry Street. According to the New York Times on February 22, 1907, “The fight to keep the flames from reaching the cancer hospital was long and hard. Three firemen, under the direction of Capt. Roach of Engine Company 18, were overcome while clinging to the fire escapes and training streams of water on the flames that constantly menaced the walls of the House of Calvalry. They quickly revived and returned to the fight.”

On January 9, 1912, The Equitable Life Assurance building, considered the world’s first skyscraper when it was built in 1870, was destroyed by fire, and Engine Company 18 was called to this five alarm blaze. During the fight, winds blew in excess of 60 mph, and the temperature had dropped to 16 degrees. Water sprayed on the fire turned to ice. Firefighters had to drag hoses to adjacent buildings and fight the fire from above.

Engine Company 18 also arrived at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire on March 25, 1911, within three minutes of receiving the call. The firefighters were connecting their hose to a hydrant when victims started jumping from the 10th floor. The Captain had set up life nets that proved useless in saving the jumpers falling from such a great height, and the firefighters then fought their way up the burning elevator shaft. While 35 rigs were called, and the fire was brought under control in 30 minutes, the tragic fire took the lives of 146 workers.

Engine Company 18 also operated at the Weather Underground Townhouse Explosion at 18 West 11th Street on March 6, 1970, and the 1993 WTC Bombing. 

In 1997, Engine 18 became Squad 18. The closing of Engine 18 had been on the table, but having realized there was a need for more specialized units after the 1993 WTC attacks, the FDNY enhanced the abilities of six engine companies, including 18, into Squads. The new responsibilities include training in handling Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Firefighter Rescue, High Angle Rope Rescue and Swift Water Rescue, in addition to many other types and aspects of Technical Rescue. Squad 18 is part of the FDNY’s elite Special Operations Command and is currently one of just two Special Operations companies in the borough of Manhattan. Squad 18 goes to every fire from the southern tip of Manhattan up to roughly 86th Street, East and West, as well as to emergencies requiring their technical rescue capabilities.

Currently the Squad responds to just over 4000 calls a year. The firefighters are also Emergency Medical Responders dispatched to all high priority life threatening calls such as cardiac arrest, difficulty breathing, choking etc. Their role is to initiate care and packaging before the EMT’s and Paramedics arrive.

The Squad has installed new “Line of Duty” bronze plaques to memorialize all of the fallen firefighters from Engine and Squad 18. Jack’s Coffee, Rosemary’s, Village Preschool Center, Jefferson Market Garden, Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream, Jefferson Court Condominium, St. Germain Co-op along with individual neighbors contributed to the cost of the plaques for the Squad. Members of the Mid-West 10th Street Block Association organized this effort.

Squad 18 undertook the painstaking renovation of the firehouse façade in recognition of their 150th anniversary. Many layers of paint have been removed to reveal the original intricate metalwork design, which is now newly repainted and restored to its former elegance. “Safety Red” never looked as good as it does now on West 10th Street.

Justin Enzmann is a firefighter with FDNY Squad 18 and K. Sharp is a member of the Mid-West 10th Street Block Assn.