The "suburban" companies operated differently than the regular "full time" paid units. All of these units were established in former volunteer firehouses. In addition, 5 "Suburban Engines" and 3 "Suburban Ladders" were organized. "Metropolitan Steam Fire Engine Company 1" the first paid company, was established on July 31st at 4 Centre Street equipped with a new Amoskeag 1st size double vertical pump round tank steamer.īetween September 1st and December 1st, 33 additional engine companies and twelve ladder companies were added to the new Metropolitan Fire Department. On June 24th, the new department established its Headquarters at 155 Mereer Street Metropolitan Engine 1, the first paid unit in New York City entered service with this new Amoskeagsteamerwhich had been delivered to the volunteer department shortly before the paid department took over. The volunteer companies in the meantime were to continue in operation until the paid companies were established. The new Commissioners immediately took posession of all Volunteer Fire Department property. On June 22nd, the Court of Appeals in Albany declared the "Act to Create a Metropolitan Fire District" constitutional. While awaiting the court's decision, the new Commissioners began recruiting (with preference to the volunteers), drew up a budget and started organizing the new department. A relatively short court battle followed. The first Board of Fire Commissioners' meeting was held on May 4th and on the following day they were served with two court orders which had been obtained by the volunteers forbidding the commissioners from taking charge of any Volunteer Fire Department property and ordering them to show by what authority they held their office. Brooklyn was included so that the constitutionality of the Act would not be objected to. Selection of members of the new department was to be from the volunteers as much as possible. Also included in the act was a requirement that the volunteers turn over all their property, apparatus and firehouses to the new department. The Act provided for the City of New York (at that time consisting only of Manhattan) and the Eastern and Western Districts of Brooklyn to be united to form the Metropolitan Fire District of the State of New York and the creation of a Board of Fire Commissioners (four citizens of this new district) to be appointed by the governor who would create the new paid Metropolitan Fire Department and have exclusive authority to extinguish fires within the new district. The vote was 21Ð6 in the Senate and 81 Ð3 9 in the Assembly. In effect, City Democrats would lose all control over the Fire Department and, more importantly, its finances, thereby also suffering a heavy political loss. On January 16th, 1865 a bill was introduced in the State Legislature entitled "An Act to Create a Metropolitan Fire District" which included the establishment of the soÐcalled Metropolitan Fire District, a Board of Fire Commissioners (appointed by the governor), and a paid department. There was a quick attempt by City Hall and the Volunteer Department to reorganize the department and correct some of the abuses, but it came much too late. This committee study and conclusions resulted in charges that the volunteer system was more expensive and less efficient than a paid department would be that the Chief Engineer was deprived of control of the volunteer department's finances (by a Democratically controlled City Hall) and that there was too much political involvement in the volunteer department. A survey of paid departments operating in other cities was undertaken. Republicans agreed to sponsor a bill in the State Legislature to create a paid department. There were many affidavits from police captains describing the "rioting, pilfering, public annoyance and sabbath desecration" caused by the volunteers. On March 17th, 1864 the Board of Fire Underwriters appointed a committee of officials from insurance companies underwriting fire insurance in New York City to "promote the greater efficiency of the Fire Department." The Metropolitan Police Department supplied quite a bit of evidence to this committee against the volunteers. This movement soon gained two powerful allies: the Metropolitan Police Department, because too many fire alarms resulted in inter company riots, and the State Republican Party who saw a chance to deprive the City Democrats of a valuable political weapon-the volunteer firefighters. During the final days of the Civil War, a movement to replace New York City's volunteer firefighters with a paid department was started by the insurance companies because they felt New York's ordinary fire loss was too heavy.
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