New York firefighters in 10 questions

Heroes of September 11, 2001, the New York firefighters command everyone’s admiration. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about firefighters.

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1/ When were the New York firefighters created?

The first fire department in New York dates back to 1648. But the Metropolitan Fire Department, ancestor of the Fire Department of the City of New York that we know today, was officially founded on July 31, 1865.
Chance of the calendar: the New York fire brigade was founded the same year as the London Fire Brigade, the fire brigade of London. By contrast, New York City firefighters arrive nearly 70 years after the creation of the New York City Fire Brigade. Paris, founded in 1793.
The Metropolitan Fire Department was reorganized in 1870. This is where it got its current name, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY).

The Fire Department of the City of New York is the largest fire department in the United States. The FDNY employs just over 17,000 people, including approximately 10,800 firefighters and 4,300 paramedics.

The New York firefighters today have only 58 women in their ranks. A figure that is expected to increase as new recruits arrive.
The fact of being a firefighter does not prevent you from being a mother. The FDNY likes to point out that a third of female firefighters have children!
Historically, it was New York that recruited the very first female firefighter in the United States, in 1815. This former slave was called Molly Williams and she joined the Oceanus Engine Company 11.

New York’s firefighters are nicknamed “New York’s Bravest”, New York’s bravest. And it did indeed take courage for these firefighters who did not hesitate for a single second to launch themselves into the stairs of the towers of the World Trade Center, the September 11, 2001. In New York, you will quickly find that firefighters are particularly respected!

In the fire stations of New York, you will often see Irish flags and you will very quickly come across firefighters with names of Irish origin. Since the Civil War, the fire service has effectively been monopolized by Irish immigrants. A vocation that has often been transmitted from father to son.
Even today, many New York firefighters have their roots in Ireland. Moreover, 40% of the 343 firefighters and paramedics who died on September 11, 2001 were of Irish origin!

The Fire Department of the City of New York has a total of 218 fire stations located in the 5 major districts of New York. In Manhattan, you won’t take long to come across a barracks.
Know that it is quite possible to take a look inside a barracks, or even to visit the garage where the trucks are located, provided of course that you ask for authorization beforehand. Barracks are not museums. See my article in which I explain how to visit a fire station in new york.
Among the barracks of New York, do not miss the famous barracks which served as the setting for the film Ghostbusters. Check out my article on Ghostbusters barracks in New York. See also: the World Trade Center fire station in New York.

The Fire Department of the City of New York insists that it is the “busiest fire department in the world”. New York City firefighters perform approximately one million responses each year. This obviously ranges from the simple suspicious smell of gas to fire.
The first 3 causes requiring intervention are short circuits, release of smoke and outbreaks of fire in kitchens.

The average annual salary of a firefighter in New York is nearly $48,000, or just over €3,300 per month. This corresponds to approximately 19 € per hour, knowing that the firefighters of New York work according to a particular rhythm, with permanence of 24 hours in a row.

Alongside professional firefighters, the Fire Department of the City of New York can count on 9 volunteer companies. These companies can come as reinforcements during interventions in more outlying districts. This is the case of the Gerritsen Beach company on the borders of Brooklyn, in Edgewater Park in the Bronx, on Hamilton Beach in Queens or on Staten Island.

If I ask you who are the most famous firefighters in the world, you will certainly tell me about the firefighters of New York and the firefighters of Paris. Unsurprisingly, the New York firefighters and the Paris firefighters have been paired since 2002.
A New York fire truck thus had the privilege of participating in the July 14, 2002 parade on the Champs-Élysées. Above all, this twinning makes it possible to provide a framework for the exchange of experience between the two entities.