Looking Back At Local Volunteer Firefighters Long before the New York City Fire Department expanded to our neighborhood, local volunteer fire companies protected their fellow Queens residents from flames and other emergencies. The Newtown Volunteer Fire Department, launched in September 1843, was an alliance of volunteer companies stationed across Queens. The first affiliates were the Wandowenock Company in Newtown (present-day Elmhurst), followed by the Gooderson Engine Co. 2 in Winfield (Woodside), thenWoodside Hook and Ladder Co. 3;Maspeth Engine Co. 4;Maspeth Hook and Ladder Co. 5; and Pioneer Hook and Ladder Co. 6 in Corona. The Fearless Ladder Co. 7—an appropriate name for the bravest of public servants—was formed in July 1890 in Middle Village. The company was initially stationed on the west side of Juniper Avenue (present-day 69th Street) just north of Metropolitan Avenue. The company eventually raised funds to build an upgraded headquarters years later on Metropolitan Avenue near Pleasantview Street, on the present site of the Village Plaza condominiums. Other Newtown-affiliated volunteer units in our area were the Louona Park Engine Co. 8 in Corona; Glendale Engine Co. 9; Ivanhoe Park Hook and Ladder Co. 10 in Glendale; Elmhurst Engine Co. 11; Metropolitan Engine Co. 12, at the corner of Metropolitan and Forest avenues in Elmhurst; and Glendale Park Hook and Ladder Co. 13 in eastern Glendale. The names “engine” and “hook and ladder” reflect the earliest firefighting equipment these units had at their disposal. Engine companies had pumps powered with steam engines that allowed water to flow through hoses at high pressure. Hook and ladder companies had such devices to reach structures taller than one story. Horse-drawn wagons brought this equipment and firefighters to wherever they were needed. Prominent members of each community were among those who volunteered at their local fire companies. The Fearless Company, for example, included John Niederstein Jr., son of the owner of Niederstein’s Restaurant, which served generations of patrons through 2005.Alexander Frontera, founder of Maspeth Federal Savings bank, was a member of the Maspeth volunteer fire company. In a time before telephones, the Newtown Volunteer Fire Department established a primitive alarm system across western Queens featuring nine street call boxes in central locations. The street alarms were connected to the Wandowenock Company, which then used Morse code to alert companies near the reported fire. Once the companies were alerted, a stationmaster at the headquarters rang a bell calling for volunteers to report for duty. Within a few minutes, firefighters rushed to the station, got ready and boarded the horse-drawn wagons to the fire. This time-consuming process, however, proved ineffective, as in This 1903 photo shows themen of theMetropolitan Engine Co. 12 standing in front of their firehouse at the Ridgewood corner of Metropolitan and Forest avenues on the day the headquarters opened. 29 • TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015 many instances, entire structures burned to the ground by the time the companies arrived. In those cases, the fire companies doused smoldering debris to prevent flames from burning other structures. Response times quickened in the years that followed, as technological advances in communication allowed companies to be alerted, prepared and dispatched more quickly. Once Queens became incorporated into the City of New York in 1898, it became clear that the volunteer companies’ days were numbered. Even so, the city allowed many of the companies to remain in operation for years thereafter and began paying many of them stipends for updated equipment and service. Eventually, the companies faded into history in the early 20th century as the Fire Department opened up their own engine and ladder companies manned by paid employees. If you have any stories or photographs of Our Neighborhood that you would like to share with our readers, please write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386, or send an email to neighborhood@timesnewsweekly.com. Any print photographs mailed to us will be carefully returned to you. In the left photo, members of the Fearless Hook and Ladder Co. 7 are shown posing in front of their Middle Village headquarters in 1890. The right photo shows the Glendale Fire Co. 9 in about 1900, with some of its members standing atop the horse-drawn wagon that pulled firefighting equipment.
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