As the first fully motorized fire company in Washington, DC, Engine Company No. 24 demonstrates the technological advancements of firehouses in the early-twentieth century. Built originally to house horses and horse-drawn equipment in 1911, the…

Engine Company No. 23 is a modest, two-story red brick firehouse in an Arts and Crafts interpretation of an Italian Renaissance Revival style. Designed by prominent architects Hornblower & Marshall and architect Snowden Ashford (1866-1927), the…

Built in 1908 in then predominately rural Deanwood, the construction of Engine Company No. 27 served to most likely protect the railroad, as there were few residential buildings nearby. Up until 1914, Chemical Company No. 1 inhabited the space prior…

In 1940, Old Engine Company No. 26 moved in with Truck Company No. 15 at 1340 Rhode Island Avenue NE, when a restructuring of the fire department led to the disposal of redundant stations. The combined branches became known as Engine Company No. 26,…

Originally constructed in 1892 to house Chemical Company No. 2, the site of Engine Company No. 22 had ideal access to serve the emerging neighborhoods of Brightwood and Takoma Park. Established in developing areas that lacked public water service,…

Engine Company No. 31 was among the new generation of modern stations built with motorized apparatuses in mind. Arranged principally on one floor, the station was similar in design to Albert L. Harris's (1869-1934) other T-shaped plan, Engine…

The three-story, four-bay-wide Engine Company No. 16 is often referred to as the "big house," since it is the largest of the city's firehouses and the only one with four apparatus bays. The building became the new home to Engine Company No. 16,…

Washington, DC's fire alarm call box system started in the mid-nineteenth century with 25 boxes installed on main streets throughout the city. By the time the headquarters were built in 1939, there were over 1,200 call boxes placing calls to local…

Following a petition by the Northeastern Citizens' Suburban Association, Old Engine Company No. 26 formed in 1908 for better fire protection for the new Langdon neighborhood. Because the firehouse served a suburban area beyond the city's fire…

While the Vigilant Fire House was built in 1844, the "Vigilant" was the first, private fire company founded in Georgetown in 1817. At that time, membership to a fire company was a minor social distinction and included fierce competition between the…