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OUR HISTORY |
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The Columbia Fire Company of Capitol Hill was established on September 24, 1804, mostly by local roughnecks who volunteered for the fraternal link as well as the excitement firefighting still holds. A small shed holding the essentials--buckets, axes, hooks and ladders-- was built on the east Capitol grounds. In the event of a fire, volunteers would turn out to the fire or to the shed to retrieve equipment. In August of 1814, the British attacked and burned Washington. All major government buildings were lost as were many private homes. Columbia’s shed was torched and all firefighting equipment was lost. The Company was quickly reorganized and rebuilt. In 1826, the Federal Government built the Company a new firehouse at New Jersey Avenue and B St. N.W. COLUMBIA In 1850, Columbia received a hand engine built by John Rogers of Baltimore, Maryland. It was not uncommon for 20 men to draw the Columbia engine to a fire, especially since the firehouse was at the foot of Capitol Hill. The Engine needed as many men to control it going down hill as they would to pull it up. On May 6, 1856 Benjamin Grenup, a young member of the Columbia Fire Company, was killed while “running” with the hand engine to a fire at Shreeves Stables on 7th Street N.W. Grenup was pulling the engine when he fell and was run over. Benjamin Grenup was the first Firefighter to be killed serving the District of Columbia. Since 1856, 97 names have been added to the rolls of those who died in the line of duty. In 1864, the volunteer fire department was disbanded and replaced with a part-paid steam Fire Department organized around the old volunteer companies. Fires were more numerous and the population in the City had doubled since the Civil War. The Columbia Fire Company became Engine Co. 3 of the new Washington City Fire Department. The three Engine Companies were each equipped with an Amoskeag 600 gallon per minute steam fire engine, a hose reel carriage and three horses. The District of Columbia Fire Department was formed in 1871, and was now completely paid. On July 25, 1873, Engines 2 and 3 of the DCFD responded to the aid of the City of Baltimore, riding a special train from Washington to Baltimore in only thirty nine minutes. The DC Firemen are credited with putting the first real check on the fire’s progress. On May 1, 1875, Engine 3 moved into new quarters at Delaware Ave. & D Street N.E. (now part of Union Station Plaza). On November 26, 1916, the recently motorized Engine Company 3 and Truck Company 1 moved to new quarters at 439 New Jersey Avenue N.W. By 1887, all hand pumped apparatus in Washington were replaced with steam powered (and horse drawn) engines. The Columbia was given to The Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association of Washington (VVFA) who amassed a massive collection of Washington fire memorabilia from the volunteer days. The last of the Veteran Volunteers died about 1925 and the collection, including the Columbia hand engine, was passed to the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of Washington for care. Today the old Columbia hand engine is in near original condition and its conservation is being arranged by the Capitol Fire Museum for the Association of Oldest Inhabitants.
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Engine Company 3 439 New Jersey Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 673-3203 EMAIL: WEBMASTER © 2010 www.3hose.com
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