New York City Fire Department, Annual Parade 1904

Filmed May 14, 1904. Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
Camera: Edwin S. Porter

The opening begins with some dignitaries arriving in a horse drawn brougham to view the parade. This brief clip displays all of the elements of a complete fire house unit in the early twentieth century. A dignified line of mounted firemen lead a portion of the march [0:20] followed by a marching band of uniformed fire officers, carrying the Fireman's Trumpet sometimes know as a "speaking trumpet." These were given to fire chiefs, foremen, and assistant foremen [0:50]. The line of march is interspersed with firefighters carrying various pieces of equipment, the marchers baring hoses, a rescue trampoline, a horse drawn pump, a hose wagon. At 2:30 there's a hook-and-ladder, fully equipped, as the combination of horse drawn vehicles repeat with an ambulance at 3:50. As the line continues past, there's a brass band with drummers leading flag bearers holding an American flag and the fire department insignia together [4:18]. A good view of a contemporary hook-and-ladder as the film finishes with gas powered vehicles. The last is possibly a fire chief's car. Although gas powered vehicles were now a part of daily life, horses would still remain a part of the urban scene in other working capacities for at least another 30 years.
In 1898 all of the city's volunteer fire departments were replaced by the paid FDNY. Consolidation also replaced the Board of Fire Commissioners with a single commissioner, John J. Scannell, head of the Board since 1894, who was appointed by Mayor R.A. Van Wyck. All together New York, Brooklyn, and Long Island had 121 engines, 46 trucks, one horse wagon, and a water tower; in all, there were 309 square miles of firefighting territory. New York was the second largest city after London with 3.4 million people and a growing number of tall buildings. -TR

New York in 1904:
On June 15, the steamboat 'General Slocum' caught fire in the East River; 1,021 passengers perished, most of them women and children attending the annual Sunday school picnic of St. Marks German Lutheran Church (6th Street east of Second Avenue). Due to lack of inspection the cork life jackets broke apart, and the crew could not lower the lifeboats because the pulleys were rusted through. Captain William Van Schaick finally beached the vessel on North Brother Island. Van Schaick was sentenced to 10 years in Sing Sing; President William Howard Taft pardoned the captain after he had served three and a half years. The Knickerbocker Steamship Company escaped punishment. On the first anniversary of the tragedy, 10,000 witnessed the dedication of a monument for the 61 unidentified victims buried in Lutheran Cemetery. In September 1906 a monument was dedicated in Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side. The inscription read: ''They were the earths purest children, young and fair.'' / William H. Reynolds opened Dreamland across from Luna Park on Surf Avenue. The most lavish of Coney Island's amusement parks. It featured a million lights; 100,000 bulbs illuminated a 375-foot tower / New York City's first subway, the IRT opened on October 27. Mayor McClellan took the controls for the inaugural run, racing from City Hall to Harlem in 15 minutes. The first section in The Bronx opened to 180th Street, over the old Third Avenue El, on November 26 / The Hotel Astor opened in Times Square / In October, William K. Vanderbilt and the Long Island Automobile Club initiated the Vanderbilt Cup Race in Nassau County / George M. Cohan's 'Little Johnny Jones' opened at the Liberty Theater, introducing the song ''Give My Regards to Broadway''

Here's a related film of an FDNY parade from 1903:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5T0whZxSvM

From the New York Times, June 1904, 'The Great Fires of Record': http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9804EFDE113DE633A25755C1A96...

01/01/12 - 11,041

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[eold2412]

Loved the video. These guys were real smoke eaters. I remember talking to some of the old guys that were around during these days when I was young and it it was fun listening to their stories.

[DEP717]

One year after the Wright Brothers first flew.

[oz009d824]

Eu queria poder usar essas cartolas sem parecer estranho

[glmike523]

Just a lot of fun to watch.  People were not all that different than today.

[1918alf]

@JamesTKirkCobain Yep, those were the good ol' days : -

[ajgolfer1]

@JamesTKirkCobain and 5 years after women were invented

[JamesTKirkCobain]

This is when it was illegal to be black or be a woman.

[dcampagna1772]

The Department flag that appears at 4:18 in this film is currently on display at the New York City Fire Museum on Spring Street in Manhattan.

[kingreich22]

@DEP717 That was 1903.