The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-03
THE TWO RECORD FIREMET
BOTH IN CONTINUOUS SERVICE yo.
THIRTf-FivE YEARS,
They Are Derry Of 81 Engine and Grim,
the Fircboat Haycmsy yolnn,."
Firemen In the Old Days Change, IN.
Have seen-Both Men Are Actiy. S,w

Have seen-Both Men Are Actiy. s,m
The honor Of the loneest continuous oo,..
service in the New York Fire Department, ~
shared by two men. Joseph n. Derry Of rr.,.-
s?,iRiverdale. and John II. Grif1n of Engine Cow
pany a., the company Of the flrehoat Wjliom
Havemeyer at the foot of Ninety ninth s,roa,
East River. both frst-crade fremen. and ~
appointed TO the force on the same day Sow.
2. 1885, the year In which the city's pad H."
Department was organized.
Before joining the paid Fire Denar,u0,.
Fireman Derry belonged to the old voh,n,0a.
department being in that organization memhe,
OF Engine IA. which he joined Jan. 10 1861. ca
| Fnaine "A was a double-deckcr, built hy ,snev
OF Philadelphia. Its house was on tho eas.
side Of Church street. just below NcSey. occu.
| pyina a lot In the land now covered nv m.
building containing the oflces of the CORPORATE,
OF the parish Of Trinity Church. AT the end %
st, Paul's churchyard. The engine had 'hers
n three-story house. III" entrance bong on
Church street. The second floor was used ia,
a meeting room and the top floor for a bunk
room. In those days "A fire company was likely
10 have three classes OF members. serving ,bs
| company in more or less different WAYS hne
all with an equal pride in It and an equal zeal
in it's interests. There was one party made I'm
| of older men, also likely 10 be we'll to-do, who
| had served out their time Of active service in
the company and were now exempt. Then
there were the honorary members, who turned
out when they felt like II, but were sure 10 pA
their hands in their pockets when the company
needed funds, as IL might for one purpose and
another, even In a volunteer fire department.
A new engine. for instance, would be turned
over to a company, finished in lead color: Tho
company would have Il painted 70 suit i'sel..
There were various things for which nonJ
might be required.
Then there was n class Of active nonher&
who turned out from their shops or places q
business In the daytime or from their homes
at night at the sound Of the bell; alarms being
struck in those days on great bells which could
be heard throughout their respective diStricta
and a man liable TO this active duty was suh'eA
to a fine If he did not respond to an alarm.
And then there were the bunkers. men who
slept in the engine house, to be there and ready
to get the machine out promptly at any minute
OF the night an alarm was sounded. The hunk<
ers were younger pen, who worked in tho nNielA
borhood. who responded TO alarms in the day.
time and who at the end Of the day made the
engine house their headquarters. waiting there
for alarms and bunkinR In there at night. Many
III not all, OF Vne tAfIHpu anu VI tHt d'llN' lNNlIS
bers of the company who did not sleep in Tho
f, house we're in their younger days hunkers.
In his younger days Fireman Derry. an engineer
by occupation and employed in the n~eiRhbor-
hood. was a bunker on old Engine IA. rs he was
when the volunteer fire department went gu.
He had not yet had enough or being n frcmal,
and when the old department ceased 10 cXit
he Joined the new. the paid department, being
assis ned to Engine 8, then, as ii still is. lying IN
| Cedar street,
Engine 0 occupied the house that had been
occupied by Engine 20 OF ne old Volunteer de.
went out Of existence there had been hrougfs
into use In II a considerable number of steam
t tifs e% Mers drawn WSrcfb; By mem mem; the exec Exception Ii bc.hns
a steam fire engine that was also a sen .proIe.
lor, the driving gear being attached to the rear
wheels which. lacked up when the engine was
standing at work at n fire, served then as hal.
ance wheels. Engine 8, in the. paid depart
partment. had at the outset OF its career
hand-drawn steam fire engine that had been used
In the old department. There were. OF COURSE
not men enough In the smaller company Of the
new department-they used 70 have iiity men
in a company in the old days 70 drag nc
machine and man the brakes-but they used 10
pay out rope and the men OF old 20 Engine. IN
whose house the new 9 was now stationed. men
living thereabouts. with the fireman feeling SUI
strong within them, and naturally, enough ate
tracted to old 2O's house, would rally onto new
es ropes and snake her along To- the IRE nGs
part Of '8S. 8Engine Company got a nov .'nata
fire engine and a pair Of horses to draw u ana
II wasn't very long after that before the las, o,
20's old men dropped away rom ther ohce
familiar stamping ground.
After eleven years Of service on O Engine,
Fireman Derry was transferred to 4 Engine, N
Liberty street, near Nassau, remaining there
for three years, and being then tranS,terredt 10
Engine "a. William street, near ChambersS;
where be remained for one year, From u
Engine he was sent 10 10 Engine, az s stone
street. remaining in that company Tor nearly
twenty years, and until he was transferred, on
AHaz~k - eLA Nrneanf war In ~ InLlnp M
Riverdale, where the work is easier. As mat
ter Of fact this transfer was not IN accniohnCs
with Fireman Derry.,,s desire ne Totid l. n@ Nv
authorities thought he had worked hard a long
time downtown, and he ought now to go uptown
In his day Fireman Derry has seen not only
a great change in the methods of fire fighting.
but a great change in the character of the buud:
ofSIhe m nses e TO WHEN b. buildings there situated
are nt. In the old times, the fire districts "ers
larger. and engines traversed greater distances.
With hand engines more engines answered toa
call than do nowadays, when with more power
not SO many are needed. In old times, WIN
buildings Of a more combustible nature hnd
contents in many cases more inf'ammah!", there
were more fires; and SO, take il altogether. en-
gines turned out oftener than they do now
Fireman Derry said that in he volunteer % dS IN
twenty-four hours, Up to and for some t,me
time after 1895 there were at the lower eng %
Manhattan Island, many warehouses IN WITCH
| II Ibll hlh VIZ w fAf' 80 '''
Of this sort Of storage having now long 'lnce
been transferred 10 warehouses on the Wat"r-
front In Brooklyn and Staten Island. lh'. "a
the old DAYS they used 10 have downtown u mo
old city, cotton fires. and that sort of thlhH,
Cotton bales, bound with ropes instead NJ ,sleell
cotton ties. would burst open and crowd Guy
walls, and The cotton would tumble out intof hs
street. Flower barrels. too, would hur't hlu
their contents flow out, to be made into a pnee
on top through which the water would ro' so'
the flour underneath still burning
Fireman Derry has been to fires almosu
without number. and 10 every fire oy any 10
count downtown within the past forty ycAft
and he has had his share Of the danger. ot
a hreman's life, but has come through every
thing all right. He was born March = ny
so that he has now some years hehlnd ~.
but he does not look his age, nor does he snow
Il in his actions. His general health has away.
been good, He Is engineer of Engine DE
he has served In the department as engineer
since 1869.
Fireman Grimm, before Joining The Iald
volunteer force. having joined Engr1" -
and was employed as n coorcr, in that neg.
borhood and was a bunker on Engine 20 NI..n
al that time had a steam fire engine dIaNn
by hand. Fireman Griffin served on fngrs
20 until the volunteer department went oIt
Of existence: and on Joining the paid d'Idt-
ment he was assigned to Engine N, shtI,t.
Oliently, as now. AT S Store street, but NJ '|ho
time located in Beaver street
In the early part Of its service 10 fngIs
Company used a piano hand engine tia' 'aa
belonged 10 the old department. Young ien
the two officers and ten mon Of tho new .CM.
m nv IN dra1 tho old rparlipa 10 fire. tl'sF