Belltown Station and Fire Bell No. 4 Historical Marker

Completed in 1921, the Seattle Fire Station No. 2 (Belltown Station) is the oldest operating fire station in the city. A fire station was established at this location during the late 1800s, prior to the 1907 annexation of Belltown by the city of Seattle. This station currently houses Engine Company No. 2 and Ladder Company No. 4, along with a medic unit and reserve medic unit. A historic fire bell from the station’s earliest days remains on display near the building’s entrance on Fourth Street. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the bell was sounded as a fire alarm, alerting the other stations nearby, as the firefighters rushed into action. The Belltown Station was listed as a Seattle Landmark in 1985, and a historical marker was placed on site by the Seattle Historical Society. A major renovation and expansion was completed in 2010.

Seattle’s Fire Station No. 2 (Belltown Station) was constructed in 1921, replacing an earlier fire house that existed at this location in the late 1800s, during the era of horse-drawn fire equipment. Currently, the station is comprised of Engine Company No. 2 and Ladder Company No. 4, along with a medic unit and reserve medic unit. In addition, Engine Company No. 5 is temporarily based here, while Fire Station No. 5 is undergoing renovations. The city relied on all-volunteer fire protection units until 1890, when the Great Fire of 1889 swept through Seattle, highlighting the need for a professional fire-fighting force. The Belltown Station became part of the Seattle Fire Department after Belltown was annexed by the city in 1907.

Today, Fire Station No. 2 (Belltown Station) is the oldest working fire house in Seattle. The fire bell from Ladder Company No. 4, which was established at this location during the early days of fire protection, remains on display in front of the building. The bell is located next to the entrance on Fourth Street, just south of Battery Street, and is visible on the right when traveling north. Historically, this bell was sounded as an alarm during fires to alert the neighboring stations in the Queen Anne neighborhood and the North End area. Fire bells would ring out a specific alarm code (based on the station’s box number and area code), and the fire-fighters would respond as fast as possible in their horse-drawn fire engines. This bell could be heard up to ten miles away.

An inscription on the bell states that it was cast by the L.M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company of St. Louis in 1887. However, a local historian from Kirkwood, Missouri, has noted that the bell was more likely cast for the Rumsey Company by the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, via what might now be considered a private label, contract basis. The bell was restored to the Belltown Station following the 2010 renovation and expansion of the historic building. Currently, there are thirty-three Seattle fire stations located throughout the city. Grouped into five separate battalions, each station is open around the clock, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Campanario, Gabriel. "Downtown has historic bells, but they’re silent and sitting on the ground", Seattle Times. December 15th, 2009. Accessed August 26th, 2023. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/downtown-has-historic-bells-but-theyre-silent-and-sitting-on-the-ground-2/.

"Fire Bell No. 4 Historical Marker", Historical Marker Database. October 19th, 2016. Accessed August 26th, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=98926.

"Fire Stations", City of Seattle. Accessed August 26th, 2023. https://www.seattle.gov/fire/about-us/fire-stations.

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"Seattle Fire Department History", Last Resort Fire Department Museum. Accessed August 26th, 2023. https://lastresortfd.org/SFD_History.htm.