Engine Company 19
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Engine Company 19 at 2813 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C. Image by Smallbones - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18905362
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Engine Company 19, located in the Penn Branch neighborhood, was the fourth D.C. fire station built east of the Anacostia River. It was constructed in 1910 by architectural firm Averill and Adams. Architecturally, it is heavily inspired by the French eclectic style, reflecting the Office of the Municipal Architect's interest in creating unique designs
for new fire stations. The hose tower served a dual purpose as a lookout post.
During this period, the District of Columbia was considered a suburban area, as it was beyond the reach of the public water service and street alarm systems. Instead, fires had to be extinguished through the use of chemical fire suppressant. This structure was originally home to Chemical Company No. 2. It was renamed Engine 19 following its conversion to a regular engine company in 1921, being amongst the last of D.C.'s chemical companies to do so.
Engine 19 was home to a 1905 Harlan & Hollingsworth 6000 gpm steam powered 6000 gpm fireboat apparatus. In 1925, Engine 19 became the last company in the department to switch from a horse-drawn to a motorized apparatus. Following this switch, no horses would be used in regular fire service.
This structure was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of
Historic Sites in 2009. Additionally, The National Park Service added the historic fire station to the National Register of Historic
Places on May 10, 2010.
Sources
"Fire and EMS Department: Engine Company 19." DC.gov. Accessed November 12, 2016. http://geospatial.dcgis.dc.gov/FEMSLocator/details.aspx?cid=63.
"Engine Company 19 (Washington, D.C.)." Wikipedia. Accessed November 12, 2016. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_Company_19_(Washington,_D.C.).