Engine Company No. 3 Firehouse (1853)

Built in 1853, this historic fire station was constructed to serve as a replacement firehouse for Sacramento’s Engine Company No. 3, after an earlier station burned down during a massive fire in Sacramento the year before. Although this existing firehouse on Second Street was eventually decommissioned in 1921, the structure remains standing today. It holds the distinction of being the oldest firehouse in Sacramento and also the oldest station in California. Around 1960, the property was converted into a restaurant and bar, and it was designated as a City Landmark. Today, the building is home to the popular Firehouse Restaurant. Historical markers placed on site commemorate the property’s significance for Sacramento’s early fire department and also note that this was the location of the first meeting of the Salvation Army in Sacramento in 1885.

In 1851, the city of Sacramento established three firehouses for their volunteer firefighters. Engine Company No. 3 was the third company established, and the firefighters in the unit referred to themselves as “Tigers,” always at the ready. In their early years, Sacramento’s engine companies relied on hand-drawn or horse-drawn fire wagons and hoses. The hoses were made of piecemeal leather, and they had to be oiled frequently to prevent them from cracking. Despite the best efforts of the city’s first three companies, none could have been fully prepared for the fire that swept through Sacramento in 1852. Water was in short supply, and numerous city buildings burned down, including the Engine Company No. 3 firehouse.

During an era when city buildings were built closely together and most were constructed from wood, the threat of fire was ever-present. Indoor cooking, heating, and lighting all relied on an open flame, creating a potentially hazardous situation in which fire could spread rapidly and consume entire city blocks. This was equally true with temporary housing in the form of canvas tents, many of which were erected by gold rush-era miners and others who passed through the city on route to the gold fields in the Sierra Nevada foothills after 1849. As a result of the damage that occurred from the fire of 1852, a new station was constructed in 1853 for Engine Company No. 3.

By 1872, the legislature passed an act to create a paid, professional fire department in Sacramento, and Engine Company No. 3 was incorporated into the new department. In the early twentieth century, motorized firefighting equipment was introduced, and the companies transitioned to fire engine trucks. The department also went through various reorganizations over the years, and eventually, the Engine Company No. 3 firehouse on Second Street was decommissioned. The station closed down in 1921, and the fire department vacated the site. By 1960, the former firehouse was reconfigured as a restaurant and bar, while the property was also recognized as a City Landmark. Today, it retains its connection to the past as the popular Firehouse Restaurant.

"EAST ELEVATION - Sacramento Engine Company No. 3, 1112 Second Street, Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA Photos from Survey HABS CA-1249", LOC. Accessed September 12th, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ca0541.photos/?sp=1.

Ruppenstein, Andrew. "Sacramento Engine Company No. 3", Historical Marker Database. March 1st, 2009. Accessed September 12th, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=17004.

Sacramento Archives & Museum Collection Center and Historic Old Sacramento Foundation. Old Sacramento and Downtown. Images of America. Charleston, SC. Arcadia Publishing, 2006.