Engine 277/Ladder 112 Cut Ribbon on New Firehouse

It was a day five years in the making - and many firefighters said it was worth the wait.

Members of Engine 277/Ladder 112 cut the ceremonial ribbon that officially opened their new firehouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on December 13. The new three-story, 16,000 square-foot facility is three times the size of the companies’ former quarters.

“This is a remarkable facility that is the result of years of hard work, innovative thinking and spectacular design,” said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

The new firehouse includes a double-bay apparatus floor with separate doors for each company, a kitchen and dining room, a small interior courtyard, a finished basement, an office area for supervisors and a training room, along with locker and shower/bathroom facilities for male and female firefighters.

It also includes artistic lanterns created by Julian LaVerdiere, the artist who commissions the “Tower in Light” tribute at the World Trade Center each year on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

“This is a beacon of the Bushwick community,” said Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction David Burney.

Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano added: “This is what a firehouse should be.”

The state-of-the-art facility was designed by the architectural firm STV and has been recognized by the City’s Art Commission with an excellence in design award. The $12.5 million construction project began in October 2005 after the completion of the design and land use review process. During the design phase, the City’s Department of Education agreed to transfer a portion of the schoolyard at Intermediate School 291 so a double-company firehouse could be properly constructed.

The City’s Department of Design and Construction oversaw the project in conjunction with the FDNY’s Bureau of Technology and Support Services. During construction, the two companies were relocated to the quarters of Engine Company 222 in Brooklyn.

“I’m sure the retired members are getting a thrill out of this new facility,” said Brooklyn Borough Commander, Chief Edward Kilduff.

During the ceremony, current and retired members reminisced about the firehouse’s rich history that spans more than a century. Captain Ronald Carritue of Ladder 112, who has worked at the firehouse for his entire 38-year career, said he remembered running to five or six major fires each time he worked in the 1970s.

Captain Michael Legge of Engine 277 said he likes the space of the new facility and the fact that the trucks do not need to park “back to back” as they have since the 1970s. Yet, he added, “I’m really just happy to be back. This is where we belong.”

Firefighter Elio Castillo of Ladder 112, who has worked out of both Engine 277 and Ladder 112 during his 7-year career with the FDNY agreed. He said he grew up just around the corner from the firehouse and, “the tradition is still here, it’s a great firehouse and it’s great to be back.”