The Brookline Firehouse was built in 1909 at the corner of Castlegate Avenue and Brookline Boulevard. Today, it is one of the oldest standing engine houses in the City of Pittsburgh. This neighborhood historic landmark, with its dedicated crew of firemen, enters it's 100th year of service to the community in 2009.

The crews of city firemen that have manned the station have always had quite a lot to do. Back at the turn of the century, the Pittsburgh fire department had an alarm system called the Gamewell System. It was first installed in the 1860s and expanded as the city grew. It connected fire alarm boxes with fire alarm headquarters and all of the city's fire stations.

There was a fireman assigned to watch duty at all times. His job was to sit at the watch desk on the apparatus floor and listen to the Gamewell System's gong alarms. These were recorded as they came in. All calls for all city company's were transmitted to each firehouse. Telephone alarms came in over the city house phone from fire alarm headquarters.

The person on watch also had to greet anyone coming into the station. At night he had to manually hit the big gong if a telephone alarm came in from headquarters, and turn on the lights. If it was a gong alarm, he had to enter it in the log book, no matter what company it was for. There were prearranged responses for six alarms, with companies moving up to fill in vacant stations on each alarm. It was an important job to be on watch, and if you dozed off or wandered away your company could miss a fire.

One of the striking features of the Brookline firehouse is the hose tower. Some may think that this was a lookout to spot fires in the neighborhood, but it's purpose was for drying the hoses after a fire. A fireman would ascend to the top and rig the wet hoses to a system of pulleys that held them to dry. The old hoses had to be hang dried after each use as they were made of cotton and would mildew and rot if repacked on the engine wet.

Back in 1909, if a call to action was received, the company would respond with their horse-drawn wagon, a combination chemical and hose wagon. Motorized transportation arrived in 1914 with a motorized chemical and hose car built by American La France.

Since that time the station has witnessed a steady progression of new firemen and new firetrucks. In 1927, a 750 gallon per minute American La France pumper replaced the motorized chemical and hose car. The first ladder truck in Brookline was a 1927 American La France transferred from Engine House#10 in 1934. In 1949, a ladder truck built by the Reo shop replaced the old ladder truck. The original pumper truck was replaced with a 1951 pumper. It in turn was replaced by a 1973 Mack 1250 gallon pumper. This progression has continued to this day with several newer variations of pumper trucks.

The engine house, however, has remained a constant, silent guardian that roars to life whenever there is a threat of fire. It has seen some renovation over the years but, for the most part, has the same outward appearance as it did a century ago. The Gamewell alarm system was eventually replaced with mechanical call boxes located on street corners. These boxes remained in place until the 1980s when they were replaced with the "911" emergency telephone system.

Today's firemen not only respond in case of fire, but they also act as a first response team whenever the city's Emergency Medical Services are needed. Their quick response and training have stabilized many a medical emergency before the paramedics even arrive. These brave and talented men and women truly are the Angels on our shoulders.

Below are some photos of the firehouse and the progression of fire engines that have become such a familiar site on Brookline Boulevard. The Brookline community sends its heartfelt thanks to the local firemen who time and time again have put their own personal safety on the line to help preserve the lives and homes of our fellow neighbors.

The Brookline Firehouse - 1911
The Brookline Firehouse - 1920
Brookline's Ladder Truck - 1949
Brookline's Pumper Truck - 1951
The Brookline Firehouse - 1952
Brookline's Ladder Truck - 1966
The Brookline Firehouse - 1998
The Firehouse Tower - 2011

As of 2008, there were more than twenty other engine houses in the city of Pittsburgh that older than the Brookline station. Six of these were still in use and the others were either empty or had been sold to private individuals for other uses. Thanks to Edward Ross for providing historical information on the Pittsburgh Firefighters.

No history of the Brookline Engine House would be complete without mentioning Brookline's most beloved honorary fireman, George Guilfoyle (shown above). For several decades, George has been a mainstay at the station. Back in the days when pull boxes were still located on telephone polls around the neighborhood, George would make his rounds checking each and every one to ensure they were in working condition. Advancing years have slowed George's travels, but from time-to-time he can still be found keeping watch over his favorite place, the Brookline Engine House.

We are always looking for old photos of the firehouse or the firemen that served in Brookline. If anyone out there has information that they would like to share, please contact us via our guestbook located on the homepage.