Engine Company 240 and Battalion 48 firehouse
1307 Prospect Avenue | also 1309 Prospect Avenue | Windsor Terrace | built 1895
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1731
The firehouse lot is part of the Martense family farm for more than 160 years
Before the firehouse, this land in Windsor Terrace was part of the farm of William Williamse in the 17th century. It passed to Garret Martense in 1731 and stayed with the Martense family until 1895. The Martenses relied heavily on slave labor in the 18th century and later hired Black and immigrant European workers to farm it.
“…the site ... was part of the farm of William Williamse. The Williamse farm was conveyed to Garret Martense in 1731.”
- 1895
A 40-by-100-foot lot is bought from Anna Martense Ferris for a new Windsor Terrace firehouse
The lot was bought from Anna Martense Ferris on April 1, 1895, at a cost of $1,600. Architect Peter J. Lauritzen filed plans with the Brooklyn Department of Buildings in May, and by June the cellar was dug and foundations were being laid. The building was part of a campaign by Fire Commissioner Frederick Wurster to replace volunteer firehouses in newly annexed districts.
- 1895
Peter J. Lauritzen designs a Romanesque Revival firehouse with a round corner tower
Peter J. Lauritzen, a Danish-born architect, designed this firehouse as one of eight he did for the Brooklyn Fire Department between 1894 and 1897. The landmarks commission calls it his finest in the Romanesque Revival style. Its limestone and brick front is asymmetrical, with a rusticated ground story and a round corner turret.
- 1896
Engine Company 40 and Ladder Company 21 move into their new firehouse
The firehouse went into service on January 20, 1896, staffed by experienced officers from several Brooklyn companies and some former Flatbush volunteers. Engine 40 had a new Lafrance steamer and a hose wagon, and the ladder company had a ladder truck with a chemical tank. The engine company fought its first fire on January 29, at 53rd Street and Third Avenue.
“The Engine Company fought its first fire at 53rd Street and Third Avenue on January 29, 1896.”
- 1897
The company fights a stable fire that kills 47 horses, then a fireworks plant blaze and a trolley barn fire
The company fought several major fires in its early years. In 1897 a fire in the stables of the Cheshire Improvement Company killed 47 horses. In 1899 an explosion and fire wiped out all of Pain's Fireworks Company's plant in Flatbush, and in 1901 an immensely destructive fire hit the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company's trolley car barns at Flatbush and Vernon Avenues.
“…a conflagration in the stables of the Cheshire Improvement Company, which resulted in the death of 47 horses in 1897…”
- 1921
Motorized apparatus replaces the horse-drawn rig, and the doors have to be rebuilt
In 1921 Engine Company 240 gave up its horse-drawn equipment for a motorized fire truck. The new rig was wider than the old one and fit poorly through the original doors. In 1926 the wood infill around the old truck and pedestrian entrances was removed, the opening was narrowed with limestone-faced masonry and sliding steel-and-glass doors went in.
- 1943
Two firemen die when a trolley sideswipes their engine
Firemen Eugene F. Kelly and Robert W. Lane of this company died in 1943 of injuries from a trolley that sideswiped their engine. The firehouse lost other men over the years, including Fireman Edward Lahey in 1907 on the way to a fire and Lieutenant John Lyden, overcome by smoke at an arson fire in 1949.
- 2001
Battalion 48's commander and a firefighter die at the World Trade Center
Battalion 48 has been based in this firehouse since 1978. On September 11, 2001, its commander Joseph Grzelak and Firefighter Michael Bocchino were killed when the North Tower collapsed. Bronze plaques honoring the two men flank the north window on the ground story.
“Battalion 48 Commander Joseph Grzelak and Firefighter Michael Bocchino, who were killed in the collapse of the North Tower of the World Trade Center…”
- 2013
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the firehouse a landmark
The commission designated the firehouse on February 12, 2013, after a hearing in December 2012 at which the Historic Districts Council spoke in support and no one opposed. In January 2013 the Fire Department's assistant commissioner for facilities also wrote in favor. The report notes the company has served Windsor Terrace for more than a century.
“One speaker, representing the Historic Districts Council, spoke in support of the designation. There was no testimony in opposition to the designation.”
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