Former Engine 38 firehouse

176 Norman Avenue | Greenpoint | built 1931

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.

1898
Engine 38 at 176 Norman Avenue becomes Engine 238 as Brooklyn joins New York City
The building at 176 Norman Avenue, between Diamond and Jewel Streets, was home to Engine 38 of the Brooklyn Fire Department, stationed near the petroleum refineries along Newtown Creek. When Brooklyn was consolidated into Greater New York in 1898, outer-borough company numbers were shifted so they would not be confused with Manhattan units, and Engine 38 became Engine 238. The BFD lettering is still on the building.
Source: atlasobscura.com
1919
A 1919 Standard Oil plant fire along Newtown Creek takes 40 engines to put out
Atlas Obscura's account of the Engine 38 house, whose firefighters were stationed near the creek's refineries, recounts a 1919 tank fire at the Standard Oil plant, a site of roughly 20 acres. The refining tanks blew up before firefighters could respond, and windows broke throughout the area. Putting out the blaze took 40 engines from three boroughs, some still horse-drawn, plus fireboats, and it burned four days. The account says it is believed to have been set on purpose for an insurance settlement and to clear the land.
Source: atlasobscura.com

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