Engine 11 was organized March 15, 1871 at 1035 Lombard Street in the firehouse formerly owned by the Washington Fire Company. The city of Philadelphia paid $666.66 in rent for the building during 1871.
The original company roster was as follows:
Foreman Edward J. Toomey
Engineer William J. Irwin
Driver Thomas Munn
Fireman Andrew McGough
Hoseman Thomas Cochran
Hoseman William C. Robinson
Hoseman Washington Fuller
Hoseman James O’Neill
Hoseman William Cook
Hoseman Edward Walker
Hoseman John McCullen
Hoseman Tully Moore
The company matron was Mrs. Winslow.
The original apparatus assigned to Engine 11 was an 1860 Poole & Hunt second size steamer. This piece was purchased from the Washington Fire Company for $2,500.00. They would use this engine until 1890 when a new Silsby second size steamer was assigned to the company.
In 1902 Engine 11 was moved to a new station located at 1016 South Street.
October 1918: Engine 11 became a segregated company. Only African-American fire fighters were assigned there. This lasted until February 19, 1949 when eleven African-American members were transferred to stations located throughout the city.
On August 30, 1976 Engine 11 moved to a new station at 601-09 South Street.
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In the late 60’s, early 70’s, to try to reduce the city’s fire deaths, Commissioner McCarey ordered the Fire Alarm Room to strike out boxes on all telephoned alarms reporting a structure fire between 12am and 8am. Up until those years a phoned in structure fire received a local alarm of an engine, ladder, and batt. chief. One night, in the early morning hours, they received a phone call reporting a dwelling fire in the 900 block of Hall St., a little street between Christian & Carpenter Sts., and for some reason, struck out the box at 9th & Bainbridge Sts. about 3 and half blocks away. Hall St., being in Engine 11’s local, they knew exactly where the fire was. Buffing that night after my 4-12 shift at the FAR, I got caught up in a parade of Engine 1, Ladder 5, Engine 10, Ladder 11, Batt. 5, all circling the block long playground, between 9th & 10th, Bainbridge & Fitzwater, clueless as to where Hall St. was. Thank goodness Engine 11 knew their local, and was able to bring the fire under control all by their lonesome.
On Saturday afternoon, July 27, 1957, Engine 11 responded 2nd-in to a 2nd Alarm struck on Box 6143 at 10th & Geary Sts.. This box was in the middle of a largely undeveloped, somewhat marshy area of South Philly south of the Walt Whitman Bridge approach. The fire had involved an auto repair garage in the rear of 3320 S. 10th St. and was starting to involve 2 stand alone frame dwellings in the front of the property. Engine 11’s hose wagon led off from a hydrant around 10th & Packer, a couple of blocks or more away. As the hose wagon was pulling up in front of the dwellings, Engine 11’s pumper on the hydrant had already charged the laid 3.5 inch hose line. A quick-thinking member of Engine 11 seeing the water filling out the hose line further down the street, laid down on the flat hose with his full body weight and kinked it; thus, saving possible injury to firemen and spectators from a wildly flailing hose line. The site of this fire is now in the middle of the Citizens Bank parking lot just north of the Park’s outfield.
This story was told to me by Ed Jordan, who retired from the PFD in 2007.. He was assigned to Engine 11 at 6th & South from June, 1979 to March, 1981. When they had a run to the north or west of their station, the flag man would go down to Lombard St. to block the one-way southbound traffic on 6th St. so they could go north to Lombard and turn west. This kept them from having to go 2 or 3 blocks out of their way(due to one-way streets) to go northwest from their station. However, on one morning run, Ed as flagman, went down to block 6th at Lombard. But instead of the Engine coming down to Lombard, it made a quick left turn(west) on little Rodman St. on the side of their station. When Ed saw this, he made a mad dash, in full protective gear, west on Lombard to try to meet the Engine at 7th St. He said it must have been quite a sight for neighbors seeing him running down the street trying to catch his Engine. Luckily, Engine 11 waited at 7th & Lombard, not leaving him behind.
It was one night in the late 60s when I attended a local alarm for an apartment fire on Quince St. north of Pine St.. It was a mattress fire, and as the procedure was at the time, it was removed from the apt to lessen both fire and water damage. I think it came from a rear apt. in the old hi-rise Greystone Apts. on the N.W. cor. of 11th & Pine. At the time, Engine 11 had a 1958 GMC/John Bean which had a high pressure pump(700psi) on its booster line. After the members had carried the burning mattress from the bldg. to the gutter of Quince St.( a 2-car-width, small side street), they opened up their high pressure booster fog line on the mattress blowing pieces of burning material all over Quince St.. The high pressure fog line was known for quick knock downs of an interior room and contents fire, but seemingly, not so good for exterior small fires.