HISTORY

This firehouse opened on August 30, 1989 as part of a 30-story high-rise office building. It replaced a firehouse at 123 Oliver Street, just around the corner. As part of the agreement with the developers of the entire city block footprint, the Boston Fire Department arranged to have the firehouse become a self-contained unit of the high-rise building. While it appears to be an integral part of the high-rise, it is actually a totally separate, 2-story firehouse. After the move in August 1989, the old quarters at 123 Oliver Street was demolished and 20-story office tower now occupies the spot.

The firehouse is a 6-bay firehouse, with 4 doors for fire apparatus and 2 doors for the Division 1 Chief. For many years, the fully-restored antique 1948 Mack hosewagon of Engine 5 was housed here. The firehouse has an underground parking facility and the rounded window on the second floor over the apparatus doors contains each Company Officer office.

The firehouse is located at 125 Purchase Street, between Oliver and Pearl Streets, in Downtown Boston.

Plaques are mounted on the exterior of the firehouse to commemorate firefighters who died in the Line Of Duty:

In 1982 Engine Company 10 moved in from its former quarters at 127 Mount Vernon Street on Beacon Hill, where it had been in continuous service since 1862, except for a brief period of construction.

In September 7, 2002, the Tower Company was re-designated as Tower Ladder 3, at the same time as Ladder 10 was re-designated as Tower Ladder 10, thus establishing two tower ladder companies in the city. For many years the Hazardous Materials Response Unit (H-3) was quartered here until moving to Engine 53 in Roslindale, and is now at Engine 22 in the South End. The Collapse Rescue Unit (H-6), part of the Safety/Hazardous Materials Division continues to be quartered at Purchase Street.

Responses from this firehouse per year (approximately) are: Rescue 1: 2300 incidents; Engine 10: 3800 incidents; Tower Ladder 3: 2300 incidents.

Rescue Company 1 responds to incidents throughout the Division 1, which is made up of these areas: East Boston, Charlestown, Downtown, South Boston, South End, Back Bay and Allston/Brighton.

Engine 10 and Tower Ladder 3 mainly respond to incidents in the Downtown, South Boston, Beacon Hill, and North End areas. All three companies respond to many incidents in the Central Artery Tunnels, a network of tunnels throughout Downtown, South Boston and East Boston.