VIDEO: It’s a reconstruction of a machine that was key to fighting fires in New York in the 1700s. The Newsham engine was the first fire engine brought here from England in 1731.
“It may not look like much compared to today’s fire engines and everything, but compared to a bucket brigade throwing little buckets on the fire, this thing could throw 40 yards, 70 gallons a minute onto a fire,” Author Bruce Twickler said.
Twickler created the new permanent exhibit called Colonial Firefighting and the American Revolution. It’s at the New York City Fire Museum, the official museum of the FDNY. The exhibition looks back at the history of firefighting and the fire department during the 17th and 18th centuries, using state-of-the-art animation. It includes a depiction of the great New York Fire of 1776, the most destructive fire in the history of colonial North America.