LOCAL

Time Lapse: When it came to firefighting, Providence was historically well-stationed

The Providence Journal

Today marks the beginning of Fire Prevention Week, so in addition to checking the batteries on your smoke detectors at home, check out these pictures of firehouses in Providence. Back before motorized apparatus, teams of horses were used to pull the pumpers and ladders when an alarm came in. That was a challenge for the hardy equines in hilly Providence, especially in bad weather. There used to be more firehouses all over the city, and while they've been put to other uses, some of those buildings still stand.

— Michael Delaney, director of photography

In 1952, Providence Ladder 4 made its last run from the station on Wickenden Street. The company was headed to new quarters at North Main Street and Branch Avenue.

In 1918, the Richmond Street fire station housed Engine Company 7.

A 1951 photo of the old quarters of Ladder Company 8 on Laurel Hill Avenue in Providence.

The Point Street fire station early in the 20th century. The fountain in the foreground was for watering the horses.

A new fire station opened on Franklin Street in 1915. The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul can be seen in the background.

Engine Company 19 had a fire bell in the tower. Above that, the weather vane's rotating ornament is a team of horses pulling an engine.

A 1951 photo of the firehouse of Hose Company 16 at Branch Avenue and Charles Street in Providence. The left gable displays the construction date of 1889.

The scene at the Central Fire Station in June 1886, when the city was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding. The station was decorated for the occasion, and personnel were arrayed out front. The station was at the foot of today's Kennedy Plaza, on the site now occupied by the Federal Building.