By Jason Fields

One hundred and twentyfive years ago, the first fire bell rang out over Riverdale. When it sounded, men would have rushed to don equipment and put horses in their traces. A steamer engine and other firefighting tools would stand ready, and the firemen would head into the night, not knowing what danger they would face, but brave enough to do their part.

Since the time of those first calls, more than 700 men and women have followed in their footsteps, and the crew that works in the firehouse on Henry Hudson Parkway and West 242nd Street today honors their memory.

“History means a lot,” Lt. Michael Encke said. “Just thinking about all the people and their sacrifices …”

His voice was contemplative. The lieutenant, one of the three currently serving at the fire station, has turned himself into the house historian. Having discovered a proclamation congratulating the firehouse on 100 years of service dated Aug. 26, 1984, Lt. Encke said he didn’t want the 125th anniversary to go unmarked. He is trying to gather as much information about the firehouse as he can.

Looking through Fire Department records, he’s already learned that the Riverdale firehouse, which predates the entire borough of the Bronx by about 25 years, was built after a terrible railroad accident in Spuyten Duyvil in 1882.

On a winter’s evening at approximately 7 p.m., two trains collided and one was set ablaze. The fire engulfed two of the train’s cars, according to documents describing the early history of firefighting in the Bronx. People tried to put it out with buckets of water from Spuyten Duyvil Creek and some even threw snowballs into it.

In the end, eight people died and an influential and wealthy Riverdalian, William E. Dodge, went to the city’s mayor to demand a firehouse and a warning bell for the area.

At least one other major fire occurred before the three-story wooden firehouse first opened for service. That blaze destroyed a brick mansion on what is now West 249th Street and Riverdale Avenue.

The bell used in the tower is a historical oddity. It was forged in Spain in 1762 and intended for a monastery in Mexico, but was taken by an American general in the Mexican War between 1846 and 1848. It’s unclear precisely how it ended up in Riverdale, but was kept in the original firehouse and was moved to where it now lives: in the Monument on West 238th Street and Riverdale Avenue.

In 1939, after the Henry Hudson Parkway was built through Riverdale, the original firehouse was replaced by the brick building that now houses Engine and Ladder companies 52. That’s when the bell was moved.

Like its predecessor, the firehouse that’s now on the parkway is an important part of the community.

“Lots of people come by,” said Fireman Edward Hession, who has been stationed in Riverdale for eight years. “One time, a lady came in here with her son. Said her kid did something wrong, maybe pulled a fire alarm. She tried to drop him off to work at the firehouse all day, to teach him a lesson.”

The captain at the time was polite, but firm in his refusal, Mr. Hession said.

No matter how disciplined the firefighters might be, disciplining the neighborhood’s children is a little outside their job description.

Community service is another story. School groups come through the firehouse regularly to learn about fire prevention and firefighters participate in neighborhood events and charities. Still, they’re eager to do more.

Lt. William Thompson (who swears he’s not the guy running for mayor), says the unit is lobbying to get “Haz-Tech” equipment and training. The designation would mean the unit would be qualified to handle even greater dangers than the fires they face down now and could be dispatched to the scene of a chemical spill or even terror attacks. There are no Haz-Tech units currently in the Bronx, the lieutenant said.

Mr. Hession, sitting on house watch in the firehouse’s communications center, comfortably waited for a call to come on a recent evening. When asked what he thought about working in a company with such a long history, he pointed to a scarred wood panel and explained that in place of telephones and radios, a system of bells each representing a different location was used to alert firefighters to an emergency.

“There’s a lot of tradition,” he said. “It’s kind of a very old job.”

Whatever the future of the firehouse on the parkway, Lt. Encke is hoping to learn more about its past. He is asking anyone who has old photographs of the firehouse to share them with the current occupants. They can be mailed to the firehouse, 4550 Riverdale Ave., Bronx, NY 10471, to his attention. He plans to collect everything he has learned and found in a book to be passed down to the firefighters who will follow him. He is also in the planning stages of a celebration he hopes to share with the community sometime in November.