FIRST DUE FIREHOUSE REPLICAS

Website by Andrew Benzie Creative Design.

About the Owner/Designer/Builder/Author

Andrew Benzie began collecting model emergency vehicles in the 1970s when his grandparents gave him his first Corgi and Dinky toy fire engines. He has an extensive collection and knowledge of Code 3 models, and has published three books on Conrad, Siku, and Tomica emergency vehicles. Andrew currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he runs a design and book publishing company, and plays bass and drums with several local bands.

First Due Firehouse Replicas

Release #13:

Oceanic H&L Co. No.1

VFDNY Engine 1/Brushfire Unit 1

You may Place an Order for any of our products online. Once we receive your order we will contact you via email with more information about availability, payment, shipping costs, etc.

The thirteenth release of First Due Firehouse Replicas:

Oceanic H&L Co. No.1

How to Order

For the last 140 years, whenever there has been a call for help the volunteers of Oceanic Hook & Ladder Company Number 1 have responded with speed and professionalism. To commemorate this time-honored company, Code 3 replicated Oceanic’s Mack CF pumper in 2002. Our model of this historical firehouse is the thirteenth release from First Due Firehouse Replicas.

About the Firehouse

Oceanic Hook and Ladder Company Number 1 is New York City’s oldest active volunteer fire company. Established in 1881, Oceanic is located on the west shore of Staten Island in the community of Travis. While once the only regional fire department in the area, today Oceanic supports and augments the paid New York City Fire Department.

The firehouse was originally located on Chelsea Avenue but was moved in October of 1902 to it’s present location at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Burke Avenue. At the time the building only consisted of the front part of the structure that now encompasses the main apparatus bay and the second floor. The task of moving the building was accomplished by rolling it on logs using four horses with the assistance of a dozen men from the fire company. The long low rear section and the second bay (brush truck room) were added some years later.

About the Replica

First Due Firehouse Replicas goes to great lengths to capture as much accuracy and detail as possible within each model we produce. Once the research is completed and a firehouse is chosen to replicate, the process involves taking photographs, creating an architectural building plan, assembling and editing the photos to digital 1:64 scale artwork, printing the artwork on glossy poster-quality paper and mounting the prints to foam-core board. Next the walls are cut out using a professional-quality mat cutter (to achieve 45° angle cuts for joins), and each model is then assembled by hand. Additional exterior details are added including air conditioning units, railings, exhaust vents, etc. Finally, remaining small details are hand-painted, the custom-built apparatus bay doors are installed and the raising of the flag completes each firehouse replica.

Fore more information about this product, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page. If have any further questions, please Contact Us.

Code 3 replicated Oceanic’s 1979 Mack CF pumper in 2002 (not included with firehouse purchase). This truck originally served as a FDNY caisson truck used to carry fallen firefighters. It then served as a training vehicle from 1992 until being called back into service as a caisson truck to honor the heroes who died on September 11, 2001. The apparatus joined Oceanic H&L Co. No.1 in 2002.

Engine 1:

•Mack CF (#12373, 2002)

About the Apparatus

In the early years, the main piece of apparatus was a horse-drawn wooden ladder truck. When the alarm was sounded, local delivery men were required to report to the firehouse with their horses which were rented for a flat rate of $3 a run, whether the alarm lasted for ten minutes or ten hours.

Location:

29 Chelsea Avenue (1881-1902)

4010 Victory Boulevard (1902-present)

Travis, Staten Island, NY

Years in Service:

1881-present

Companies Quartered:

•Engine 1 (organized 1881, quartered 1881–present)
•Brushfire Unit 1

Website:

http://oceanic.nyc

Release Date:

• April 2022

Dimensions:

• Base width: 7.5 inches

• Base depth: 14 inches

• Building width: 7.5 inches

• Building depth: 12 inches

• Building height: 5 inches

• Height to tip of flagpole: 6 inches

Features Included:

•Black base with 2 inch apron in front
•Removable roofs (2)
•Working main apparatus bay door (slide it into any position with the touch of a finger)
•Removable side (brush truck room) bay door Note: for this one-story area the side roof must be removed to raise the bay door
•Flag/Flagpole
•Printed firehouse fact sheet booklet
•Apparatus re-number sheet (a poster-printed sheet of apparatus numbers you can use to convert existing models into units quartered in this firehouse)

Pricing:

Our introductory price for this firehouse replica is $359 plus shipping (Note: the models of the apparatus are not included). The price covers the cost of the photo-quality prints (starting at about $50), the building materials (various paper, foam, plastic, wood and metal products), and around eight hours of time to construct (not including the many hours of preparatory research and design time spent to create each prototype model). Note: We create each or our replicas by hand—this is NOT a 3D printed or laser cut model.

Code 3 never released a model of Oceanic’s current 1997 Seagrave pumper, but as this unit is also an ex-FDNY rig (E-40), it’s fairly easy to convert an existing FDNY Seagrave pumper to replicate this unit.

Engine 1:

•Seagrave (converted from a Code 3 FDNY pumper by First Due Shops, 2021)

*NOTE: A photo of the real unit can be found on this page.

To produce Oceanic’s unique 1959 Dodge brushfire unit we modified a 1980s French Solido model. Yes, that’s an anchor hanging on the front grill. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in creating both these models.

Brushfire Unit 1: