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 #6:

FDNY Engine 75/Ladder 33/Battalion 19

“The Animal House”

Valiant Service Edition

The sixth release of First Due Firehouse Replicas:

FDNY’s “The Animal House”, Valiant Service Edition

Code 3 produced three versions of FDNY’s Engine 75 (two Seagrave models and a ‘Valiant’ Mack CF), two versions of Tower Ladder 33 (a Seagrave and a ‘Valiant’ Mack CF), and one version of Battalion 19 (a GMC Suburban). These companies make up The Animal House in the Bronx—the fifth and sixth releases from First Due Firehouse Replicas. For these world-famous companies we decided to produce replicas of both their current modern firehouse on Walton Avenue (Release #5) as well as their former historical home located under the elevated IRT Jerome Avenue Line (Release #6).

About the Firehouse

The Animal House original firehouse was located at 2285 Jerome Avenue, The Bronx, New York City. Engine 75 and Ladder 33 responded to emergencies from this firehouse for nearly 100 years until construction was completed on their new firehouse a few blocks away in 2000.

Engine 75 and Ladder 33 saw heavy action during the famous war years of the 1970s. Between 1977 and 1978, these companies responded to nearly 40,000 calls making their Jerome Avenue quarters the busiest firehouse in the world. In 2008, Engine 75 led all FDNY engine companies with a total of 5,395 runs.

Engine 75 was first organized in 1901 as combination Engine Company with a horse-drawn steamer, a horse-drawn wagon, and a horse-drawn city service ladder truck. They became a regular engine company on May 15, 1907, when Hook & Ladder Company 33 was organized to take over the operation of the ladder truck. Their first firehouse was at 2283 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, where they remained until July 31, 2000.

The nickname of the firehouse refers to the famous frat house movie and seems fitting for such a busy workplace environment.

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.

How to Order

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.

About Us Firehouse Replicas Custom Models Fleet Services FAQ Contact/Order

Join our Facebook Group where you can learn about upcoming releases and share photos of your own models.

About Us Firehouse Replicas Custom Models Fleet Services FAQ Contact/Order

Location:

2285 Jerome Avenue

The Bronx, New York, NY

Years in Service:

1901-2000 (The building now serves as FDNY EMS Station #19)

Companies Quartered:

•Engine 75 (organized 1901, quartered 1901–2000)
•Ladder 33 (organized 1907, quartered 1907–2000)
•Battalion 19 (organized 1903, quartered 1930-2000)

Videos:

Fire: Hell On Earth (Part 1 & 2) (WABC NY Channel 7 Reporter John Johnson follows Bronx Firemen from the 19th Battalion, Engine 75, Ladder 33 during the FDNY’s “War Years”, 1979)

Special Feature FDNY The Animal House E75 L33 (documentary, 1991)

Release Date:

• February 2022

Dimensions:

• Base width: 11 inches

• Base depth: 10.5 inches

• Building width: 11 inches

• Building depth: 8.5 inches

• Building height: 6.75 inches

Features Included:

•Black base with 2 inch apron in front
•Removable roof
•Working apparatus bay doors (slide them into any position with the touch of a finger)
•Flag/Flagpole
•Printed firehouse fact sheet booklet
•Apparatus re-number sheet (if applicable: 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 $279 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.

Our 1960s version of Battalion 19 was built in-house by our First Due Shops.

Battalion 19:

• Chevrolet Suburban (Auto World #SP073A, beacon and decals by First Due Shops, 2022)

This Replica is Also Available as FDNY EMS Station #19.

After “The Animal House” moved to their new firehouse in 2000, the building was renovated and became the home for FDNY EMS Station #19. The basic structure is the same, but the front facade was updated (changes include signage, additional entry doors, lights, new apparatus bay doors, etc.).

Code 3 produced three versions of FDNY’s Engine 75, two versions of Tower Ladder 33, and one version of Battalion 19 (not included with firehouse purchase).

Engine 75: