FIRST DUE FIREHOUSE REPLICAS

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 #25:

Honolulu Engine 5/Ladder 5

“Kaimuki”

First Due Firehouse Replicas Release #25:

Honolulu Fire Department Fire Station 5 “Kaimuki”

Code 3 produced replicas of Honolulu Fire Department Engine 5 in December, 1997 and Ladder 5 in May, 1998 (both Seagrave models). These companies are quartered together in the historic Kaimuki Fire Station 5 which includes Diamond Head in its first due area. This is our first model representing the Honolulu Fire Department, and the twenty-fifth release from First Due Firehouse Replicas.

About the Firehouse

The Honolulu Fire Department (the 10th largest department in the United States) is unique in that all 44 fire stations are named as well as numbered. The names indicate the location on the island that each firehouse protects.

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.

About the Apparatus

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.

Location:

971 Koko Head Avenue

Kaimuki, Honolulu, HI 

Years in Service:

1924-present—rear addition completed in 1996

Companies Quartered:

1. •Engine 5 (quartered 1924-present)
   

2. •Ladder 5
   

3. •Rapid Response Vehicle 5

Original Kaimuki Fire Station

The firehouse was completed in 1924 at a cost of $29,478. In 1992 an extensive renovation project to house a modern engine and ladder company began. The rear extension includes a long two-bay apparatus section and two dormitories with locker room facilities on the second floor. Engine Company 5 and Ladder Company 5 moved into their expanded and renovated quarters in October 1996. The project cost a total of $2,300,000.

The original station is on the National Historic Registry and has been restored to its initial condition. Located at the head of Koko Head Avenue (the major cross street in the Kaimuki district of Honolulu) with the summit of the Pu’u O Kaimukī Park volcano as a backdrop, the station presents a dramatic vista.

The Honolulu Fire Department was founded in 1851 and consists of a combination city-county department protecting the entire island of Oahu. The island is divided into five battalions which include 44 fire stations covering 604 square miles.

Release Date:

• October 2022

Dimensions:

• Base width: 15 inches

• Base depth: 16 inches

• Building width: 11.5 inches

• Building depth: 14.25 inches

• Building height: 11.5 inches

Features Included:

1. •Black base with 2 inch apron in front and both sides
   

2. •2 Removable roofs
   

3. •6 Working apparatus bay doors (slide them into any position with the touch of a finger)
   

4. •Flag/Flagpole
   

5. •Printed firehouse fact sheet booklet
   

6. •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 $379 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 produced models of Honolulu Engine 5 in 1997 and Ladder 5 in 1998 (not included with firehouse purchase). They also released a replica of HFD Engine 14 (a red Crown unit with a surfboard) in June 2000 which can easily be converted to Engine 5. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in converting existing models.

Engine 5:

• Seagrave (series 1, #02454, 1997)

Ladder 5:

• Seagrave Rear Mount Ladder (#12660, 1998, with custom-built surfboard)

The following units are modified Greenlight models. A printed sheet of unit numbers is included with the firehouse to assist in converting existing models.

Rapid Response Vehicle 5: (fictional model)

• Chevrolet (#C01076, 2022, decals by First Due Shops)

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

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

Engine 5:

1. •Crown (#12955, 1997, decals by First Due Shops)

Tanker 5: (fictional unit)

• International Workstar (#45120, 2018, decals by First Due Shops)

Chief Car: (fictional unit)

• Dodge Monaco (#42960, 2021, decals by First Due Shops)

Waikiki Beach Patrol Lifeguard:

• Volkswagen Bus (#58050, 2021, surfboard & rack by First Due Shops)

The original Kaimuki fire station is a two-story reinforced concrete structure with a stucco veneer designed by G. R. Miller in the Spanish Mission Style. The building was erected in 1924 and is still in use today. The structure includes a hipped roof of red tile and a tall hose tower which rises from the center of the rear of this box-like building.

The second story of the building has three sets of three jalousie windows. Originally these were casement, but in 1968 jalousies were installed in the majority of Oahu’s operational fire stations. The only other exterior alterations involve the removal of light fixtures which once flanked the front doorways, and the removal of a round arched trellis which stood between the two doorways.