When James MacMurray left his position as herdsmen of a large New Jersey stock farm in 1893 to become a member of the New York Fire Department, he brought along his constant companion, Robert Bruce, a well-trained black and tan “sheep dog.” The two-year-old collie was trained to herd sheep, so he had a lot to learn about herding fire horses in city traffic. His training paid off in a big way…
Posts Tagged ‘fire horses’
1893: Robert Bruce MacMurray, the Horse-Saving Fire Dog of the FDNY
Posted: 12th October 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, FDNY Horses/Mascots, Horse TalesTags: FDNY history, fire dog, fire horses, James MacMurray, Robert Bruce MacMurray
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1913: The City Farm for Inebriates and Retired FDNY Fire Horses
Posted: 1st February 2015 by The Hatching Cat in Horse TalesTags: Board of Inebriety, Charles Samson, FDNY, fire horses, Mid-Orange Correctional Facility, New York History, Wickham Manor House, Wisner-Durland Farm
Part II of the Fire Horse Heroes and the City Farm “These old hero-horses, as I think they should be called, deserve a better fate than city pavements until they die of exhaustion. On the city farm in Warwick we have 800 acres of wonderful rolling country. We have a lake over a mile long. […]
1922: Waterboy, Danny Beg, and the Last Fire Horses of the New York Fire Department
Posted: 24th January 2015 by The Hatching Cat in Horse TalesTags: Brooklyn Fire Department, Engine Company 205, FDNY, FDNY history, fire horses, New York History, Pacific Hose Company
“Once more, the picturesque is to yield to the utilitarian. That thrilling sight – three plunging horses drawing engine or hook and ladder – one of the few thrilling sights to be seen in our prosaic streets, is soon to become a thing of the past. Within the next five or six years, there will not be a fire horse in Greater New York. The gasoline motor will do the work of these old favorites.”– New York Times, February 19, 1911
