1922: Waterboy, Danny Beg, and the Last Fire Horses of the New York Fire Department » Rhinelander Waldo
By 1911, Chief Croker had already been responding to the big fires in his own motorized vehicle. But 33-year-old Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo, pictured here, was the first to propose motor-driven fire apparatus for the FDNY. On March 17, 1911, Waldo told The New York Times: “The horse is sure gone as far as the fire business is concerned. It’ll do for pleasure, but it’s out of the business.”
Rhinelander Waldo, Fire Commissioner, FDNY, 1911
