Springfield Stations Run

     Yesterday I bit the proverbial bullet and did the city that I feared that would take the most time to photograph, what in this part of the state is considered to be the "Capital of Western Mass", the city of Springfield. However, it really wasn't too bad to get accomplished, even though the city houses eight fire stations within it. 

     The first stop we made was in what the locals call the "North End" of Springfield, a few blocks away from Baystate Medical Center. The North End is a section of the city that has been especially troublesome with regards to criminal activity, so I didn't want to spend a lot of time at this stop. Even though the station is right on Main Street, it doesn't really fit in architecturally with the rest of the buildings around it, tenement housing and small businesses with bars on the doors and windows. It is a pretty nice looking station right on Main Street.

Station 10, Engine 10 

      The next stop was the headquarters of the entire Springfield Fire Department on Worthington Street, which is home to Engine 1 and Ladder 1. I had to get a couple of different shots from different views as the station is too large to get a complete photo. This station is a neighbor to the Springfield Police department so it was a high traffic location for both departments.

View of Headquarters from Worthington Street Side 

Corner of Worthington and Spring Street

     

     The station also has a nice memorial on the corner of the building, that is dedicated to former members of the city fire department who have served and lost their lives while serving the city.

Luckily, I was able to also get a photo of my first truck of the day, returning from a call 

After leaving Worthington Street, we headed across town a little bit over to White Street, the home of Station 3 and Engine 3.

Besides getting a great shot of the station, I was also loving the clouds in the sky above it for photo purposes. An added bonus was that the bay doors were open and I was able to get a shot of a truck or two.

Ladder 9 in Station 3-Ladder 9 Co was disbanded in 2012, hence its location here

      The last stop before a bite to eat was over in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield, on Eastern Avenue, which is the home of Station 8, Engine 8 and Ladder 8 Heavy Rescue. This particular station is also large and is quite a beautiful building. Luckily one of the trucks was getting ready to head out the door shortly after my arrival, so I was able to get a shot of it as they were preparing to go.

View from right side of station

Eastern Avenue- Station 8

    

     
     The station also has a memorial  in front of the building. This particular station has a memorial to Leonard Corbin, the city's first Black firefighter who served the city from 1969-2001 after thirty-two years of service to the city.  

     

     Along with the memorial to Leonard Corbin, the station also houses something else interesting out front-
The Buckingham Cornerstone.
The cornerstone was from Buckingham Junior High School, which had been built on the station's site in 1891. Classes ended at the school in 1968, and the site was used for various programs in the city before being re-utilized as a permanent home for Station 8.  

     After a stop at nearby American International College for lunch, my second home during the academic year, it was off to the next four stations on the list. The first stop was to the home of Station 5, which houses both Engine 5 and Ladder 5 on Odessa Street.

     While this station isn't as large as the other stations we had seen so far in Springfield, honestly, I am partial to it simply because of the great looking motorcycle parked out front!

After Station 5, it was off to Carew Street and the home of Station 9. This station is located in the Raymond M Sullivan Safety Complex, and houses Engine 9 along with Hazmat 1 and the Arson/Bomb Squad divisions. The building is newer and quite large, with bays that open from both sides of the building similar to other larger stations. 

Front view of of Station 9 from Carew Street

Rear View of Station 9
     

     To the left of the station, looking from Carew Street, there is also a nice looking memorial in front of rose bushes dedicated to those lost on September 11, 2001.

       I was also lucky enough at this location to be able to go into the station bays and take photos of the trucks.  I was informed that Engine 3 from Station 3 was in this station for some repair work 

One of the trucks used for the Arson and Bomb Squad units

  

Not thrilled with the glare from the windows on the truck, but I had to work with what I was given!

     With two more stations to go in the city, it was off to the home of Station 16 and Engine 16. I absolutely loved this station, it looked like it had some "history" 

      
The station has recently been reopened, and is located in the Pine Point section of the city.

                                              

The weathered sign is one of the details I love about this station

The final station of the city, Station 12,  is located in what is locally known as the Sixteen Acres section of the city, and is located on Parker Street a few miles north of Western New England University. Thanks to a one way street next to the station and no parking, we had to circle the station an annoying two times before I was able to get out of the car to photograph it.  However, I am glad I was able to, as I thought this station was great to photograph as the driveway has a small slope and a great shot.  This station is the home to Engine 12, and Brush 1, and  has been so since the 1960's. 

Brush 1

With this final station, the tour of the city's current stations was complete. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to try to attempt in one afternoon. We were even able to hit the towns of East Longmeadow and Longmeadow on the return trip home, but those will be for a later post.