Friendship Firehouse

In an 18th century town of mostly wooden buildings, where open flames provided heat, light, and cooking on a daily basis, Alexandrians constantly faced the danger of fire. Water to fight fires had to be carried in buckets from nearby wells, town pumps, or creeks. Early fire apparatus allowed water to be hand-pumped and sprayed into a building or onto its roof, hopefully preventing it from spreading to neighboring houses, but the engines were not very powerful and had to be pulled by hand by volunteers. The Friendship Fire Company was established in 1774 as the first firefighting organization in Alexandria, and its equipment was stored at Market Square. As Alexandria grew, other fire companies formed, and Friendship moved to a new firehouse on Alfred Street. Volunteers of Friendship, Sun, Relief, Hydraulion, and other local fire companies served the city faithfully for decades, particularly during enormous blazes in 1827, 1855, 1871, and 1922. Over time, as buildings grew taller, the old volunteer companies were replaced by a paid professional fire department. The Friendship Firehouse was built in 1855 and remodeled in 1871, when a huge steeple was replaced by a lower cupola topped with a firefighter weathervane. In 1992, the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association gifted the building to the City of Alexandria, and it is now open to the public.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States