When the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) formed in 1866, new fire stations were commissioned to keep up with the expansion of London.
The Fire Brigade Committee of the Metropolitan Board of Works recommended in 1867 that a fire station was built in Sydenham. This station was built to ensure the protection of nearby Crystal Palace. The fire station, alongside staff accommodation, a drill hall and stables, was completed in 1869 at the north end of Crystal Palace Parade (No.49 in ‘D’ District). The fire station superintendent was noted as Mr E Sturridge.
The Station was originally set up to be staffed by two firefighters, an engineer and a coachman caring for a pair of dapple-grey horses. The firefighting equipment included a hose cart, horse drawn manual fire pump and a horse drawn fire escape ladder. By 1908 the staff had expanded to six firefighters.
In 1904 London Fire Brigade (formally the MFB) began to replace its horse-drawn appliances with motor vehicles. As a result in 1916 a new station was opened in Norwood Road housing a motor escape van, a motor pump and later a turntable ladder. The firefighter’s families were still accommodated above the station in flats and this became LFB Station 84. This led to the closure of Sydenham Fire Station and the building has since been demolished.
A special thanks to the Crystal Palace Foundation for their request to cover this fire station and for kindly providing access to their compiled information on this subject. You can learn more about the history of the Crystal Palace on their website.