ladder 15

Ladder 15 is located in the busy Back Bay section of Boston, and shares the house with Engine 33. L-15/E-33 house is the busiest house in the city and was listed as the 32nd busiest station in the nation according to the Firehouse Magazine, June - July 1998. E-33 was listed as the 17th busiest engine company in the nation in 1997. In 1999, E-33 moved up to the 12th busiest Engine Company in the nation with 4,154 runs. L-15 beat L-26 as the busiest Ladder Company in the nation in 1999 with 3,601 runs. Both companies earned a 1998 Unit Citation for assisting the rescue of 30 people from the upper floors of a 6 story building during a six alarm blaze and 2 Honorable Mentions for other actions. L-15/E-33 house is also an historical site as the oldest firehouse in the city. When the newer apparatus came out and could no longer fit in the bay doors, instead of reconfiguring the house and altering it's original construction, they just reconfigured the apparatus, thus keeping the original station design intact. Ladder 15 is also notorious as it protects the Back Bay, which is the location that the hotel Vendome fire occurred, and it was E-33 & L-15 who were first to respond. Ladder 15 was heavily damaged in that fire by falling debris. Ladder 15 was later commanded by Lt. Stephen Minehan, a hero who caught the world's attention and love in 1994 when he gave his life while searching a burning warehouse looking for two missing brother firefighters.