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by RIVKA BUKOWSKY
For 100 years, New York's Bravest have fought fires out of the old
red-paned house on Duane St.
They've worked through major blazes, several wars and, of course, the tragedy of 9/11.
Yesterday, Ladder 1, Engine 7 and Battalion 1 celebrated a century of service and vowed to keep fighting for the next 100 years.
"You want to carry on the tradition," said Firefighter John McConnachie of Ladder 1.
McConnachie said the firehouse's long history, with firefighters' signatures from the 1940s scrawled on the lockers, gives his work added weight.
"You don't get that same feeling if you walk into one of the newer firehouses," he said. "You don't want to let those guys down."
Firefighters marked the house's milestone birthday with a block party attended by their families and chiefs, including Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
Scoppetta was late, but with good reason - he came straight from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run, held annually in memory of the firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to the twin towers on 9/11 and died there trying to save others.
Located just blocks from the World Trade Center, firefighters from Engine 7 and Ladder 1 were the first to arrive that day. They didn't lose any men - and their efforts were chronicled in the documentary "9/11."
One of the directors of that film, Jules Naudet, got married nine months after the attack - and he picked the firehouse as the site for his nuptials.
"We're really part of a family," said Naudet, 32, who was honored by the firefighters yesterday with his brother and co-director, Gedeon. "It's a second home."
Battalion Chief Ron Schmutzler brought his own family to the celebration, carrying his granddaughter Emma Jade, 2.
"All the guys here are part of this history," he said. "It's just an uplifting feeling."
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