MILFORD — If you’ve driven down Melba Street toward Point Beach, you know the building: a bright red, two-bay firehouse with a flag out front and a fire-department-style crest above the bay doors. For decades it was the city’s Engine Co. No. 6. In 2014 Milford couldn’t find a single bidder for it. Since March 2025 it has been Fire Engine Pizza Co.
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The firehouse nobody bid on
The station at 204 Melba St. was built in 1948, according to the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce. It closed when the city opened a new fire station on New Haven Avenue, which replaced both the Melba Street house and the Kings Highway station in Woodmont. The Woodmont building became the borough hall.
In 2014 the city put the Melba Street station up for auction. It was a 5,498-square-foot building on a 20,000-square-foot lot, and bidding started at $477,000, the New Haven Register reported at the time. Then-Mayor Ben Blake pitched it to anyone who had ever dreamed of living in a firehouse. Nobody showed up to bid.
A second round, with no minimum, drew five bids, and the Board of Aldermen rejected all of them, the Connecticut Post reported in 2019. One of those bidders was Marty McCarthy, who already ran the original Fire Engine Pizza Co. in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood. He kept working with the city and made a deal. He bought the firehouse in 2015 for $180,000, the Post reported.
Ten years from “sold” to “open”
It took a long time. By 2019 the building had already been painted fire-engine red, but most of the work was out of sight: McCarthy told the Post the inside had been gutted, the electrical updated and an in-ground oil tank removed. “It was a lot more work than I anticipated,” he said then.
Then came the pandemic. “When Covid hit many of the people that we had outsourced for construction didn’t work anymore so we had to get new contractors and find materials and things like that,” co-owner Phil Segneri told the Post when the restaurant finally opened in March 2025.
State business records show Fire Engine Pizza Co 2 LLC, registered on May 11, 2018, at 204 Melba St., is active. The company’s first restaurant, Fire Engine Pizza Company LLC in Bridgeport, was registered in 2012, and a Shelton location followed. Milford is the third. McCarthy and Segneri have been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years, the Post reported, and they hired about 30 new staff members for Milford and trained them at the other two locations.
The chamber, which held the ribbon cutting in late March 2025, wrote that McCarthy “absolutely fell in love with it” when he came across the building. Mayor Tony Giannattasio was there, and the chamber said hundreds of guests came to the grand opening.
Inside the old engine bays
“This was a two-bay garage firehouse, which is now the dining room and the bar area,” Segneri said at the opening. The company’s website describes reclaimed barn wood, hickory floors and “endless artifacts donated from local Fire Departments,” with a rectangular bar in the middle of one half of the room and a family-friendly dining side with the brick oven as its backdrop.
Google reviewer Antoinette called it “an unexpected gem.” “I stopped in on a whim and was instantly charmed by this beautifully restored old fire station turned sports bar,” she wrote. “The owners have done an incredible job preserving the original layout, making it feel like you’re enjoying great food and drinks inside a piece of living history.”
It is very much a neighborhood place. “This restaurant is located in a residential neighborhood, a little off the beaten path. It’s definitely worth the trip,” wrote Ralfie, who added: “You may see golf carts parked here being that the restaurant is so close to point beach.”
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What to order
The menu runs from wood-fired pizza to Italian entrées, salads and grinders. Gluten-free crust is available for $4 more, and there’s vegan cheese. Here’s where to start, with prices from the restaurant’s online menu (small/large for pizzas).
Loaded Mashed Potato pizza ($18/$24)
Garlic mashed potato, scallion, bacon, caramelized onion and cheddar. “Our number one item is our loaded mashed potato pizza,” Segneri said when the Milford location opened.
Spinach and Artichoke Dip pizza ($16/$21)
The dip, mozzarella and Parmesan, on a pie. A Google reviewer who posts as Food of CT ordered it on a spring night and called the idea “genius.”
Bread and Butter Pickle pizza ($18/$24)
Bread and butter pickles, burrata, bacon and mozzarella. It’s one of the pies diners have posted photos of on the restaurant’s Google listing.
Clams Casino pizza ($19/$25)
A shoreline pie for a shoreline firehouse: olive oil, garlic, chopped baby clams, roasted peppers and bacon.
Mackenzie Rose ($18/$23)
Marinated plum tomato, basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, chicken and a balsamic reduction.
Carmine’s Eggplant ($19)
The website calls it one of the entrées that “quickly become the talk of the town”: thinly sliced fresh eggplant, fried and layered with mozzarella, Parmesan, impastata ricotta and marinara. Food of CT’s table shared one and wrote, “What an incredible portion size for just $19, and it was delicious!!” Ralfie went with the eggplant and chicken Parmesan and said, “Their red sauce is flavorful.”
Beef tips ($18)
Marinated, seared filet tips with chipotle aioli, from the starters list.
Fried calamari ($15) and wings ($16 for 8, $30 for 20)
The calamari comes lightly fried with spicy marinara and lemon. Wings come Buffalo, sweet Asian, chile style or garlic Parm.
What people say
Fire Engine Pizza Co.’s Milford location has a 4.1-star rating from about 110 Google reviews. Most praise the room, the portions and the staff, though not every visit lands.
This place is so wonderful from the calm atmosphere and friendly and welcoming staff.
Jessica, Google review, who came in for an anniversary dinner
We were very pleased with the portion sizes of these dishes and the pricing was reasonable.
Ralfie, Google review
Ralfie also wrote that the server “had a bit of an attitude” that night, and another neighbor, Mel, who lives around the corner, loved the chicken burrata sandwich the first time but said it got “progressively worse” on two later orders. Food of CT noted that trivia started at 7 on the night they went and the room filled up fast, but wrote that the staff kept up with the crowd.
Brunch, parties and the pizza truck
- Sunday brunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: a breakfast pizza ($16), Dave’s Burrito ($13) and DIY mimosas ($34), per the brunch menu.
- Private parties: the in-house party room seats up to 60, with a 25-person minimum and a deposit to hold the date. Party menus run from “The Volunteer” at $19.99 to the Chief’s Dinner at $45.99.
- The pizza truck: the company’s website says it is “widely known for specialty pizzas served from the 1985 International Fire Engine” that was stationed on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. You can still book it: the Pizza Truck Party is $1,199 for 50 people, then $13.99 a person, with pizza, salads and dessert. Call 203-929-3474.
- Catering: pick-up trays, from baked ziti and chicken Parm to wing trays.
Halloween at the firehouse
The restaurant is hosting a free Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 5 p.m., with music, crafts and awards for the best costume, according to its event listing. The first 25 families to reserve get a free pumpkin for carving. Call (203) 878-3473 to reserve, or to sign up a decorated car.
FIRE ENGINE PIZZA CO. AT A GLANCE
Where: 204 Melba St., Milford, in the former Engine Co. No. 6 firehouse near Point Beach
Phone: (203) 878-3473
Hours: Sun.–Thu. 11:30 a.m.–12:30 a.m.; Fri. noon–1:30 a.m.; Sat. 11:30 a.m.–1:30 a.m. (per its website)
Owners: Marty McCarthy and Phil Segneri
Known for: Wood-fired specialty pizzas, Carmine’s Eggplant, the pizza truck
Online: thefireenginepizzaco.com/milford
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