History of the Fire Service

1
History of the Fire Service
2
Fire Brigades

• Traced back to Roman conquest of Britain
• Slaves called Familia Publica were stationed
  around walls and gates
• After a disastrous fire in AD6, slaves were not
  deemed ineffective, not their homes
• Emperor Augustus established Corps of Vigiles
  who protected Rome for the next 500 years
• Vigiles passed from history with the
  disintegration of Roman Empire
• Europe would not have another well equipped or
  organized FD for 1000 years

3
Saint Florian

• Born in Austria in the 4th century about 250 AD
• Was an officer (Captain) in the Roman Army
• Through hard work and determination, advanced
  through ranks to General
• Was well like for his ability to solve problems
  and work with people
• Eventually placed over the Fire Brigade in Noricum

4
Saint Florian cont.

• Suffered death for the faith during Diocletian
  times
• Confessed to his Christianity in anti-Christian
  times
• Diocletian sent an assistant named Aquilius to
  kill Christians in Florians area and to find out
  why Florian was not following orders
• Florian replied Tell the Emperor that I am
  christian and will suffer the same fate as the
  others

5
Saint Florian cont.

• Aquilius offered raises and promotions which were
  declined
• Florian was beat, yet stood fast
• Florian stated he had suffered many wounds for
  the Emperor, why not a few scratches for his own
  beliefs
• Aquilius thought Florian would lead a rebellion

6
Diocletians Wife

• Diocletian thought he would just allow Florian to
  live out his time
• Wifes pagan beliefs lead to Florians death
  sentence
• Florian ordered to burn

7
Florians Death

• Roman Army attempted to burn and could not get
  the wood to burn
• Florian claiming If you do I will climb to the
  heavens on the flames
• Diocletian ordered Florian drown
• Large stone (millstone) tied to Florians Neck and
  pushed into river Enns
• Body removed from original grave and taken to
  outside Linz Austria for burial at Augustinian
  Abbey of St Florian

8
Maltese Cross

• Symbol of Christian Warriors
• Eight-pointed and has a V shape joined at their
  bases
• Designed based on crosses used in the First
  Crusade launched by Pope Urban II in 1095 with
  the goal of capturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land
  from Muslims

9
Eight Points Symbolize the chivalric virtues
Loyalty
Piety
Respect for the church
Frankness
Bravery
Helpfulness To sick and poor
Glory and Honour
Contempt Of Death
10
Maltese Cross cont

• 11th century Knights serving in a Jerusalem
  hospital known as the Order of Knights
  Hospitaller / later known as the Knights of Saint
  John
• These Knights assisted the Knights of the
  Crusaders to win back the Holy Land
• As the Knight attacked, Saracens threw glass
  containers with flammable liquids and flaming
  torches
• Knights were burned and suffered agonizing deaths

11
Maltese Cross cont

• Risking horrible death, the Knights struggled to
  help comrades, beating out the flames, and
  dragging them to safety
• In acknowledgement of the heroic deeds, the cross
  they wore was decorated and inscribed
• 1530, the Island of Malta was given to these
  Knights.
• The symbol on there flag was the eight-point
  cross and became known as the Maltese Cross

12
The US Fire Service

• In 1648, New Amsterdam Gov Peter Stuyvesant
  appointed 4 men to act as fire wardens
• They inspected chimneys and fine violators of the
  rules
• The city later appointed 8 prominent citizens to
  the Rattle Watch
• If a fire was seen, the men spun the rattles,
  then directed the responding citizens to form
  bucket brigades
• This was the first step in organized firefighting
  in America

13
The US Fire Service

• After the 1676 conflagration of Boston,
  Bostonians sent for the state of the art fire
  engine from England
• A 3ft long 18 inch wide wooden box arrived with
  carrying handles and a direct force pump that fed
  a small hose
• The Bucket brigade filled the tank with water

14
The US Fire Service

• In Boston, the need to coordinate efforts lead to
  12 men being hired and paid for their work
• Thomas Atkins was the first fire service officer
  in the country

15
The US Fire Service

• Two important tools were the bed key and salvage
  bags
• Salvage was done first gathering valuable
  possessions and the bed key was used to dismantle
  the wooden bed frame (the most valuable item)

16
The US Fire Service

• Fire protection provided by insurance companies
  in 1740
• Fire Marks
• Lead to fights over non-insured and not fighting
  fires
• After a trip to Boston, Ben Franklin saw a need
  for change in fire protection in his home of
  Philadelphia
• In a Pennsylvania Gazette article in 1733,
  Franklin noted how fire were being fought in
  Pennsylvania
• Goodwill and amateur firefighters were not
  enough

17
Franklin cont

• On Feb 4th 1735 an anonymous letter admonished
• In the first Place, as an Ounce of Prevention is
  worth a Pound of Cure, I would advise 'em to take
  care how they suffer living Coals in a full
  Shovel, to be carried out of one Room into
  another, or up or down Stairs, unless in a
  Warmingpan shut for Scraps of Fire may fall into
  Chinks and make no Appearance until Midnight
  when your Stairs being in Flames, you may be
  forced, (as I once was) to leap out of your
  Windows, and hazard your Necks to avoid being
  oven-roasted.

18
Franklin cont

• Noted that a neighboring city (Boston), had a
  club or society of active men belonging to each
  fire engine who attended all fires and monthly
  meetings
• 30 men came together to form the Union Fire
  Company on Dec 7th, 1736 which became the
  standard for Volunteer Departments

19
The US Fire Service

• During these times home-owners were required to
  have leather buckets at their homes
• Other men formed their own companies so the city
  would be better protected
• Philadelphians witnessed the birth of the
  Heart-in Hand, the Britannia, the Fellowship, as
  well as other fire companies

20
Fire Apparatus

• First apparatus were hand pumps built in England
  and shipped to New York
• America copied and manufactured same units for
  100 years
• 1800s development of steam pumpers in England
• Pulled by hand until the first horse drawn in the
  early 1850s
• Another major change in fire apparatus was a
  result of paid departments

21
Fire Apparatus

• Paid firefighters replaced volunteer and closed
  fire stations, which resulted in fewer stations
  and longer responses
• Horse-drawn apparatus were retrofitted with
  running boards so fresh firefighter arrived on
  scene

22
Fire Apparatus

• With the delay for steam engines to begin work, a
  chemical unit was developed
• These units carried bicarbonate of soda,
  activated by sulfuric acid, and discharged
  through a small rubber hose
• Most were 2 wheeled units but 4 wheeled units did
  exist

23
Fire Apparatus

• The first aerial ladder was patented in 1868
• 1879 saw the development of the first water tower
  for elevated streams
• 1880s was the development of cotton-jacketed
  hose
• 1906 Radnor Fire Company in Wayne, Pa received
  the first gas powered vehicle and pump

24
SCBA

• Toward the end of World War II, Scott Aviation
  was manufacturing breathing equipment that
  allowed air crews to operate at extreme
  altitudes. One story goes that a number of Scott
  engineers watched a smoky fire being fought in a
  nearby building. They were amazed that the
  firemen had to operate in such a severe smoke
  condition and they decided to see if they could
  adapt their equipment to suit firefighting.
  Working with the Boston and New York City fire
  departments, Scott introduced the AirPac in late
  1945 after a year of field testing.

25
Fire Hydrants

• Firefighting cauldrons were placed in strategic
  locations in ancient China and kept filled with
  water
• Fire cisterns in colonial America
• As late as 1861, Louisville Kentucky employed 124
  cisterns but had no fire hydrants

26
Hydrants

• The term Fire Plug dates from when water mains
  were made from hollowed out logs
• Fire companies would dig up the cobbles to the
  main, bore a hole in it, and allow the hole to
  fill with water, which they drafted from
• When done, they would seal the hole with a Fire
  Plug
• The first post or pillar hydrant was with
  Philadelphia Water Works in 1801

27
Hydrants

• Mr. Frederick Graff Sr was thought to hold the
  first US Patent, but can not be verified the
  patent office burned to the ground in 1836,
  destroying all records

28
Notable Conflagrations

• 1212 1st London Fire Killed 3000
• 1 September 1666 2nd London Fire burned for 3
  days and destroyed 12,000 homes
• 1872 Great Boston Fire
• 1850 SanFrancisco had 4 fire that burned most of
  the city
• Oct 8th, 1871 Great Chicago Fire Patrick
  OLeary Cow?