Dates: Tuesday, April 14th OR Thursday, April 16th

Location: Check your e-mail for the link!

Cost: Free

The use and control of fire has arguably advanced human history more so than almost any other discovery. However, ever since the advent of controlled fire for cooking and warmth, it has also presented great danger. As cities and closer living developed, fire gained an even greater capacity for damaging homes and lives, as a single fire could ravage an entire city. Of course, people have always sought to control fire and stop it from endangering lives and property. But organized firefighting has taken quite some time to develop into an effective method of control.

The first known instance of organized fire fighting was in Rome, around 90 BC. Though Egyptians were thought to have invented a water pump for putting out fires sometime in the third century, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a wealthy Roman, is credited with the first organized firefighting response.

He organized a brigade 500 men strong, who would mobilize quickly to the site of a house fire, where they would stand as the flames licked the home. As the structure burned, Crassus would negotiate his fee with the homeowner, required to mobilize his men to action. If the homeowner refused to pay, his property burned to the ground and Crassus would pay a scant amount to purchase the land. If a fee was agreed upon, the brigade would salvage what they could. 

Rome developed a more public firefighting brigade, called the Vigiles, to patrol the streets of Rome, looking to prevent crime and fires. When they did encounter fires, they organized into a bucket brigade to fight the flames. In 64 AD, the Great Fire sparked in Rome and burned for 6 days, eventually destroying over a third on the city. Contrary to popular belief, Emperor Nero did likely not fiddle as the city burned; rather historical records show that he sought to organize relief efforts, even helping with search and rescue efforts throughout the city. Hundreds of thousands were displaced after the fires and Nero reportedly used some of his own funds to help with relief. After the devastating fire, Nero enacted a new urban development plan, requiring wider roads, houses of brick, and houses that did not touch one another. Though these steps were admirable, fires would continue to ravage Rome and other cities around the world. 

In September of 1666, a small fire on Pudding Lane quickly grew and engulfed much of the city of London. As in Rome, close housing and dry, wooden construction materials fed the fire, aided by strong winds. People fled with what they could carry through the narrow streets, thwarting attempts to reach the fire with bucket brigades. Eventually, the Army blew up buildings to create fire breaks and the fire finally subsided after 5 long days. 

After the Great Fire of London, more concerted steps were taken to mitigate blazes as they erupted. The city was rebuilt with larger lanes, and more trained fire fighting crews emerged. The first fire insurance company was established as “The Fire Office” and offered a fire response to those who paid for a policy. Other offices were soon established, though buildings were often left to burn until the right insurance brigade responded. 

In the American colonies, many towns organized fire brigades and took measures to prevent massive conflagrations. By the late 1670s, ‘fire engines’ began to be employed – wooden boxes with a direct-force pump that fed a small hose and sprayed water on the flames. In 1678, the government in Boston hired Thomas Atkins and a team to maintain one of these engines, establishing one of the first paid firefighting groups in the country. Many notable colonial leaders were members of local volunteer fire fighter brigades, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Samuel Adams.  

Volunteer fire fighters organized bucket brigades and hauled a fire engine, if one was available, to battle blazes. They also carried bed keys and salvage bags; if the structure looked to be a loss, fire fighters concentrated on saving the most valuable objects for the property owners.

Most large cities established rules providing for buckets, hooks, ladders, and structure fire fighting companies. These early rules and companies provided the framework for larger fire companies to come. 

By 1832, fire engines were becoming increasingly heavy, and more cumbersome for men to haul to fires quickly. This, coupled with a yellow fever outbreak in New York, making able bodied men scarce, led the New York Mutual Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 to purchase a horse to draw their fire engine. Though other fire fighting companies initially ridiculed and shunned the use of horses, as fire engines became heavier, the vast majority of large cities adopted the use of horses. 

Horses became an integral part of the fire fighting team, even earning vacation time in Philadelphia in1858, long before fire fighters themselves earned vacation time! In 1872, a disease called epizootic spread among horses in the United States. It spread so rapidly that 300 horses died over a 24-hour period in Buffalo, New York. As the disease felled horses, fire fighting became a major concern, as citizen volunteers started having to aid fire fighters in manually dragging the engines to fires. In November of that year, the Great Boston Fire burnt continuously for 6 days and fire fighters were at a severe disadvantage with their horses sick or dead. When Boston Fire Chief John P. Vaheny wrote of the event a century later, he named the fire the Epizootic Fire, as the fire raged on so much longer due to the lack of horses available to aid in the fight.

Up until the mid-1800s, firefighting in the US remained almost exclusively volunteer driven. Volunteerism is the bedrock of firefighting, even in the present day. However, many large American cities began to find that the various fire fighting organizations were often causing trouble, rather than simply responding to it. The competition and fraternization of the fire fighting groups played a large role in many brawls and street fights. Though much of the fraternity feeling remains today, it began to present challenged to many cities, as the rowdyism and refusal to adopt new technologies prompted many influential citizens to call for an end to the volunteer system. 

Cincinnati instituted the first paid fire department in 1853, assisting in the adoption of the self-propelled steam engine, “Uncle Joe Ross”. Though many former volunteers became paid fire fighters, the transition from volunteer departments to paid ones was not without issue and dissention. Volunteers sometimes fought with the men paid to replace them and those that augmented the fire department often remained intensely loyal to their previous fire company, proving all too eager to fight with rival companies. 

Through many fits and starts, trial and error, fire fighting companies and departments evolved into professional, highly trained organizations. Technology and building planning continued to develop, aiding in better fire prevention and fighting techniques. The internal combustion engine eliminated the need for horses and radio communication increased fire response times as well as coordination at the location of the fires. Instead of battling single building fires, fire fighters could take on large scale fires threatening towns and cities. Breathing aids also changed the way that we fight fires. Self-contained breathing apparatus (scba), allowed fire fighters to enter the blazing structure to strategically fight the fire or rescue people and property. However, as technology developed new engines and assistants for fighting fires, the fires themselves have grown more dangerous and even riskier to combat. More toxic chemicals and larger buildings have increased the risks to those running towards the blazes, rather than away. 

Despite all of the technological and political advancements of the professional fire fighting force, the modern-day fire fighting service remains largely a volunteer force. Of the more than 1 million fire fighters in the United States, approximately 70% are a volunteer force! Of course, the volunteers do receive training and often work in concert with professional and other agencies to coordinate large scale responses to fires. 

View the graphic on the next page to see some of the most recent fire department data and its makeup. Regardless of the volunteer or professional, the men and women who battle blazes on our behalf come from a long line of selfless heroes and uphold the highest traditions of service and dedication. 

Tune in this week to learn more about how we track fires in real time to keep humans safe!

History of Fire Fighting. http://www.firefighterfoundation.org.uk/history/. 

Monetary History of the World. https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/research/monetary-history-of-the-world/roman-empire/chronology_-by_-emperor/imperial-rome-julio-claudian-age/nero-54-68-ad/. 

Colonial Williamsburg Fire Engine. https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/art-museums/wallace-museum/fire-engine. 

Firefighting in Colonial America. December 1, 2003. https://www.firehouse.com/home/news/10527819/firefighting-in-colonial-america. 

A History of Horses in the Fire Service. http://firehistory.weebly.com/a-history-of-horses-in-the-fire-service.html.

History of the Fire Service. http://www.fdmadison.org/public-education/history-of-the-fire-service. 

National Fire Protection Association.  “U.S. Fire Department Profile”. https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/US-fire-department-profile.