The History of Firefighters

Firefighters are some of the core members of our society. Fire has always been around, whether man-made or a force of nature. However, there weren’t always the organized firefighting coalitions that we have today. Large red firetrucks with blaring sirens would have been an otherworldly oddity in centuries past, but communities also had to derive methods to put out destructive fires. This begs the question: how did organized firefighting get its start?

Ancient civilizations show evidence of water pumps and other tools that could have been used in the mission to put out fires. However, there is no strong evidence of organized firefighters until under the rule of Rome’s Augustus Caesar. During his time as emperor, he sent over 500 slaves out each night with the task of fighting fires and crime. While most societies today split these up into groups of firefighters and police officers, Augustus Caesar took advantage of these slaves to complete this combined work.

Fast forward to Rome’s Emperor Nero, who began making a profit off of this service. Building owners could decide whether they would pay for this firefighting service or put their building up for sale after it had burned. These terms seem ridiculous in today’s society, as it would be a no-brainer to eradicate fire and stop its spread. However, it was not out of character for Emperor Nero to operate in this fashion. This method did not end up lasting long as Rome soon fell to attacks of fire.

Much later, in the 1600s, Europe finally rebuilt this idea of organized firefighters, using their resources of manual pumps and horse carriages to bring a water supply to burning buildings. Insurance companies began to catch wind of the benefits of this service to their profits while simultaneously protecting the community. It wasn’t long before society began following this new pattern and accepting organized firefighting into its framework.

While firefighting was used as a moneymaking tool in a sense, volunteer firefighting became more popular when Benjamin Franklin co-founded what he named the “Bucket Brigade,” more commonly known nowadays as the Union Fire Company. This became the first formal fire company to be made up solely of volunteers.

As America later entered the Industrial Revolution, fire departments began to be supplied with advanced equipment, and both volunteering and paid firefighters began multiplying. Nowadays, modern civilization has grown accustomed to large fire engines with blaring sirens, technological advancements and easily recognizable uniforms meant to protect firefighters from fire hazards. Without this advanced technology, many wonder what the modern firefighting method might look like and whether fires would spread more rapidly or not. Looking to the future, these professional organizations will continue to create advancements in firefighting that could especially aid in eradicating devastating forest fires.

While some firefighters have made this into a full-time career, the National Fire Department Registry shows that the vast majority of firefighters, 70.4% to be exact, are volunteers. Firefighters, volunteers or not, are required to go through strenuous training to respond effectively to a broad range of emergencies. Given the heavy reliance on volunteer firefighters in many communities, it is an area we must fight to preserve and teach young adults the importance of.

It is hard to imagine a society without these selfless heroes putting their lives on the line to serve their communities. If you come across a firefighter, they could benefit from hearing you thank them for their contributions to the community. Firefighters do not often get thanked on a regular basis for their generous servanthood. Therefore, a simple acknowledgment of their service could speak volumes to them and encourage them to continue volunteering.