Fire Fightersthe History of Volunteer Fire Departments in America
Fire fighters have been deemed an iconic male figure down through the ages. While the 19th century brought forth a plethora of changes, the fire fighter still remained a courageous person. One extremely in touch with American brotherhood/sisterhood and concern for their country, its residents and preservation of life and all that it entails. At one stage in time, fire fighting was seen as a way for men to express their masculinity. Nevertheless, the definition of manhood eventually changed, proving than manhood is not about muscles. Due to a cultural changes fire fighting changed in many ways.
Volunteer fire fighting in America, is said to have origins which trace right back to Benjamin Franklin. It is said the Franklin founded a volunteer fire department in hope of gaining a better community spirit. Those involved in the volunteer fire department where successful business men, town leaders who believed that community service was all part and parcel of a man’s duty. These volunteer fire fighters met in public halls and private houses. Unfortunately, they had very little professional knowledge in regards to fire fighting. When fires did break out, those threatened by the fires were then deemed fire-fighting laborers. Bucket brigades were set in place although they were not very effective at all.
However, they meant well and did take their volunteer fire fighting seriously. Franklin started the first volunteer fire department in Philadelphia in the year of 1736. At the age of eighteen, Franklin had moved to Philadelphia from Boston. As most Americans know, Boston was greatly affected by major fires in 1653 and 1676. After the 1676 fire, Boston purchased a London pumper. Thomas Atkins and 12 other men were then deemed fire fighters. A host of concerned citizens then banded together to form The Mutual Fire Societies in the same year.
Fire struck a member of the society and its members rushed to their aid to battle the blaze. There were approximately 20 members to each society. These then became social as well as protective fire fighting associations. This then set the foundations for organized fire fighting groups, which was later deemed the backbone of fire fighting in the U.S. Many readers would have heard of William Penn who founded Philadelphia in 1682. Penn gave a great deal of thought to the location of the city. He was highly concerned about the danger of fires due to having witnessed the 1666 London fire. He did not wish for Philadelphia to suffer the same horrors so he initiated a fire ordinance in 1696, which required that chimneys must be cleaned regularly.
Fortunately, Philadelphia had quite a lot of brick buildings, which made it less susceptible to fire. Philadelphia bought its first fire engine in 1717. The fire engine was called ‘The Shag Rag’ although it was not used until 1730 when fire ravished most of the commercial district along the river. Unfortunately, it was not a match for the inferno. Producing a mere trickle of water due to not being maintained over its 12 years of ownership. It was then than Franklin spoke to the city dwellers about the necessity for better fire fighter organization. It was only a short time later that 400 fire buckets were purchased along with two additional engines, 20 ladders and hooks. 1736 arrived and Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia.
The 1980’s arrived and the wealthy men began to turn away from volunteer fire fighting to concentrate on their entrepreneurial concerns. This led to the lower class citizens being expected to fight fires. Fortunately technology had advanced a little and leather fire hoses and portable pumps were now used to fight fires. These were more effective than mere buckets of water although quite expensive. The volunteer fire fighters depending largely on public subsidies to purchase fire fighting tools. Because the fire fighting equipment needed to be stored away for safe keeping and easy access, cities were forced to erect fire houses.
But volunteer fire fighters were not always seen as people doing something commendable like saving lives, houses and so forth. A myriad of people were of the opinion that firefighters were simply those who spent their time lounging around. Although eventually given a small wage to exist on, most fire fighters went home as soon as the alarm bell sounded. In addition, did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte is attributed to creating the very first ‘professional’ group of fire fighters as well? These were known as Sapeurs-Pompiers (fire fighters. Also, unbeknown to many, George Washington was a volunteer fire fighter in Alexandria, Virginia.
As a member of the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Company, he purchased a brand new fire engine and gave it to the town. Prior to the American Civil War, private fire brigades competed against one another to be the first to respond to a fire. This was because insurance companies paid fire brigades to save buildings and so forth. The very first known female fire fighter was Molly Williams. Williams is said to have taken her place right beside the men on the dragropes, during the 1818 blizzard. She is said to have hauled the pumper to the fire through deep snow. To this every day, fire and rescue still has it professional and volunteer responders. Those willing to risk their lives to save others, they deserve our utmost respect.
