THE HISTORY OF THE FIRE SERVICE
The history of the Firefighter goes back many, many years and the first trace was recorded as far back as the 2nd Century. This was where an Alexandrian named Ctesibius decided to invent a hand pump that was capable of squirting water.
Firefighters, during the building of the Roman Empire, were called vigils and their job was to organise chains of buckets ready to throw at the fire. They were usually armed with ladders and long hooked poles that they used to pull down some buildings in order to create a firebreak. A firebreak is basically a separation in combustible or burnable materials in order to prevent the fire from spreading to the other side. This technique is still used today by the modern professional Firefighter. This scheme of vigils worked well and was used across the entire Roman Empire for many years. Great Britain often suffered many huge fires in its cities and towns, with London suffering devastating fires during 798, 982 and 989. After the invasion of the Normans, the National Authorities made an attempt to stop the outbreak of fire by imposing a curfew at night that required all home fires and candles to be
extinguished by nightfall.
A 1556 Act of Parliament led to patrols of the streets of London with the cry of ‘Take care of your fire and candle, be charitable to the poor and pray for the dead’ accompanied by the ringing of a bell. Even during these times, the principle method for firefighting remained the bucket chain and hand held water squirters. Unfortunately there were still no organised firefighting teams during this period. Finally the Great Fire of London in 1666 brought everything to a head making everybody in authority work together to try and provide better protection from fire and its destruction. The immense blaze started in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane and spread to an area of over 2 square miles over a period of 4 consecutive days and nights. 13,000 homes, 84 churches, 44 Livery Halls and thousands of smaller dwellings were reduced to a pile of ashes. The fire was eventually brought to a halt by creating ‘fi re breaks’. 100,000 people lost their homes but surprisingly only 6 people lost their lives. The cost of the fire was put at £10 million, which was an enormous amount in those days. The Great Fire of London focused the need for better firefighting equipment techniques and fire safety measures.
Eventually an Engineer named Jan Van der Heiden constructed a flexible leather hosepipe that was 50 feet in length and had brass screw connections, or couplings as they are called today. He used this with a light hand pump to allow the passage of water and help firefighting teams finally get close to the seat of the fire whilst pumping from a distance. The ‘seat’ of a fire is another term for describing the heart of a fire, or the place in which it was started. A London manufacturer called Richard Newsham focused on improving manual fire pumps in 1721. He used a system of air reservoirs, pistons and levers to produce a stronger, more effective jet of water mounted on top of the engine and fed by hose. Newsham’s largest pump could deliver 160 gallons of water per minute and throw a jet 50 metres. Unfortunately this pump was extremely heavy and had to be put on a trailer and dragged to the fire. After a while, lighter horse drawn pumps were being made, influenced by developments in America. By the mid 19th Century the mechanical fire engine became a common site around the towns and cities of the developing world. The first professional fire brigade was developed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Whilst he was serving as French Emperor, he ordered that a Division of the French Army known as Sapeurs-Pompiers be used to protect Paris with approximately 30 manual fire pumps in the 1800s. The Government of Great Britain decided by the early 18th Century that all parishes should have a fire engine equipped with leather hoses to combat the fire outbreaks. This was not universally done until a law was introduced paying financial reward for those who complied with the
conditions.
In London, a host of insurance companies were being developed to allow occupiers to cover properties against the ravages of fire by providing their own individual fire brigades. The members of these fire brigades were often formed from members of the Navy and they were issued with great uniforms that, although splendid in appearance, were impracticable for the job in hand. The insurance companies placed ‘fi re marks’ on the outside of buildings that were protected to identify which brigade was protecting them. When rival fire brigades arrived at a fire, if the building was not insured by their property they would just stand there and watch. In some circumstances they would hinder firefighting operations by other brigades, which would often cause fights in the street even whilst the fire still burned. A major occurrence in Fire Service History happened in 1824, when the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment was formed from many insurance company fire brigades serving the City. It was formed of 80-strong part time firemen and was cited as the first municipally controlled fire brigade in the Country. The leader of this new force was called James Braidwood, a 24 year old
surveyor.
Braidwood set about training and developing his firemen to tackle the flames effectively and he drilled them day and night in barely accessible thoroughfares of the city, often insisting they get close in to the seat of the fire even when at great danger to themselves.
www.becomeafirefighter.co.uk | How2become | Suite 2 | 50 Churchill Square Business Centre | Kings Hill | Kent.
Registered Company 05420513
VAT Registration Number 872132536
To read the Firefighter Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQA's) please click here.
For our links section please click here.
For information relating to the History of the UK Fire Service please click here.
www.how2become.co.uk | www.learning-language.co.uk | www.entrepreneurcourse.co.uk | www.policetest.co.uk
www.fireriskstrategies.com | www.royalmarinescommando.co.uk | www.royalnavycareer.co.uk
| © copyright 2006 |