Around 6 A.D. in Rome the Corps of Vigiles was established. The Corps of Vigiles were a group of roman soldiers who were established to respond to fires in the city and try to extinguish them. The Corps of Vigiles were is existence until the fall of Rome around 476 A.D. The Corps of Vigiles is the first existence of a fire department type group that I could find while doing my research.

During the crusades a group of men called the Knights of Malta was formed. This group of knights aided the wounded on the battlefield. Their symbol was the Maltese Cross. The Maltese cross was adopted by the fire departments we know today to symbolize our dedication to saving lives. You can read more on the Knights of Malta at http://www.knightsofmalta.com/history/history.html.

From around 1100-1600 A.D. fire protection came about in Europe again. In England William the Conqueror made several laws and placed them in effect to prevent fires. Laws that were enforced were for example. All buildings must be made of stone to prevent the spread of fire. All fires must be put out before dark, to prevent fires from spreading after the people had gone to bed.

On September 2, 1666 the great fire of London occurred. Due to the fire new fire codes were developed, fire insurance companies were developed, and insurance companies owned fire brigades.

Each insurance company that had a fire brigade had a fire mark. Each insurance company placed fire marks on properties insured. The fire brigades would respond to a fire, but if the fire mark was not that of the brigade they would not fight the fire. If surrounding property had the fire mark of that brigade, then they would protect that property.

In the 18th century the first volunteer fire depts. Were established in America. They were established to respond to and fight fires in the cities. In 1736 Ben Franklin developed the first volunteer fire company. It was called the Union Fire CO. located in Philadelphia PA. Ben Franklin became the first ever fire chief. In 1752 Franklin placed fire marks on properties witch designated witch volunteer fire co. would respond to the fire.

Other famous volunteer firefighters were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.

Through out the 18th and 19th century volunteer fire companies became very powerful and spread across America. They had strong political powers, like the Americas #6 Fire Co. of New York. They started one of the most corrupt political power in America, Tammany Hall. As they became more powerful they began to fight each other to get to a fire. These fights ended in serious injury and even death.

All across America people were getting frustrated with the volunteer fire companies because of there disorderly conduct. So in 1853 in Cincinnati Ohio the first paid fire dept was established. This fire dept was owned and regulated by the city government.

Also during this time steam operated fire pumps began to replace the older hand operated fire pumps. Water distribution systems were also developed. Firefighter protective gear was also being developed such as the leather fire helmet, invented by Andrew Gratacapto. In 1870 the first Arial ladder was invented by the Hayes CO. and could extend to a height of 85 ft. In 1878 Henry Parmalee invented the first automatic sprinkler head. In 1896 insurance companies pushed for standards in fire protection and prevention witch jump-started the establishment of the NFPA.

After the Civil War many war veterans joined the paid fire depts. Across the U.S. This greatly changed the fire departments by changing them from a social type work place to a para military work place. Establishing a ranking system similar to the military did this.

On October 8th 1871 the great Chicago fire started. The story has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in the OLeary familys barn. On October 10th the fire was finally out. 17,400 buildings were destroyed, nearly 100,000 homeless, and nearly 300 people dead. This was the worst fire ever recorded in the United States. Today we remember this day by Fire Prevention Week every year in October.