This picture published in 1808 shows firefighters tackling a fire in London using hand-pumped engines.
The first fire brigades in the modern sense were created in France in the early 18th century. In 1699, a man with bold commercial ideas, François du Mouriez du Périer (grandfather of French Revolution's general Charles François Dumouriez), solicited an audience with King Louis XIV. Greatly interested in Jan Van der Heiden's invention, he successfully demonstrated the new pumps and managed to convince the king to grant him the monopoly of making and selling "fire-preventing portable pumps" throughout the kingdom of France. François du Mouriez du Périer offered 12 pumps to the City of Paris, and the first Paris Fire Brigade, known as the Compagnie des gardes-pompes (literally the "Company of Pump Guards"), was created in 1716. François du Mouriez du Périer was appointed directeur des pompes de la Ville de Paris ("director of the City of Paris's pumps"), i.e. chief of the Paris Fire Brigade, and the position stayed in his family until 1760. In the following years, other fire brigades were created in the large French cities. It is around that time that appeared the current French word pompier ("firefighter"), whose literal meaning is "pumper". On March 11, 1733 the French government decided that the interventions of the fire brigades would be free of charge. This was decided because people always waited until the last moment to call the fire brigades to avoid paying the fee, and it was often too late to stop fires. From 1750 on, the French fire brigades became para-military units and received uniforms. In 1756 the use of a protective helmet for firefighters was recommended by King Louis XV, but it took many more years before the measure was actually enforced on the ground. Well trained and well equipped, the French fire brigades were in the process of professionalisation on the eve of the French Revolution.
In Northern America, Jamestown, Virginia was virtually destroyed in a fire in January, 1608. Fire "wardens" were appointed in New Amsterdam in 1648. Wardens were to patrol the cities to inspect chimneys. "Rattle Watches" were performed at night by eight appointees, who were to rouse citizens to fight fires by bucket brigade if necessary. In Boston, serious fires in 1653 and 1676 had inspired the city to take greater measures towards combating fire. Benjamin Franklin created the Union Fire Company in 1736 in Philadelphia, the first volunteer fire company in America. There were no full-time paid firefighters in America until 1850. Even after the formation of paid fire companies in the United States, there were disagreements and often fights over territory. New York City companies were famous for sending runners out to fires with a large barrel to cover the hydrant closest to the fire in advance of the engines. Often fights would break out between the runners and even the responding fire companies for the right to fight the fire and receive the insurance money that would be paid to the company that fought it. Interestingly, during the 1800s and early 1900s volunteer fire companies served not only as fire protection but as political machines. The most famous volunteer firefighter-cum-politician is Boss Tweed, head of the notorious Tammany Hall political machine, who got his start in politics as a member of the Americus Engine Company Number 6 ("The Big Six") in New York City.
Napoleon Bonaparte, drawing from the century-old experience of the gardes-pompes, is generally attributed as creating the first "professional" firefighters, known as Sapeurs-Pompiers ("Sappers-Firefighters"), from the French Army. Created under the Commandant of Engineers in 1810, the company was organized after a fire at the ballroom in the Austrian Embassy in Paris which injured several dignitaries.
In the UK, the Great Fire of London in 1666 set in motion changes which laid the foundations for organised firefighting in the future. In the wake of the Great Fire, the City Council established the first fire insurance company , "The Fire Office", in 1667, which employed small teams of Thames watermen as firefighters and provided them with uniforms and arm badges showing the company to which they belonged.
However, the first organized municipal fire brigade in the world was established in Edinburgh, Scotland, when the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment was formed in 1824, led by James Braidwood. London followed in 1832 with the London Fire Engine Establishment.
The first horse-drawn steam engine for fighting fires was invented in 1829, but not accepted in structural firefighting until 1860, and ignored for another two years afterwards. Internal combustion engine fire engines arrived in 1907, built in the United States, leading to the decline and disappearance of steam engines by 1925.
Historic Fires
Buildings & Structures
356 BC - Temple of Artemis at Ephesus burned by arson
c. 50 BC - Library of Alexandria possibly burned accidentally during siege
272 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned during occupation of Alexandria
391 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned by order of Roman Emperor Theodosius I
640 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned by order of Caliph Umar I 1613 - Globe Theatre, London burned due to mishap
1697 - The medieval "Tre Kronor" Royal Castle in Stockholm burned down and was eventually replaced by the present palace.
2004 - Asunción supermarket fire kills at least 464
2004 - República Cromagnon nightclub fire in Buenos Aires kills 194, injures 714.
2005 - Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal in Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom, a major explosion injures 43.
2005 - 11 die at a fire in the detention center of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
2005 - The Madrid Windsor Tower Building Fire 14-15 February 2005 Spain
2006 - 2006 Kolkata leather factory fire kills at least nine people in India.
2006 - Moscow hospital fire kills 45 drug addicts in a rehabilitation centre.
2006 - Fire at store in Ormoc City, Philippines kills 24
City or Area Fires
64 - Great Fire of Rome
847 - Borgo, the area around Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome
1204 - Constantinople burned three times during the Fourth Crusade
1547 - Moscow fire which sparked a rebellion
1571 - Moscow fire occurred when the forces of the Crimean khan Devlet I Giray raided the city
1657 - Great Fire of Meireki - Edo (modern-day Tokyo)
1666 - Great Fire of London
1694 - the Great Fire of Warwick
1696 - St. John's, Newfoundland and 35 other settlements burned by French forces under Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
1702 - Uppsala, Sweden, large parts of the city devastated and the cathedral and Uppsala Castle severely damaged.
1728 - Copenhagen Fire of 1728, two fifths of the city burned down during three days. 3,650 families became homeless.
1734 - Montreal, New France
1776 - New York City
1795 - Copenhagen fire of 1795
1805 - Detroit
1812 - Moscow, to deny shelter to Napoleon
1812 - Buffalo, New York burned during the War of 1812
1813 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
1813 - York, Upper Canada burned during the War of 1812
1814 - Burning of Washington during the War of 1812
1817 - St. John's, Newfoundland
1821 - Paramaribo (Suriname) over 400 houses destroyed
1827 - Great Fire of Turku
1835 - Great Fire of New York
1845 - Great Fire of Pittsburgh destroyed over 1000 buildings
1846 - St. John's, Newfoundland
1849 - St. Louis Fire, first US firefighter killed in the line of duty
1850 - Kraków, Poland, 10% of the city area
1854 - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead: a spectacular explosion leads to the great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead, killing 53 and levelling substantial property in both towns.
1862 - Troy, New York, over 500 buildings destroyed
1864 - Atlanta burned after time given for evacuation of citizens by order of William Tecumseh Sherman
1865 - Columbia, South Carolina burned while being occupied by troops commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman
1865 - Richmond, Virginia burned by retreating Confederates.
1871 - Great Chicago Fire, destroyed the downtown area and paved the way for new building ideas
1871 - Peshtigo, Wisconsin Fire, several towns destroyed in a firestorm, 1500-2500 dead, same day as Chicago Fire
1872 - The Great Fire of Boston, Massachusetts, destroyed 776 buildings and killed at least 20 people.
1877 - Saint John, New Brunswick Fire destroyed 1600 buildings
1883 - Ponce, Puerto Rico
1889 - Great Seattle Fire
1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland
1894 - Great Fire in Shanghai; over 1,000 buildings are destroyed
1901 - Great Fire of 1901, Jacksonville, Florida
1904 - Great Baltimore Fire
1904 - Great Toronto Fire
1904 - Ålesund Fire
1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire
1910 - The Big Blowup or Great Fire of 1910, Washington, Idaho and Montana, over 3 million acres (12,000 km²), 85 dead. This fire set new policies, and created new organizations for fighting wildfires.
1914 - Great Salem Fire of 1914
1916 - Matheson Fire, Matheson, Ontario
1917 - The Halifax Explosion, largest man-made explosion before the atomic bomb
1917 - Over 300 acres (1.2 km²) (73 blocks) destroyed in Great Atlanta fire of 1917
1917 - Great Fire of 1917, Thessaloniki, Greece
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot, 35 city blocks; 1,256 residences were destroyed by arson
1923 - Tokyo following the Great Kantō earthquake
1933 - Tillamook Burn
1941 - Santander, Cantabria
1945 - Bombing of Dresden in World War II
1945 - Bombing of Tokyo in World War II, the largest urban conflargation in history.
1945 - Atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II
1945 - Atomic bombing of Nagasaki in World War II
1947 - Texas City Disaster, two ships explode, igniting chemical works, 460 - 600 killed
1949 - Mann Gulch Fire
1951 - Tung Tau fire, fire in a squatter area in Hong Kong, up to 25,000 homeless, led to the Comfort Mission riot
1953 - Shek Kip Mei Fire, fire in a squatter area in Hong Kong, 58,000 homeless
1961 - Bukit Ho Swee Fire, flames erupt in a squatter settlement in Singapore, making 16,000 homeless
1981 - Arson fire in Lynn, Massachusetts levels downtown factory area under redevelopment; no conviction; $80 million damage estimate[4]
1983 - North Division Street explosion in Buffalo, New York kills five firefighters and two civilians and destroys millions in property.
1988 - Yellowstone Fire of 1988
1991 - Kuwaiti oil fires following the Persian Gulf War
1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments
1994 - South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mt. near Glenwood Springs, Colorado kills fourteen firefighters on July 6.
2000 - Jasper Fire in The Black Hills of South Dakota burns 93,000+ acres (380 km²), the largest fire in Black Hills history
2002 - Lagos armoury explosion causes fire which destroys half of Lagos and killed 1,100 people
2002 - Edinburgh Cowgate fire
2002 - Rodeo-Chediski fire
2003 - Canberra bushfires fire that killed four and destroyed over 500 homes
