The key breakthrough in firefighting arrived in the 17th century with the first fire engines. There is an urban legend that insurance brigades would only fight fires at buildings the company insured. These buildings were identified by fire insurance marks. Afterwards, insurance companies formed private fire brigades to protect their clients’ property. Prior to this fire, London had no organized fire protection system. The Great Fire of 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane, consumed about two square miles (5 km 2) of the city, leaving tens of thousands homeless. London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and above all in 1666 (the Great Fire of London). As a consequence, King Charles IX disbanded the residents' night watches and left the king's watches as the only one responsible for checking crimes and fires.įirefighters tackling a fire in London using hand-pumped engines ca. After the Hundred Years' War, the population of Paris expanded again, and the city, much larger than any other city in Europe at the time, was the scene of several great fires in the 16th century. In 1254, a royal decree of King Saint Louis of France created the so-called guet bourgeois ("burgess watch"), allowing the residents of Paris to establish their own night watches, separate from the king's night watches, to prevent and stop crimes and fires. In Europe, firefighting was quite rudimentary until the 17th century. Rome suffered a number of serious fires, most notably the fire on 19 July AD 64 which eventually destroyed two thirds of Rome. When there was a fire, the men would line up to the nearest water source and pass buckets hand in hand to the fire. The later brigades consisted of hundreds of volunteers, all ready for action. The Corps Vigiles patrolled the streets of Rome to watch for fires and served as a police force. Roman Emperor Nero formed a group of slaves, Vigiles, in AD 60 to combat fires using bucket brigades and pumps, as well as poles, hooks and even ballistae to tear down buildings in advance of the flames. Prior to that, Ctesibius, a Greek citizen of Alexandria, developed the first fire pump in the third century BC, which was later improved upon in a design by Hero of Alexandria in the first century BC. The history of organized firefighting began in ancient Rome while under the rule of Augustus. Firefighter from Warsaw wearing equipment for breathing in smoke ca.
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