History of Fire Fighting Firefighting is a professionalism that requires courage, dedication and commitment from those who are involved with it. Firefighting began in ancient Egypt and spread to the West into Europe and America. The history looks at the pioneers, its evolution and the improvements innovation has brought in. Firefighting originated from ancient Egypt, with evidence of earliest accounted firefighting equipment supporting the claim. The equipment was a pump, built by Ctesibius in the third century. He hailed from Alexandria and was one of the people who began to battle fire (Evan 13). Marcus Licinius Crassus was the first to come up with a fire brigade that was made up of 500 members. He grew in a wealthy family and further enriched himself by providing firefighting services at a cost. Marcus’ idea triggered Augustus, the Roman leader at the time, to create a similar brigade that would be made up of men who are ready to fight fire without the notion of making money (Evan 13). These firefighters under Augustus ' brigade were mainly slaves, which was the reason they were not paid for their services. They were referred as ‘Vigiles ' or bucket brigades as their technique was passing around buckets filled with water, to contain fire …show more content…
In conclusion, firefighting started from a humble background in ancient Egypt with the simple gesture of building of a pump. From there, ideas grew, and more innovations discovered that has made it an outstanding professionalism it is today. The important role that firefighting plays in the society has seen it transform over the centuries since the third century. Cities have in the past been devastated by fire outbreaks with examples being London and major cities in America. It is safe to say, if those cities had not reconsidered the importance of firefighters, then they would have seized to exist. To prevent such occurrences in the future, innovations that seek to improve the capabilities of firefighting should be
In 1902, the Triangle Factory was burned twice and Blanck’s and Harris’s other company, Diamond Waist, was scorched twice; once in 1907 and in 1910 (1 “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire” 3). Those fires were purposely started by them before work hours to collect large fire-insurance policies (3). That was a common act in the early 20th century (3). Though they didn’t cause the fire in 1911, it contributed to the disaster, because Blanck and Harris refused to install a sprinkler system and other safety measures in case they needed to burn down their shops again (3). This would only add to the severity of the upcoming event.
Lots of people lost their lives to this fire. (Me) On March 25, 1911, a fierce fire broke out at a factory on the ninth floor of a building in New York City. Some of the exits and stairwells had been locked to prevent workers from taking breaks, stealing, and keeping out late
Because of this development the city replaced their volunteer fire department with a full time staffed department in 1858. At this time the fire chief proposed many changes to
A firefighter needs to have a variety of skills such as evacuate fire structures and treat victims, suppress and extinguish fires with hoses pumps and additional apparatus’. Not everything a firefighter accomplishes involves fighting fires, and saving people, they also act as role models for the younger generation, and the community. A firefighter may have to participate and give a lesson in
Loss of critical thinking in Fahrenheit 451 The dictionary defines dystopia as an “imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.” Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451 exemplifies dystopian writing at its finest. The loss of critical thinking reoccurs in this novel as a theme.
In one of the articles he wrote “In the first Place, as an Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure, I would advise ‘em to take care how they suffer living Brands-ends, or Coals in a full Shovel, to be carried out of one Room into another, or up or down Stairs, unless in a Warming pan shut; for Scraps of Fire may fall into Chinks, and make no Appearance till Midnight; when your Stairs being in Flames, you may be forced, (as I once was) to leap out of your Windows, and hazard your Necks to avoid being over-roasted” (Franklin B. 1735). This article along with several others led to the creation of the first fire department established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Less than 100 years later in 1818, the same city of Philadelphia, a group of African Americans wanted to join the noble profession of firefighting naming the group the African Fire Association.
The book Triangle: The Fire That Changed America written by David Von Drehle recounts the dreadful incident of fire that broke out in a Triangle Shirtwaist factory on March 25, 1911 and its aftermath. In the earlier part of nineteenth century Triangle Shirtwaist factory was running a lucrative business in a multistory building in the New York City. The factory was owned by the two men Isaac Harris and Max Blank and it was located on the upper three stories of the Asch Building which was back then considered and projected as an efficient fireproof building (History). On that unfortunate day, fifteen minutes of fire gulped one hundred and forty-six innocent lives who were struggling to keep themselves and their families afloat(CBS).
First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.” This quote is important to the theme of remembering and understanding history because Benjamin Franklin was the founder of the firemen, he wrote the rules and regulations for them, and established the
The fire raged to high in the building for the fire department’s ladders to reach it. With workroom doors illegally locked by the employers, the workers, mostly young women, were trapped.” This horrible event proved fatal when “Some fled the flames by throwing themselves out windows. Others burned. When it was over, 146 had died”.
Name Professor Course Date The Peshtigo fire of 1871 was a forest fire that occurred around Peshtigo in Wisconsin. The fire claimed more than 15000 thousand lives and left a lot of property destroyed. The fire was augmented by the hot temperatures and the widespread drought which left the dense forest covering the area unusually dry.
Massive fires aren’t just a thing of the past. Without proper protection and prevention, it is very likely that such a devastating disaster could easily happen
Another result of the fire was the creation of the American Society of Safety Engineers. Which was Designed for all buildings to fall under the code to make them safer? The American Society of Safety Engineers did just that, and there has not been any other building tragedy fire not caused by arson as severe as the shirtwaist fire. I will now like to return to the original question.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was a devastating fire that killed 146 girls in New York City (Leap for Life, Leap for Death). At this time, citizens of New York were furious and demanded that the government do something to prevent future tragedies. The government responded and the reforms that the government made, it changed the future of New York industry. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, one of history’s deadliest fires, came as a result of outrageously unsafe working conditions, led to a high death toll and injury total, but, ultimately resulted in reforms that helped safeguard future factory workers.
Now, fire departments nationwide are ordering their men and women to take the danger from chemicals much more seriously. Departments are buying air tanks that provide oxygen for 45 minutes, rather than the standard 30 minutes. Commanders are ordering firefighters to keep their masks on until they are out of the smoke and washed down by decontamination teams on the scene. And back at the station, firefighters are being told to change into a second set of turnout gear while industrial washing machines clean the dirty equipment. Congress is currently considering whether to approve the creation of a National Firefighter Cancer Registry — to get a firm handle on the number of deaths.