History of Fire Service

History of Fire Service By Robert Keller, Fire Chief

In early Boston, in the days before smoke detectors and automatic fire alarms, fire groups took turns keeping watch in the streets at night and signaled a warning of fire using rattles when they spotted smoke. These groups became known as the Rattle Watch. When fire was spotted, volunteers would form bucket brigades to fight the fire. Frequently an entire city block suffered fire damage resulting in hundreds of people injured or dead, and huge property loses.

In 1721 Richard Newsham took out a patent on the first U.S. made fire-engine pump. A typical Newsham of the 1730’s had handles on either side of the wagon and was pulled by horses to the scene of the fire. The advantage of the side-pumper was that more men could be fitted in along the pump handle, which in turn provided greater pumping power. Additional horse drawn wagons were equipped to carry ladders or fire hose.

In larger cities, insurance companies formed fire brigades to protect their insured structures. Since there were several fire insurance companies it was common for more than one fire brigade to exist in the city. Upon arrival at a fire, the first action taken was to check for a fire insurance marker. If one did not exist, or if it belonged to a competitor’s company, the fire brigade simply went home leaving the structure to burn.

Rivalries developed between the various brigades out of a sense of pride and to see which brigade could reach the fire first. Fire brigades fitted bells and gongs to their wagons to clear the way, and some brought water with them. The men began to bunk at the firehouse for the night so that they would be quicker to respond in the case of a night alarm.

The art of fighting a fire was very labor intensive, often requiring volunteers from the crowd to keep the manual pumps going. Following a major fire in New York City, a steam engine built by Paul Hodge made its debut in 1840. His design was self-propelled but could be drawn by horses. With the introduction of steam power to turn the pump, more men could be directed to actually fight the fire. Although very costly, steam powered pumpers continued in the fire service into the early 1900’s when the first gasoline/kerosene powered pumpers were developed.

Today, the job of a firefighter is very different from those early days in Boston and New York. Modern technology has eliminated the need for a fire watch and improved building codes reduce the chance of a major fire damaging an entire neighborhood. A dangerous job that few other than early immigrants would take is today a profession admired by children and adults alike. Certainly in the aftermath of 9-11, the public awareness and appreciation of firefighters has risen sharply.

Our fire department in Brimfield was organized in 1934 as a volunteer fire department. The first fire truck, pictured in this article, was built by members of the department on a school bus chassis. Herb Cookus served as the first fire chief and the fire station was located in the lower level of the Townhall. The building is still in use today and can be seen adjacent to the current fire station along S.R. 43.

Brimfield firefighters are trained to fight fires but the services offered by the fire department today are much broader than even 30 years ago. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for example, accounts for approximately 75% of our call volume. All firefighters today are also trained as EMT’s or paramedics, and in specialized areas such as hazardous materials, fire prevention, public education and auto extrication.

Over the next year in The Brimfield Township Times I plan to expand on some of our specialized fire department operations and explain how each contributes to the safety of our community. Just as the fire service has evolved in the United States since the early days in Boston, the nature and demands of the fire service in Brimfield have changed since its inception in 1934. We are proud of our history of service to the community and pledge to meet the current and future needs as our community continues to grow.

Some of the information for this article was obtained from “The Fire Engine, An Illustrated History” by Simon Goodenough (Chartwell Books, Inc.), 1989.

Contact Information
BRIMFIELD FIRE DEPARTMENT
1333 Tallmadge Rd - Kent, Ohio 44240
Fire Chief: Robert Keller
Phone: 330-678-9244
Fax: 330-678-4234
E-mail: brimfieldfire@neo.rr.com