60 Fun Facts About Firefighter

Which Roman emperor created the Vigiles, the first organised public firefighting force, in AD 6?

Augustus founded the Vigiles in AD 6 after a run of serious fires: 7,000 men in seven cohorts, each patrolling two of Rome's fourteen districts, nicknamed the Sparteoli or 'little bucket fellows' after their esparto-grass buckets.

Which Alexandrian inventor developed the first fire pump in the third century BC?

Ctesibius of Alexandria devised a double-cylinder force pump in the third century BC that could throw a jet of water; Hero of Alexandria described an improved version about three centuries later, and Europe reinvented such pumps only after 1500.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 began in a bakery on which street?

Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane caught fire early on 2 September 1666; the blaze destroyed more than 13,000 houses and 87 parish churches, yet only a handful of deaths were officially recorded.

After the 1666 fire, London's first fire brigades were run by whom?

Insurers protected only their own clients, whose buildings were marked with metal fire insurance marks so brigades knew which fires to fight.

Which Dutch artist and inventor's workshop developed the fire hose in the 1670s?

Jan van der Heyden, an Amsterdam painter who later ran the city's fire service, and his brother Nicolaes produced the first fire hoses in 1672: 50-foot lengths of leather sewn like a boot leg and joined with brass fittings.

Which American founding father established Philadelphia's Union Fire Company in 1736?

Nicknamed 'Franklin's Bucket Brigade', it was capped at 30 members and each had to keep six leather buckets and two stout linen bags marked with his name.

Which US city created the first fully paid, full-time professional fire department, on 1 April 1853?

Cincinnati set up the first fully paid professional fire department on 1 April 1853, built around the first practical steam fire engine, 'Uncle Joe Ross', which needed far fewer men than a hand pumper.

In which year did Molly Williams, America's first known female firefighter, pull a pumper through a blizzard?

Molly Williams, an enslaved woman known as 'Volunteer No. 11' of New York's Oceanus Engine Company, hauled the pumper through the blizzard of 1818 while most of the men were down with influenza.

The Great Chicago Fire broke out in the autumn of which year?

The Great Chicago Fire began on 8 October 1871 and burned for two days; the same night the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people, the deadliest wildfire in American history.

Who admitted in 1893 to inventing the story of Mrs O'Leary's cow starting the Chicago fire?

Reporter Michael Ahern confessed he made it up; the Chicago City Council formally exonerated the O'Learys in 1997.

US Fire Prevention Week falls in the week containing which date, in memory of the Great Chicago Fire?

Fire Prevention Week is the Sunday-to-Saturday span containing 9 October, the day the Chicago fire did its worst damage in 1871; a single national Fire Prevention Day had been proclaimed in 1920 before the week was established in 1925.

Which president proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week in 1925?

Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week in 1925; the Fire Marshals Association had marked a National Fire Prevention Day in 1911, the 40th anniversary of the Chicago blaze, and Woodrow Wilson one in 1920.

The three sides of the classic 'fire triangle' are heat, oxygen and what?

Fuel completes the triangle with heat and oxygen; remove any one and the fire goes out. Add a fourth element, the chemical chain reaction, and you have the fire tetrahedron taught in modern training.

In the US classification system, a fire involving cooking oils and fats is which class?

Class K covers cooking oils and fats in the US system and is fought with wet-chemical extinguishers; Europe and Australia label the same kitchen fires Class F, and Europe has no class for electrical fires at all.

Burning magnesium, titanium or sodium is classed as which type of fire in the US?

Class D covers combustible metals such as magnesium, titanium and sodium; water can make them burn harder, so they are smothered with special dry powders instead.

A flashover, when everything in a room ignites almost at once, occurs at roughly what temperature?

Flashover typically occurs when the gas layer at the ceiling reaches roughly 900-1,200 °F (about 500-650 °C); crews cool those gases with short bursts of water and ventilate precisely to keep a room from reaching that point.

What does the acronym SCBA stand for on a firefighter's back?

A Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus carries compressed air in a cylinder on the firefighter's back, typically rated for 30, 45 or 60 minutes, so crews never breathe the toxic smoke.

A PASS device worn by firefighters sounds an alarm when what happens?

The Personal Alert Safety System lets a rapid-intervention team locate a downed colleague by sound in zero visibility.

The Halligan bar, the classic forcible-entry tool, was designed in 1948 by a deputy chief in which city?

Hugh Halligan, a First Deputy Chief of the New York City Fire Department, designed the bar in 1948; it combines a fork, an adze and a pick in one forged tool.

A Halligan bar paired with a flat-head axe is known in the fire service as what?

'The irons' are a Halligan bar and a flat-head axe carried together; the two partially interlock head-to-toe so one firefighter can carry the whole forcible-entry set in one hand.

George Hurst invented the Jaws of Life around 1961 after watching a slow extrication at what kind of event?

Hurst watched rescuers spend more than an hour freeing a driver after a stock car race crash in 1961; the 'Jaws of Life' name came from people saying the tool snatched victims from the jaws of death.

The first permanent fire pole, installed by Chicago's Engine Company 21 in 1878, was made of what?

Captain David Kenyon's crew shaved a Georgia pine beam into a 3-inch pole and varnished it; the first brass pole followed in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1880.

Why did Dalmatians become the traditional fire station dog?

Dalmatians get along unusually well with horses, and the puppies are born pure white, with spots appearing over the first weeks.

Under the NFPA colour code, a hydrant with a blue cap delivers how much water?

A blue cap marks a Class AA hydrant flowing 1,500 gallons per minute or more under NFPA 291; green is 1,000-1,499, orange 500-999 and red under 500, so arriving crews know at a glance whether to call for more water.

How was the record of Frederick Graff's 1801 cast-iron hydrant invention lost?

The irony of the hydrant patent burning is a firehouse favourite; Graff's design became the standard American 'post' hydrant.

Which DuPont meta-aramid fibre became the classic flame-resistant shell fabric of turnout gear?

Nomex, a meta-aramid DuPont commercialised in 1967, chars rather than melts and does not drip, which made it the standard outer-shell and hood fabric for turnout gear built to NFPA 1971.

In most US fire departments, a white helmet identifies whom?

White helmets mark chief officers in most US departments, red usually company officers such as lieutenants and captains, and black or yellow the firefighters; the ornamental eagle on the front dates to about 1825.

Canadian fire helmets often replace the traditional eagle ornament with which animal?

Canadian helmets often carry a beaver, the national animal, where American ones have the eagle; the eagle finial itself began as a sculpture on a volunteer firefighter's grave around 1825 before migrating onto helmets.

A single section of standard attack hose is how long?

Larger supply lines come in 100-foot lengths, and hoses are hung in station towers to dry because standing water rots the lining.

A tiller truck is distinctive because it has what?

The rear driver steers the trailer wheels, letting a very long ladder truck take sharp corners on narrow streets.

On the fireground, which company is responsible for pumping water and stretching hose lines?

The engine company runs the pumper, connects to hydrants and stretches the attack lines; the truck (ladder) company handles forcible entry, search, ventilation and laddering instead.

A 2009 study found which colours are easiest to spot in daylight, prompting some fire engines to drop red?

The 2009 US Fire Administration visibility study found fluorescent yellow-green and orange the most conspicuous in daylight, which is why some departments run lime-yellow rigs, though tradition keeps most engines red.

In which year were the first operational smokejumper fire jumps made, in Idaho's Nez Perce forest?

Rufus Robinson and Earl Cooley made the first operational fire jumps on 12 July 1940 in the Nez Perce National Forest, a year after experimental jumps in Washington's Chelan National Forest.

Which Norman Maclean book covers the 1949 Mann Gulch fire that killed twelve smokejumpers?

Young Men and Fire, published in 1992 after Maclean's death, reconstructs the 5 August 1949 Mann Gulch blowup; the tragedy fed into the Ten Standard Firefighting Orders adopted in 1957.

The Pulaski, the standard wildland firefighting tool, combines an axe with what?

The Pulaski pairs an axe blade with an adze-like grubbing hoe on one head; Ed Pulaski, the Forest Service ranger who saved 45 men in the Great Fire of 1910, is credited with the design around 1911.

The Great Fire of 1910 torched about three million acres in Idaho and Montana in how many days?

Hurricane-force winds on 20-21 August 1910 fused hundreds of small fires into one two-day firestorm that burned about three million acres; 87 people died, mostly firefighters, and Congress doubled the Forest Service's budget.

The Granite Mountain Hotshots, 19 of whom died in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, were based in which state?

The crew was based in Prescott, Arizona, and lost 19 members on 30 June 2013; their story was told in the 2017 film Only the Brave. Hotshot crews of about 20 first formed in Southern California in the late 1940s.

Because of the volume of fan mail he received, Smokey Bear was given his own what in 1964?

Smokey was assigned his own ZIP code, 20252, in 1964 when his mail reached as many as 13,000 letters a week; the real cub rescued from a 1950 New Mexico fire lived at the National Zoo for 26 years.

In 2001, Smokey Bear's slogan changed to 'Only you can prevent...' what?

In 2001 the line became 'Only You Can Prevent Wildfires', recognising that grasslands and other non-forest areas burn too; the original 'forest fires' wording dated from 1947.

Aerial retardant released from air tankers is dyed red for what reason?

The colour comes from ferric oxide or a fugitive dye; the 747 Supertanker could carry about 19,600 gallons of it.

International Firefighters' Day, 4 May, is the feast day of which patron saint of firefighters?

Saint Florian, a Roman officer martyred in 304, is the patron saint of firefighters and his feast day is 4 May; the date was adopted after five Australian firefighters died in a 1998 bushfire near Linton, Victoria.

What was tied to the neck of the patron saint of firefighters when he was thrown into the Enns River?

Florian was drowned in the Enns in 304 with a millstone tied to his neck after first being sentenced to burn; another legend has him dousing a blaze with one pitcher of water, hence the pitcher in his statues.

How many FDNY members were killed in the September 11 attacks?

The FDNY lost 343 members on 11 September 2001, among them Chief of Department Peter Ganci and Chaplain Mychal Judge, recorded as the attacks' first official victim; it was by far the deadliest day in the department's history.

In which year did New York's Metropolitan Fire District replace volunteer companies with a paid force?

The state legislature created the Metropolitan Fire District in 1865, replacing New York City's volunteer companies with a paid force; it became the municipal Fire Department of the City of New York in 1870.

The Paris Fire Brigade is unusual among big-city fire services because it is a unit of what?

Napoleon made the Paris brigade a unit of the French Army in 1811 after a deadly fire at the Austrian embassy ball of 1810; Marseille's firefighters belong to the Navy instead.

James Braidwood, first head of the London Fire Engine Establishment, died at which 1861 blaze?

Braidwood was killed by a collapsing wall at the Tooley Street warehouse fire on 22 June 1861, a blaze that smouldered for two weeks; his successor Eyre Massey Shaw led London's brigade for the next thirty years.

How many garment workers died in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York?

146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, died on 25 March 1911 when fire swept floors 8 to 10 of the Asch Building; locked stairwell doors trapped them, and the disaster produced dozens of new New York labour laws.

Boston's 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire led to laws requiring exit doors to do what?

Revolving doors could no longer be the only exit, and exit signs had to stay lit on an independent power source.

Chicago's Iroquois Theatre, which burned in 1903 with 602 deaths, had been advertised as what?

The Iroquois had opened five weeks earlier billed as 'absolutely fireproof'; the 30 December 1903 blaze killed 602 people, the deadliest single-building fire in US history, and inspired the panic-bar exit latch.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 takes its title from the temperature at which what supposedly ignites?

Bradbury said 451 °F was the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns; he typed the first draft in nine days on a rented typewriter in a UCLA library basement, at ten cents per half hour.

Who directed the 1991 firefighting film Backdraft?

Ron Howard directed Backdraft, the Chicago-set film about firefighters on the trail of a serial arsonist; it spawned a Universal Studios Hollywood attraction that ran from 1992 to 2010.

What number does the fictional station in the NBC drama Chicago Fire carry?

Firehouse 51 is the show's fictional station; its exteriors are shot at the real Engine 18 on South Blue Island Avenue, and the show launched the One Chicago franchise in October 2012.

The 1970s series Emergency! followed paramedics Gage and DeSoto of which fire department?

Gage and DeSoto rode Squad 51 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department; within three years of the show's 1972 debut, 46 states had passed laws allowing paramedics to practise, and its props are in the Smithsonian.

Fireman Sam of Pontypandy was created by two former firefighters from which country?

Sam was created by Dave Gingell and Dave Jones, two former firefighters from England; the show first aired in Welsh on S4C in 1987, and Pontypandy blends the names Pontypridd and Tonypandy.

Which country was first to introduce a national emergency telephone number, 999, in 1937?

The United Kingdom introduced 999 in London on 30 June 1937, after a 1935 house fire in Wimpole Street in which five women died; America's first 911 call came in Haleyville, Alabama, in 1968.

The single most common cause of on-duty US firefighter deaths is what?

Sudden cardiac death, usually a heart attack during or just after exertion, accounts for roughly 40 to 45 percent of on-duty US firefighter deaths in NFPA tallies; vehicle crashes are the next largest cause.

Which US city set up the country's second career fire department, four years after Cincinnati?

St. Louis organised the country's second fully paid fire department in 1857, four years after Cincinnati; like Cincinnati it paired the switch with steam fire engines, which needed far fewer hands than hand pumpers.

In the UK and Ireland, what is the term for on-call crew paid per incident plus a small salary?

Retained firefighters, also termed on-call, live or work near their station and respond to a pager for a small annual retainer plus payment per call; they crew most of the UK's rural stations and the majority of Ireland's.

In which country are most fire services run by private companies?

In Denmark the private company Falck runs fire services for roughly two-thirds of municipalities under contract; Singapore and much of Switzerland use fire service conscription, while Monaco's firefighters belong to its military.

What did a 2018 Act of Congress require the CDC to create to track cancer in the fire service?

The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2018 ordered the CDC to build a national registry of firefighters' cancer diagnoses and exposures; a NIOSH study had found firefighters developed mesothelioma at twice the rate of other workers.