Union Fire Company Fire Research Paper

In 1736 the first real volunteer department known as the union fire company was started in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin. The Union fire company was made up of all volunteers that would make a line from the closet water source and pass the buckets to the fire. There were many other fire brigades that were clubs or co-ops which only intended to fight each other’s fires that were in the group. Ben Franklin’s concept was to help everyone and their property from burning. During their spare time they met monthly to discuss new tactics on how to fight the fires and train.
When towns started having more issues with buildings burning down they created what it is known today as a fire mark. Which was a piece of metal strong enough to withstand the fire. These fire marks were insurance companies that were paid by the individual of the home to be protected. It is believed that whichever fire department responded to the fire first was paid by the insurance company. Often causing the different departments to fight on scene to see who …show more content…
The water was put into a tub by an intake tube that the fire brigade had to dump water into. Some fire engines had a hand-stitched line of leather tubing that dumped water into the waiting bucket brigade firemen. In most circumstances this made it much easier to attack a fire without getting the engine to close to the structure or incident. With hand pumps it made it possible for firemen to draft water from ponds and rivers to put out their fires much more accurately. The fire engine created a tool to help the firemen save time because they were able to think a little more about where the water needed to go instead of dumping it because of being in a hurry. Soon after in the 19th century they replaced the leather stitching on the house with copper rivets for brass fittings which made it allowable to take the water into buildings in small