Canajoharie is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 3,730 at the 2010 census.[2] Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River on the south border of the county. The Erie Canal passes along the north town line. There is also a village of Canajoharie in the town. Both are east of Utica and west of Amsterdam.
These were settled as European-American jurisdictions, named for the historic Mohawk village of the same name, which was also known as the Mohawk Upper Castle.
Canajoharie is a village in the Town of Canajoharie in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village had a population of 2,229.[2] The name is said to be a Mohawk language term meaning "the pot that washes itself," referring to the "Canajoharie Boiling Pot," a circular gorge in the Canajoharie Creek, just south of the village.
The village of Canajoharie is at the north border of the Town of Canajoharie; it is west of Amsterdam and east of Utica. The village and town name also refer to Canajoharie, a historic Mohawk town that was located west of here, referred to by the English colonists as the "Upper Castle." A church stands at that site from the pre-revolutionary era; the Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District is a National Historic Landmark.
The village of Canajoharie is home to one of a handful of operating "dummy lights" in the United States, located downtown at the intersection of Church, Mohawk and Montgomery Streets. It is a traffic signal on a pedestal located in the middle of an intersection; it was first installed in 1926. Two others are located in New York State, in Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson.
The Erie Canal passes the north side of the village.
The village was the headquarters for the manufacturing operations of the Beech-Nut baby food company in the 20th century. The plant was closed in March 2011 with production moving to Florida in the same county, on the south side of the river.[3][4]
In 2015 most of the village (and a small area to its south) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Canajoharie Historic District,[5] due to its importance as a transportation hub over its existence and the well-preserved architecture from different eras.[6] In addition, the Bragdon-Lipe House, the Van Alstyne House, the West Hill School, and the United States Post Office are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]
History
The historic "dummy light" in downtown Canajoharie, New York.
Van Alstyne Homestead in Canajoharie is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The current village is located east of the historic Canajoharie, one of two major towns of the Mohawk nation in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District in the former area contains the Upper Castle Church (1769) and archeological sites related to Mohawk and Iroquois history; it is a National Historic Landmark.
Palatine German settlers, Protestant refugees from religious wars in Europe, were allowed to establish a community in this area in the 1730s. They had earlier lived in work camps along the Hudson River in Dutchess County, to pay off their passage from England, which was paid by Queen Anne's government. Their community was called "Roofville" (according to anglicized spelling) after early inhabitant Johannes Rueff. The village was incorporated in 1829.
During the middle of the 19th century, three fires almost destroyed the village. It was renamed Canajoharie. Because of the losses due to the fires, the town passed an ordinance prohibiting houses to be constructed of wood. Many of the older houses in the town are made of brick or locally quarried stone.
After the revolutionary war George Washington visited Canajoharie. He had been in the region to survey damage done to nearby Cherry Valley, New York from a destructive raid by Joseph Brant, a noted Mohawk chief allied with the British, and his forces. Washington stayed the night at Van Alstyne Homestead (sometimes referred to as Fort Rensselaer), a common meeting place.
History
The town is near the former site of Canajoharie, an important village of the Mohawk nation that also became known as the Upper Castle. The Mohawk had as their territory most of the central area of present-day New York from the Hudson River west to where Oneida territory started.[4] They also used the St. Lawrence River valley as hunting grounds after 1600. They dominated the fur trade with the French based in central Quebec, and with Dutch and later English in eastern New York. French, Dutch and later English trappers and traders came to this Mohawk village to trade. Both the French and Dutch married or had unions with Mohawk women, increasing their ties with the people. Their mixed-race children married into the Dutch and later English communities.[5] Many of their sons also became interpreters or traders.
Anglo-Europeans began settling in the area around 1730 and the Mohawk gradually adopted certain English customs in their village. Because the Mohawk and three other Iroquois nations were allied with the British during the Revolutionary War, they were forced to cede most of their lands in New York after the United States victory. The state sold millions of acres of land to speculators and private owners.
The town of Canajoharie was consumed by fire 3 times causing an ordinance to be passed prohibiting homes to be constructed of wood. Therefore, many of the older homes in the town are made of brick or locally quarried stone.
After the revolutionary war George Washington visited Canajoharie after surveying the damage to nearby Cherry Valley, NY. He stayed the night at the Van Alstyne home a common meeting place. The Van Alstyne house has long been referred to by some as Ft. Rensselaer; the actual Ft.Rensselaer (destroyed sometime before the French-Indian War) was in nearby Ft. Plain, NY.
The modern town was formed in 1788, but was reduced to form the towns of Minden (1798) and Root (in part, 1823). While the Mohawk Valley developed with the completion of the Erie Canal, the project also enabled considerable migration from New York to the Midwest. The population of the town in 1865 was 4,248.
Beech-Nut, the baby food producer, was founded in Canajoharie in 1891 during the period of early industrialization in the river valley. It served as the largest employer in the town for more than a century. In March 2011, the Beech-Nut factory moved out of Canajoharie, relocating to a new factory in the nearby town of Florida, near Amsterdam on the south side of the river, still in Montgomery County.[6]
Nearby towns :
City
Amsterdam
Towns
Amsterdam
Canajoharie
Charleston
Florida
Glen
Minden
Mohawk
Palatine
Root
St. Johnsville
Villages
Ames
Canajoharie
Fonda (county seat)
Fort Johnson
Fort Plain
Fultonville
Hagaman
Nelliston
Palatine Bridge
St. Johnsville
Census-designated place
Tribes Hill
Hamlet
Auriesville
Fort Hunter
Sprakers
Sprout Brook
Valley Brook
The history of organized firefighting began in ancient Rome while under the rule of Augustus.[1] Prior to that, there is evidence of fire-fighting machinery in use in Ancient Egypt, including a water pump invented by Ctesibius of Alexandria in the third century BC which was later improved upon in a design by Hero of Alexandria in the first century BC.[2]
Rome
The first ever Roman fire brigade of which we have any substantial history was created by Marcus Licinius Crassus. Marcus Licinius Crassus was born into a wealthy Roman family around the year 115 BC, and acquired an enormous fortune through (in the words of Plutarch) "fire and rapine." One of his most lucrative schemes took advantage of the fact that Rome had no fire department. Crassus filled this void by creating his own brigade—500 men strong—which rushed to burning buildings at the first cry of alarm. Upon arriving at the scene, however, the fire fighters did nothing while their employer bargained over the price of their services with the distressed property owner. If Crassus could not negotiate a satisfactory price, his men simply let the structure burn to the ground, after which he offered to purchase it for a fraction of its value. Emperor Nero took the basic idea from Crassus and then built on it to form the 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. The Vigiles patrolled the streets of Rome to watch for fires and served as a police force. The later brigades consisted of hundreds of men, all ready for action. When there was a fire, the men would line up to the nearest water source and pass buckets hand in hand to the fire.
Rome suffered a number of serious fires, most notably the fire on 19 July AD 64 which eventually destroyed two thirds of Rome.
Early English
A fire extinguisher pump from 1540
Fire engine 17th Century
This picture published in 1808 shows firefighters tackling a fire in London using hand-pumped engines.
In Europe, firefighting was quite rudimentary until the 17th 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. 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. 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.
London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and above all in 1666 (the Great Fire of London). The Great Fire of 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane, consumed about two square miles (5 km²) of the city, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Prior to this fire, London had no organized fire protection system. Afterwards, insurance companies formed private fire brigades to protect their clients’ property. Insurance brigades would only fight fires at buildings the company insured. These buildings were identified by fire insurance marks. The key breakthrough in firefighting arrived in the 17th century with the first fire engines. Manual pumps, rediscovered in Europe after 1500 (allegedly used in Augsburg in 1518 and in Nuremberg in 1657), were only force pumps and had a very short range due to the lack of hoses. German inventor Hans Hautsch improved the manual pump by creating the first suction and force pump and adding some flexible hoses to the pump. In 1672, Dutch artist and inventor Jan Van der Heyden's workshop developed the fire hose. Constructed of flexible leather and coupled every 50 feet (15 m) with brass fittings. The length remains the standard to this day in mainland Europe whilst in the UK the standard length is either 23m or 25m. The fire engine was further developed by the Dutch inventor, merchant and manufacturer, John Lofting (1659–1742) who had worked with Jan Van der Heyden in Amsterdam. Lofting moved to London in or about 1688, became an English citizen and patented (patent number 263/1690) the "Sucking Worm Engine" in 1690. There was a glowing description of the firefighting ability of his device in The London Gazette of 17 March 1691, after the issue of the patent. The British Museum has a print showing Lofting's fire engine at work in London, the engine being pumped by a team of men. In the print three fire plaques of early insurance companies are shown, no doubt indicating that Lofting collaborated with them in firefighting. A later version of what is believed to be one of his fire engines has been lovingly restored by a retired firefighter, and is on show in Marlow Buckinghamshire where John Lofting moved in 1700. Patents only lasted for fourteen years and so the field was open for his competitors after 1704.
Richard Newsham of Bray in Berkshire (just 8 miles from Lofting) produced and patented an improved engine in 1721 (Royal Patent Office 1721 patent #439 and 1725 patent #479) and soon dominated the fire engine market in England. Pulled as a cart to the fire, these manual pumps were manned by teams of 4 to 12 men and could deliver up to 160 gallons per minute (12 L/s) at up to 120 feet (36 m). Newsham himself died in 1743 but his company continued making fire engines under other managers and names into the 1770s. The next major development in fire engine design in England was made by Hadley, Simpkin & Lott co. in 1792 with a larger and much improved style of hand pumped engine which could be pulled to a fire by horses.
United States
Victor Pierson, Paul Poincy. Volunteer Firemen's Parade, March 4th 1872, representing the gathering of the New Orleans fire brigades around the statue of Henry Clay.
The Chicago Fire Department used this White Motor Company truck from 1930 to 1941.
In 1631, Boston's governor John Winthrop outlawed wooden chimneys and thatched roofs.[3] In 1648, the New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant appointed four men to act as fire wardens.[3] They were empowered to inspect all chimneys and to fine any violators of the rules. The city burghers later appointed eight prominent citizens to the "Rattle Watch" - these men volunteered to patrol the streets at night carrying large wooden rattles.[3] If a fire was seen, the men spun the rattles, then directed the responding citizens to form bucket brigades. On January 27, 1678 the first fire engine company went into service with its captain (foreman) Thomas Atkins.[3] In 1736 Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia.[3]
The United States did not have government-run fire departments until around the time of the American Civil War. Prior to this time, private fire brigades competed with one another to be the first to respond to a fire because insurance companies paid brigades to save buildings.[4] Underwriters also employed their own Salvage Corps in some cities. The first known female firefighter Molly Williams took her place with the men on the dragropes during the blizzard of 1818 and pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow.
On April 1 of 1853, Cincinnati, Ohio featured the first professional fire department made up of 100% full-time employees.
In 2015, 70 percent of firefighters in the United States were volunteer. Only 4% of calls were actual fires. 64% were medical aid. 8% were false alarms.[5]
Modern development
The first fire brigades in the modern sense were created in France in the early 18th century. In 1699, a man with bold commercial ideas, François du Mouriez du Périer (grandfather of French Revolution general Charles François Dumouriez), solicited an audience with King Louis XIV. Greatly interested in Jan Van der Heyden's invention, he successfully demonstrated the new pumps and managed to convince the king to grant him the monopoly of making and selling "fire-preventing portable pumps" throughout the kingdom of France. François du Mouriez du Périer offered 12 pumps to the City of Paris, and the first Paris Fire Brigade, known as the Compagnie des gardes-pompes (literally the "Company of Pump Guards"), was created in 1716. François du Mouriez du Périer was appointed directeur des pompes de la Ville de Paris ("director of the City of Paris's pumps"), i.e. chief of the Paris Fire Brigade, and the position stayed in his family until 1760. In the following years, other fire brigades were created in the large French cities. Around that time appeared the current French word pompier ("firefighter"), whose literal meaning is "pumper." On March 11, 1733 the French government decided that the interventions of the fire brigades would be free of charge. This was decided because people always waited until the last moment to call the fire brigades to avoid paying the fee, and it was often too late to stop fires. From 1750 on, the French fire brigades became para-military units and received uniforms. In 1756 the use of a protective helmet for firefighters was recommended by King Louis XV, but it took many more years before the measure was actually enforced on the ground.
In North America, Jamestown, Virginia was virtually destroyed in a fire in January, 1608. There were no full-time paid firefighters in America until 1850. Even after the formation of paid fire companies in the United States, there were disagreements and often fights over territory. New York City companies were famous for sending runners out to fires with a large barrel to cover the hydrant closest to the fire in advance of the engines.[6] Often fights would break out between the runners and even the responding fire companies for the right to fight the fire and receive the insurance money that would be paid to the company that fought it.[6] During the 19th century and early 20th century volunteer fire companies served not only as fire protection but as political machines. The most famous volunteer firefighter politician is Boss Tweed, head of the notorious Tammany Hall political machine, who got his start in politics as a member of the Americus Engine Company Number 6 ("The Big Six") in New York City.
Indian Home Guards fire fighting demonstration
The Sandgate Fire Brigade, Queensland, Australia, outside the Sandgate Fire-Brigade Station in 1923
Napoleon Bonaparte, drawing from the century-old experience of the gardes-pompes, is generally attributed as creating the first "professional" firefighters, known as Sapeurs-Pompiers ("Sappers-Firefighters"), from the French Army. Created under the Commandant of Engineers in 1810, the company was organized after a fire at the ballroom in the Austrian Embassy in Paris which injured several dignitaries.
In the UK, the Great Fire of London in 1666 set in motion changes which laid the foundations for organised firefighting in the future. In the wake of the Great Fire, the City Council established the first fire insurance company, "The Fire Office", in 1667, which employed small teams of Thames watermen as firefighters and provided them with uniforms and arm badges showing the company to which they belonged.
However, the first organised municipal fire brigade in the world was established in Edinburgh, Scotland, when the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment was formed in 1824, led by James Braidwood. London followed in 1832 with the London Fire Engine Establishment.
On April 1, 1853, the Cincinnati Fire Department became the first full-time paid professional fire department in the United States, and the first in the world to use steam fire engines.[7]
The first horse-drawn steam engine for fighting fires was invented in 1829, but not accepted in structural firefighting until 1860, and ignored for another two years afterwards. Internal combustion engine fire engines arrived in 1907, built in the United States, leading to the decline and disappearance of steam engines by 1925.
Firefighting today
Further information: Firefighting
Today, fire and rescue remains a mix of full-time paid, paid-on-call, and volunteer responders.
See also
icon Fire portal
Bombay Explosion (1944)
Firematic Racing
Great Fire of London
List of fire departments
List of fires
History of the Belfast Fire Brigade
Fires in Edo
A Fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds throughout the United States.[3] Fire departments responded to 33,602,500 calls for service in 2015. 21,500,000 were for medical help, 2,533,500 were false alarms, and 1,345,500 were for actual fires.[4]
Since at least 1980, calls for fires have decreased as a proportion of total calls and in absolute numbers from 3,000,000 to 1,400,000 in 2011, while in the same period medical calls have increased from 5,000,000 to 19,800,000.[5][6]
The professionalization of American firefighting was largely a result of three factors: the steam fire engines, the fire insurance companies, that demanded the municipalization of firefighting, and the theory that suggested payment of wages would naturally result in improved service.[7] Paid firefighters may be union or non-union. Union American firefighters are represented and united in the International Association of Fire Fighters with headquarters in Washington, D.C.[dubious – discuss] However, many municipalities still rely on volunteer, paid on call, or part-time firefighters. These non full-time firefighters are rarely union, and their interests are represented by the National Volunteer Fire Council.
The United States Fire Administration provides national leadership to local fire services. The fire departments report fires and other incidents according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, which maintains records of the incidents in a uniform manner. The National Fire Protection Association sets and maintains minimum standards and requirements for firefighting duties and equipment. The suppression of wildfires is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This is done through the National Wildland Coordination Center.
The two million fire calls that American fire departments respond to each year represent the highest figures in the industrialized world. Each year thousands of people die, tens of thousands of people are injured, and property damage reaches billions of dollars. Indirect costs, such as temporary lodging expenses, lost time at work, medical expenses, and psychological damages are equally alarming (The United States Fire Administration 1996). According to American Red Cross statistics, the annual losses from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters combined in the United States average just a fraction of those from fires. House fires in particular are one of the most common tragedies facing emergency disaster workers in recent history. According to the US Fire Administration, the United States has a more severe fire problem than generally perceived. In inner city Pennsylvania neighborhoods, house fires have greatly increased, especially in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. An alarming trend in these specific house fires is that sixty percent of these houses do not have working smoke detectors. Additionally, these households are prone to using supplemental heating devices and substandard extension cords that are not Underwriters Laboratories (UL) compliant. UL compliant extension cords are labeled with valuable information as to the use, size, and rating of the cord (Dunston, 2008, p. 2).
History
Volunteer Firemen's Parade, March 4th 1872 in New Orleans around the statue of Henry Clay. Painting by Victor Pierson and Paul E. Poincy.
See also: History of firefighting
Firefighting in the United States can be traced back to the 17th century when, after a great conflagration in Boston in 1631, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning smoking in public places.[citation needed]
New Amsterdam established the colonies' first firefighting system in 1647.[8] Fire wardens inspected the houses and chimneys, fining for potential hazard. An eight-man team called a rattle watch patrolled the streets at night. When a fire was detected, they shook wooden rattles to alert townspeople. In 1711 the concerned Americans formed the so-called mutual fire societies of approximately twenty members each. When fire struck a society member, other members rushed for assistance. The first water-pumping engines were imported to New York in the 1730s. In 1736 Benjamin Franklin founded the first American volunteer fire company in Philadelphia. Such companies were soon organized in other colonies. Among those who served as volunteer firefighters were George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.[9] Volunteer firefighters were honored with frequent stanzas in urban newspapers and made the subject of heroizing prints by the popular American printmaking firm Currier & Ives. Nathaniel Currier, of Currier & Ives, also surviving as a volunteer firefighter in New York City during the 1850s. In 1818 the first known female firefighter Molly Williams rose to prominence in New York, when she took her place with the men on the drag ropes and pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow.
In 1853 the first practical, steam powered, fire engine was tested in Cincinnati (OH).[10] It was created by Abel Shawk, Alexander Bonner Latta, and Miles Greenwood. The engine was then named "Uncle Joe Ross" after a city council member.[11]
In the early days of the fire service, fire departments were, more or less, social organizations in the community. And, being an accepted member meant a certain social status in the community. Remnants of that social status can still be found today in the traditional style firefighter's helmets that resemble top hats worn by the early firefighters. Money that was used to help fund the organization was obtained by insurance company payouts from fighting fires. Firefighters could easily tell just who had fire insurance and who didn't by fire insurance marks located on the front of the home. Often it was a problem for homeowners who did not have insurance to have the fire department respond to a fire in their home and effectively remove belongings and such because the firefighters knew that there wouldn't be any money in it for them.
Before the 1850s, there were only volunteer fire departments. The first paid fire department was the Cincinnati fire department in Ohio. Volunteer fire departments still protect property and play an important role, as they do even today.
American firefighters built, designed or assigned specifications for their equipment. Particularly, they dedicated themselves to the engines and viewed them as integral to the fire company identity.[12] The first fire companies - the Union Fire Company, the Columbia Fire Company and the Anacostia Fire Company were organized in 1804 to serve the White House, the Capitol and the neighborhood of Anacostia in Washington, D.C. respectively. By the 1840s and 1850s the differences between companies within the same city had become quite significant. In 1853 Cincinnati, Ohio became the first city with a fully paid fire department.[13] In 1855 the Metropolitan Hook and Ladder Company Number 1 Firehouse, Washington's oldest extant firehouse, was built at Massachusetts Avenue.
With few exceptions, firefighters denied African Americans the opportunity to join the companies or form their own ones.[citation needed] As early as 1818 in Philadelphia the local free black community attempted to form the African Fire Association. Meanwhile, some southern cities like Charleston and Savannah relied on African American labor.
Later the specialized life-saving units in American fire departments - the pompier corps - were formed.
FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Curry at the World Trade Center site of 2001 September 11 attacks.
In the 20th century, the nature of an American firefighter's job began to change. Structural firefighting was still the main purpose of the department, but more specialized training and education, such as for high-rise structure fires, confined space environments and building construction education were included and emphasized. Other disciplines were taken on as responsibilities in lifesaving. An example of such is the practice of Paramedicine which debuted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Presently, almost all fire departments across the United States have been trained in and perform technical rescue, vehicle rescue, high-angle rescue, wildland firefighting and hazardous materials incidents. Additionally, almost all career departments as well as many volunteer departments have emergency medical assets at their immediate disposal.
Several notable events have killed many firefighters. 343 New York City Fire Department (FDNY) firefighters were killed when the World Trade Center collapsed during the attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2007, the Sofa Super Store fire in Charleston, South Carolina, killed nine firefighters.
In 2011, there were about 1.1 million firefighters in the country. 31% were paid, the remainder volunteer. The nation has seen an increase in paid positions; 8.6% decrease in volunteers from 2008 to 2011.[14]
Company types
Fire companies come in several types. Note that the names below are not standard and have numerous local variations.
Engine or Pumper
A unit that pumps water. Modern engines are almost always "triple-combination" units that have a pump, a tank of water, and hoses. This company has the primary responsibility of supplying water to a scene, to locate and confine the fire, and extinguish the fire.
Truck or Ladder
A unit that carries ladders and an aerial device to access buildings above ground level. Primarily, the company performs the ladderwork and supplies master streams to the fireground. The company also performs structural ventilation and overhaul, primary and secondary search & rescue, securing of utilities, and often supplies rapid intervention teams.
Rescue
A unit that carries a large variety of tools to assist in the search and rescue of victims at an incident such as a fire or traffic collision. It may or may not provide emergency medical response and may or may not transport patients to hospital.
Squad
This type of unit has many different local and regional definitions. In the New York City Fire Department, for example, a Squad is a hybrid company consisting of an apparatus equipped with supplies necessary to perform some levels of rescue operations as well as engine and truck company operations. In some areas it is identical to a Rescue or a Medic company.
Medic/Rescue Ambulance
A unit that provides EMS, often at the paramedic level. Many fire services offer some form of EMS and companies may or may not transport patients to hospital.
Quint
Short for quintuple-combination engine. The unit has the three items that an engine does -- pump, tank, hose -- but also carries ground ladders and has an aerial device.
Tanker or Tender
A unit that has a large water tank. It may or may not also have a pump.
Brush Patrol
A unit usually built on a heavy duty pickup chassis with equipment for fighting brush fires. Typically responds with a engine to major fires, though may also respond alone.
Helicopter or air ambulance
Depending on the department a helicopter may be in use as an air ambulance or a suppression and Fire observation tool for brush fires. Some are even uses for both as in the case of departments like the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Battalion chief sedan
A command car containing a lower ranking chief officer in command of an area/district of a department usually around 7 stations that responds to large fires, mass casualty incidents, and any emergency with more than one engine responding.
EMS Supervisor or EMS captain sedan
Similar to a battalion chief sedan the ems captain sedan contains a chief officer for ems which usually responds to large emergencies, and is usually tasked with directing medical resources on scene.
Specialized Firefighting Categories
Consists of, but not limited to:
-Structural firefighting
-Highrise firefighting
-Confined space firefighting
-Wildland firefighting
-Airport firefighting
-Hazardous Materials firefighting
Organization
U.S. firefighters work under the auspices of fire departments (also commonly called fire protection districts, fire divisions, fire companies, fire bureaus, and fire-rescue). These departments are generally organized as local or county government subsidiaries, special-purpose district entities or not-for-profit corporations. They may be funded by the parent government, through millage, fees for services, fundraising or charitable contributions. Some state governments and the federal government operate fire departments to protect their wildlands, e.g., California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE),[15] New Jersey Forest Fire Service,[16] USDA Forest Service – Fire and Aviation Management[17] (see also Smokejumper). Many military installations, major airports and large industrial facilities also operate their own fire departments.
A small number of U.S. fire departments are privatized, that is, operated by for-profit corporations on behalf of public entities. Knox County, Tennessee is among the largest public entities protected by privatized fire departments.[18]
A firefighter's bunk with uniform ready to wear in the San Antonio Fire Museum in San Antonio, Texas
Most larger urban areas have career firefighters. Most rural areas have volunteer or paid on-call firefighters. Smaller towns and suburban areas may have either. 74% of career firefighters are in departments that protect 25,000 or more people. 95% of volunteer firefighters are in departments that protect fewer than 25,000 people and more than half of these and are in small, rural departments protecting fewer than 2,500 people. Departments range in size from a handful of firefighters to over 11,400 sworn firefighters and 4,600 additional personnel in the New York City Fire Department. These additional personnel include uniformed emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. Many U.S. fire departments have emergency medical service corps (EMS), which may be structurally separate from or combined with their firefighting operations, including firefighters cross-trained as EMTs and paramedics.
A fire fighter's turnout gear staged in front of a fire engine
As of 2014, there were 1,134,400 firefighters in the United States (not including firefighters who work for the state or federal governments or in private fire departments). Of these, 346,150 (31%) are career and 788,250 (69%) are volunteer. These firefighters operate out of 27,198[19] fire departments. Career firefighters represent 15% of all departments but protect approximately two thirds of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, 85% of fire departments are volunteer or mostly volunteer and protect approximately one third of the population.[20] The Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY) provides information, education and training for the volunteer fire and emergency medical services throughout New York State.
Like U.S. police departments, U.S. fire departments are usually structured in a paramilitary manner. Firefighters are sworn, uniformed members of their departments. Rank-and-file firefighters are equivalent to enlisted personnel; supervisory firefighters are command officers with ranks such as lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, deputy chief and chief. Fire departments, especially larger ones, may also be organized into military-style echelons, such as companies, battalions and divisions. Fire departments may also have unsworn or non-uniformed members in non-firefighting capacities such as administration and civilian oversight, e.g., a board of commissioners. While adhering to a paramilitary command structure, most fire departments operate on a much less formal basis than the military.
Firefighting in the United States is becoming more of a profession than it once was. Historically, especially in smaller departments, little formal training of firefighters was required. Now, most states require both career and volunteer firefighters to complete a certificate program at a fire academy. Associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs in firefighting disciplines are available at colleges and universities. Such advanced training is becoming a de facto prerequisite for command in larger departments. The U.S. Fire Administration operates the National Fire Academy, which also provides specialized firefighter training.
Ranks and Insignia
Commonly used "bugle" insignia.
There is no single standard system of rank insignia in use, but certain ranks are common. Many variations in insignia systems make use of the voice trumpet, a type of megaphone, and frequently referred to as a "bugle."
Firefighter (occasionally private) is the lowest rank. Often, it may be subdivided into grades (such as 1st class, senior, or master firefighter - typically awarded based on seniority), which may or may not be marked on the individual's badge or by uniform rank insignia.
Driver, engineer, or fire equipment operator are used by many departments. Usually, no insignia is present, but the badge will often note the rank. Some will have multiple grades of this rank.
Lieutenant is typically used as the lowest "fire officer" rank, usually being marked by a single bugle, often in silver. Some departments instead use a single bar (as in military / police fashion), again, usually in silver. Others may use a single gold bugle or bar. Some departments have multiple grades of lieutenant. An older name for the same rank, still used by some fire departments, is assistant foreman.
Captain is used in most departments, usually being denoted with a pair of parallel bugles or parallel bars, connected by a thin cross-bar, in either silver or gold. This is frequently used as a senior supervisor of an individual company or station, and sometimes oversees multiple lieutenants, in addition to firefighters. In Philadelphia, for example, a captain of a ladder company is the commanding officer of that firehouse, and the captain of the engine company supervises the medic unit in the station. Although only working on 1 of 4 shifts as the company officer, the captain is the supervising officer of the house overall and is reported to by the lieutenants on the other 3 shifts, even though he/she is not present during those shifts. As with lieutenant, some departments still use the older style, Foreman, instead of captain.
Senior captain is rarely used, and may be shown as 2 bugles crossed.
Battalion chief (sometimes division or district chief) is often the highest-ranking shift officer that is always on duty at any given time in a smaller department (i.e., the shift commander); or, in larger departments comprising multiple battalions, one would be assigned to supervise a complement of X number of companies in each battalion in different parts of the city. (Boston, for example, has 9 district chiefs that operate under 2 division chiefs citywide, supervising a total of 34 engines, 23 ladders, and 2 heavy rescues). This is usually the lowest chief rank. Typical insignia is two crossed gold bugles or two stars, although some departments use 3 bugles or 1 star. Some are occasionally identified with an oak leaf like a US military major, as with the FDNY's BC collar insignia.
Additional chief grades usually exist between chief and battalion chief; usual insignia is 3 or 4 crossed gold bugles or 3 or 4 stars. Common titles include district chief, division chief, assistant chief, and deputy chief.
Chief is usually the highest rank of a uniformed member in any given department, traditionally shown with 5 gold bugles or 5 stars.
Rank insignia of professional American firefighters.
Additional ranks outside the normal chain may exist; sergeants, majors, and inspectors are other ranks used by some departments. According to the 1986 Anchorage Fire Department Explorer Handbook, Anchorage Fire Department used a single gold bugle for inspectors, and both single silver bugle and single gold bar for lieutenants, depending upon assignment.
Many fire departments use cuff stripes as well as bugles or military style insignia on their dress uniforms. Typically, they are the same in number and color as the bugles / stars worn, but variations exist.
Many departments also frequently display seniority Service stripes (hash marks) on the lower left sleeve of a dress uniform jacket, or sometimes long-sleeved uniform shirts, with years of service varying greatly between individual departments (each stripe typically represents anywhere from 2–5 years of service).