Firefighting in the United States
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European Colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with a bucket. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
As cities grew this method became unreliable, and the first professional fire department was established in Cincinnati in 1853. By the 20th century fire departments were forced to adapt to more modern hazards and dangers, such as high rise and hazardous material fires. They also began to expand their services to include other, non-fire, public safety needs including vehicle rescue and EMS service.[1] As of 2018, 62% of fire departments offered some form of emergency medical response.[2]
Firefighters in the United States today are organized along paramilitary lines, and are most often grouped into city or county departments. They utilize modern equipment Professional fire departments protect 68% of the US population, with a total of 1,216,600 firefighters serving in 27,228 fire departments nationwide and responding to emergencies from 58,150 fire stations.[2][3] Union firefighters are represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters. The New York City Fire Department is the largest in the United States.
Firefighters in America are widely respected, with over 80% of Americans considering firefighting to be a prestigious occupation in 2018.[4]
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Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European Colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with a bucket. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
As cities grew this method became unreliable, and the first professional fire department was established in Cincinnati in 1853. By the 20th century fire departments were forced to adapt to more modern hazards and dangers, such as high rise and hazardous material fires. They also began to expand their services to include other, non-fire, public safety needs including vehicle rescue and EMS service.[1] As of 2018, 62% of fire departments offered some form of emergency medical response.[2]
Firefighters in the United States today are organized along paramilitary lines, and are most often grouped into city or county departments. They utilize modern equipment Professional fire departments protect 68% of the US population, with a total of 1,216,600 firefighters serving in 27,228 fire departments nationwide and responding to emergencies from 58,150 fire stations.[2][3] Union firefighters are represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters. The New York City Fire Department is the largest in the United States.
Firefighters in America are widely respected, with over 80% of Americans considering firefighting to be a prestigious occupation in 2018.[4]
Contents
Overview[edit]
A Fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds throughout the United States.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7][8] While some medical calls are dealt with only by ambulances, it is common for fire engines to respond to them as well.[9]
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.[10] 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 ] 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).
A Fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds throughout the United States.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7][8] While some medical calls are dealt with only by ambulances, it is common for fire engines to respond to them as well.[9]
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.[10] 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 ] 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[edit]
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.[11]
New Amsterdam established the colonies' first firefighting system in 1647.[12] 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.
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.[11]
New Amsterdam established the colonies' first firefighting system in 1647.[12] 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.
Fire companies[edit]
Benjamin Franklin founded the first American volunteer fire company in Philadelphia in 1736. 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.[13] 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. 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, served as a volunteer firefighter in New York City during the 1850s.
In the early days of the fire service, fire companies were, more or less, social organizations. 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 parade 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 which homeowners 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 company 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.
The first fire companies in Washington D.C. – 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, respectively. By the 1840s and 1850s the differences between companies within the same city had become quite significant.
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.
Benjamin Franklin founded the first American volunteer fire company in Philadelphia in 1736. 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.[13] 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. 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, served as a volunteer firefighter in New York City during the 1850s.
In the early days of the fire service, fire companies were, more or less, social organizations. 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 parade 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 which homeowners 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 company 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.
The first fire companies in Washington D.C. – 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, respectively. By the 1840s and 1850s the differences between companies within the same city had become quite significant.
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.