For your information
You are being redirected to one of our divisional subsites which contains more detailed information on the required division. To navigate back to the main Invicta Group site, please click the link found in the footer at the bottom of the page.
What was the world’s first fire service?
28th November 2025
Quick Quote
Contact Fraser Shearer Sarun Vysakham Ben Tan Anand Raghavan Anand Raghavan Our USA Office
To get a quotation or arrange a free site survey - Call Fraser Shearer Sarun Vysakham Ben Tan Anand Raghavan Anand Raghavan Our USA Office on
-
UK
-
UAE
-
Malaysia
-
India
-
Qatar
-
USA
Current location:
Quick Quote
Contact Fraser Shearer Sarun Vysakham Ben Tan Anand Raghavan Anand Raghavan Our USA Office
-
UK
-
UAE
-
Malaysia
-
India
-
Qatar
-
USA
Current location:
It’s hard to imagine a functional society without firefighting. Firefighters don’t just perform heroics in their response to fires, but also provide emergency intervention in a range of disasters, attending to vehicle collisions, building collapses and other catastrophic events. Together with passive fire protection, they help to save countless lives each year.
What may surprise you is just how far back the concept of firefighting goes, and the extent to which they were organised. While the first formal fire service is a relatively modern concept, the history of firefighting dates back thousands of years. It’s a journey that takes us from Ancient Rome to London and Glasgow—with many of the same techniques we still use today.
The origins of firefighting
There is some evidence that firefighting took place in Ancient Egypt and Greece, but the first recorded instances of firefighting were in ancient Rome. Two sets of officials were designated to manage the fighting of fires, with one group given responsibility for maintaining public buildings and festivals, and one group put in charge of policing and firefighting.
The actual firefighting would be done by the Vigiles, a brigade of freed slaves who also acted as general night watchmen, making them one of the earliest police forces. Vigiles could eventually progress through the army to become legionaries, and eventually reach officer status. Emperor Tiberius would expand the Vigiles by granting them full citizenship, and offering a bonus after six years of service.
The capacity of these firefighters was limited, however, and they would only be found in certain cities. Some wealthy residents formed their own firefighting brigades to keep their own properties safe, while others supplied their brigades only to individuals who paid them to put a fire out. This was how Marcus Licinius Crassus (who funded Caesar and defeated Spartacus) gained a part of his wealth, and became ‘the richest man in Rome’.
Letting Rome burn
Roman firefighters would use many of the same techniques that would be practised up until the modern era, and are occasionally still used today. Individual households would often keep equipment for fighting fires, which the Vigiles would use along with their own equipment. Once a fire had been spotted, Vigiles would arrive and form lines to the nearest water source, where they would pass along buckets to fight the fire.
Greek inventors contributed to early Roman firefighting efforts with primitive pneumatic water pumps, which could dispense water through leather hoses. Vigiles would also use poles, axes, mattocks (a tool similar to a pickaxe), and other tools to tear down buildings in order to form fire breaks, in an attempt to prevent fires from jumping between buildings. Missile launchers called ballistae were even used to quickly level buildings, while doctors were assigned to each cohort of Vigiles to treat the wounded.
As relatively low ranking and low paid workers, however, they were also considerably less reliable than firefighters today. During the Great Fire of Rome—the one that Emperor Nero supposedly ‘fiddled’ his way through—many Vigiles are thought to have looted buildings instead. The low rank of Vigiles compared to members of the army ultimately meant that the Vigiles lacked the same prestige that firefighters have today, with most members likely aspiring to a better position.
Firefighting rediscovered
Like many other aspects of the Western world, firefighting fell into a comparative dark age after the fall of the Roman empire. By the time of the Great Fire of London, only small advancements had been made. Louis IX formed a similar brigade of citizens’ night watchmen in 13th century France, separate from the private night watchmen of the King. However, these were disbanded in the 16th century as the city’s population grew, and the organised civilian militia of night watchmen was perceived as a threat to the crown.
At the time of the Great Fire of London, the city had no fire brigades at all. With manual water pumps having only been recently rediscovered, the only way of fighting the fires was by using gunpowder to destroy buildings, creating firebreaks. This was ordered by the mayor after a significant delay, leading to the fire growing out of control. It was only after this that private fire brigades formed to protect insured properties. Contrary to popular belief, they would also frequently save uninsured houses—both for good PR, and to stop a fire from spreading to an insured one!
The first modern fire hoses and fire engines were developed just before the Great Fire, but would not be widely used until the late 17th century. The first manual pumped fire engine was invented in 1650, and required 14 men to work a piston rod in order to generate sufficient water pressure. Boston took delivery of its first portable ‘fire engine’—a 3-foot box containing a pump and hose—in 1678. All of these early engines were bucket-fed, with firefighters carrying water from a nearby source and pouring it into a cistern at the back of the engine.
Private brigades were formed in London after the Great Fire to try and prevent a similar disaster, while brigades also formed in several cities in America, including a volunteer service started by Benjamin Franklin. However, even these weren’t the first modern fire services as we know them. Not only were they all volunteer efforts and not fully funded by the state or local municipality, but they often still required some form of payment or insurance.
The first fire service
The invention of the fire hose was enough to pique the interest of Louis XIV, who bought 12 pumps featuring the new device from an enterprising actor and businessman. This led to the creation of the Paris Fire Brigade in 1716, which—although free and state funded—was still staffed by volunteers, and administered by the army. For the first professional municipal fire service, we have to look a bit closer to home. That honour belongs to Scotland, and more specifically to the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment.
In 1824, Edinburgh found itself ravaged by a succession of fires, leading to the creation of the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment. Led by James Braidwood, a 24-year-old surveyor, it was the first ever fire service paid for by a city, and free to citizens. Braidwood applied his background to create a new engine design, helmets and other equipment, and hired tradesmen familiar with the materials and construction of buildings.
This would all be put to the test during the Great Fire of Edinburgh, which broke out just two months after he was appointed. The fire burned for five days, destroying some 400 homes, though the newly-formed fire service managed to prevent it from spreading to St Giles’ Cathedral. Roundly criticised in the press, Braidwood and the fire service were exonerated by a public enquiry, which pointed the blame at contradictory orders from city officials. New equipment was ordered, and the number of fire hydrants in the city more than doubled.
–
Braidwood’s work in advancing the practices and technology of firefighting would soon be recognised, and he would end up also founding the London Fire Engine Establishment, which became the London Fire Brigade. Many of his ideas and designs remained in use for decades, such as his fire helmets and fire trucks, and some concepts he pioneered are still in use today.
As a provider of passive fire protection systems, we always prefer to contain and stop a fire at source. But the work of James Braidwood—and the many generations of firefighters before him—is a crucial part of fire safety as we know it today. Thousands of years of progress have gone into making major fires a minor part of modern life, and given us the impetus to make buildings even safer.
Accreditations & Affiliations
SpecUp - System Specification Wizard
Answer the 5 short questions below to receive your recommended Durasteel system specifications. Hover over the ? icons for a brief explanation.
Question 1/5
Type of system required?
Question 2/5
Fire rating required?
Question 3/5
Fire integrity-only or integrity and insulation?
Question 4/5
Fire attack risk from one side or both sides of the system?
Question 5/5
Blast rating required in addition to fire rating?
Creating your results page
Thanks for completing the SpecUp, you’ll be redirected to your results shortly.
Click here if you aren't redirected after a few seconds
Share/Like this page