G O E S T O J O B S

Florian was born about 250 A.D. in Aelium Cetium (now Sankt Pölten, Austria). He joined the Roman army and advanced up quickly thru the ranks, rising to commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing firefighting brigades. Florian organized and trained an elite group of soldiers whose sole duty was to fight fires. He is also reputed to have saved an entire town from burning by throwing a single bucket of water on the conflagration.

During the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians, reports reached Rome that Florian was not enforcing the proscriptions against Christians in his territory. Aquilinus was sent to investigate these reports. When Aquilinus ordered Florian to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods in accordance with Roman religion, he refused.

Florian was sentenced to be burned at the stake. Standing on the funeral pyre, Florian is reputed to have challenged the Roman soldiers to light the fire, saying "If you do, I will climb to heaven on the flames." Apprehensive of his words, instead of burning Florian, he was executed by drowning in the Enns River with a millstone tied around his neck in 304 A.D.

His body was later retrieved by Christians and buried at an Augustinian monastery near Lorch. Later a woman named Valeria had a vision in which she saw him; Florian, in this vision, declared his intent to be buried in a more appropriate location.

Saint Florian was adopted as patron saint of Poland after Pope Lucius III consented to the request of King Casimir to send relics of Florian to that country. In 1138 Pope Lucius III gave some of St. Florian's relics to King Casimir of Poland as well as the Bishop of Kraków. Since that time he has been associated with both countries and is regarded as their patron saint, Kraków thus claims some of his relics. Soon after, a person was saved from a fire by invoking Saint Florian’s name.

Since then, Florian has been invoked against fire and has generally been regarded in most countries as the patron saint of the Fire Service.

He is also invoked as the patron saint of fire, and chimney sweeps, as well as the saint of soap-boilers, and protection is sought from him against floods and for drowning victims, obviously associated with the method by which he died. One can often see his bucket and his millstone on his prayer card and with his likeness. Coopers and brewers consider him their patron saint, and this is associated with a fire in the town of Nurnberg, Germany. A large fire in the 8th century was reportedly put out by St. Florian, though whether beer or water was used to douse the flames is not clear. But since that time people who make and store the beverage have considered him their patron saint.

A statue of Florian by Josef Josephu, was unveiled in Vienna in 1935. It stood at the main firehouse of Vienna, in the city's main square, Am Hof. After the firehouse was bombed in 1945 during World War II the statue was moved to the Fire Brigade Museum.

The eight-point Maltese Cross is the international symbol of the fire service's willingness to make great sacrifices in order to protect others from the ravages of fire.

This symbol of Honor, Courage, and Dedication originated with a group of eleventh century knights who were serving in a Jerusalem hospital. They became known as the Order of Knights Hospitaller and later became the Knights of Saint John. This charitable organization cared for the ill with great compasion.

Later they assisted the Knights of Crusaders in thier effort to win back the Holy Land. As the Knights of St. John and Knights of Crusaders attacked the city walls, the Saracens first threw glass bombs containing highly flammable liquids like naphtha, and then threw flaming torches to ignite the liquids. Hundreds of the knights were burned alive. Many knights were severely burned as others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying the painful, fiery deaths. Risking the horrible death themselves, knights that were able, struggled desperatly to help thier burning comrades by beating out the flames and dragging them to safety. Thus, these men became our first firefighters, the first in a long history of courageous men and women. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firefighter's wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross. Given out in acknowledgment of thier heroic deeds of rescuing fellow knights and fighting fires, the crosses were decorated and inscribed.

In 1530, the Island of Malta was given to the courageous knights. The symbol on thier flag, was the familiar eight-point cross. The cross, which had originally helped the knights distinguish between friend and foe, became the ultimate symbol of heroism and service. It is considered sacred, and represents the principles of charity, loyalty, chivalry, gallantry, generosity to friend and foe, protection of the weak and dexterity in service.

The Pompier Ladder made a distinguished mark in American firefighting.

Many people owe their lives to this strange ladder and the daring firefighters who deftly scaled the outsides of buildings to rescue trapped occupants.

In the late 1800's, American cities were teaming with immigrants anxious to make their mark in the New World. Buildings, to house these new arrivals sprang up all over these cities. They were taller than ever thought possible and consequently well beyond the reach of conventional ladders companies. Fires in these buildings often resulted in catastrophic life loss. Firefighters were overwhelmed with frustration as they watched terrified occupants cling to window ledges above the reach of their ladders.

The "pompier ladder" (pronounced pom-peer) is probably named for French firefighters known as "Pompier" (pronounced pom-pee-yay). It is reported as "invented" by a St. Louis Lieutenant named Christ Hoell. In some fire departments it was also known as the "Hoell Rescue Device."

It turns out that this ladder was just one part of the "Pompier Life-Saving Service". This was a system published by Christ Hoell and introduced into the St. Louis Fire Department on Dec. 19, 1877.

According to Lt. Hoell's great-grandaughter, the device was used in Europe before the U.S. It was when Hoell was working for the Elberfeld, Germany fire department that he became acquanted with the ladder. When he came to America he brought the design, and then created and marketed a training manual on how to use the ladders.

New York City learned of the new life saving ladder, and that it was invented by a Lieutenant from the St. Louis Fire Department named Christ Hoell. This new ladder was called the Christ Hoell Life saving device. It was shaped like a question mark with saw type teeth in the hook portion and rungs affixed to the single beam. A skilled freighter could start from the ground and scale the outside of a building to the roof. The hook part was plunged through the window and pulled into the sill. The firefighter would then climb up and into the window. Stradling the sill, he now pulled the ladder up and plunged it through the next higher window and repeated this procedure until he reached his destination.

When FDNY bought this new device, special units were formed, and then trained by Hoell on this latest life saving tool. The year was 1882, the Hoell life saving device was placed into service.

The first documented rescue made using the Hoell device occurred on April 7, 1884. Firefighter John Binns of Ladder Company number three climbed up the outside of a burning Saint George Flats apartment house to the sixth floor. An aerial was raised to Binns location, it was maxed out, Firefighter Binns climbed onto the tip of the aerial. Using his pompier ladder, he climbed up to the seventh floor and rescued a trapped elevator operator named Louis Castigan. Binns brought the frightened young man down over the pompier ladder to the aerial where he was safely delivered to the ground. Firefighter John Binns was awarded the James Gordon Bennet Medal, which is the highest award presented by the New York City Fire Department.

Pompier ladders remained in service on apparatus for many years. The last rescue made using a pompier ladder was accomplished on December 15, 1967. FDNY Firefighter Gene Dowling of Ladder Company Number Twenty-Five made this dramatic rescue: Firefighter Dowling responded to a fire in the Morgan Post Office. This fire went to five alarms. Dowling spotted three trapped postal employees at a window. Ladder Company Twenty Five quickly raised it's hundred foot aerial but it was one story sort of the terrified postal workers. Firefighter Dowling grabbed a pompier ladder and climbed the hundred foot aerial to the tip. The window was just above a large out cropping of decorative granite. Dowling, in a thirty mile per hour wind, raised the pompier ladder over his head and made his first attempt at placing the pompier into the windowsill, he missed, but held onto the ladder. Mustering all his strength he made a second attempt. The pompier ladder just cleared the granite and made it into the sill. Firefighter Dowling then climbed up the Pompeir ladder and one by one brought down all three postal workers. Firefighter Gene Dowling received the James Gordon Bennet medal for this rescue. Ironically the first and the last rescues made using the pompier ladder both resulted in the awarding of the James Gordon Bennet Medal.

Pompier ladders are still to this day used in training for all FFOPs in the Boston fire Department drill school but they are no longer carried on the apparatus.

When you hear about pompier ladders it conjures up thoughts of horse drawn apparatus and a colorful long gone era in firefighting history. But think again, The New York City Fire Department carried pompier ladders on their apparatus up until July 11, 1996 when they were officially placed out of service

Lt. Christ Hoell was born on December 7, 1849 in Hesse (Dusseldorf) Germany. Hoell was a member of the Elberfeld Volunteer Fire Department in Elberfeld Germany for seven years. While there he learned and used the pompier, which was a German fire ladder developed around 1828 by Mr. Behl in Schwabischgruund, Wurthemberg, Germany. Most rapid recognition of the ladder and development of the method of its use, took place in southern Germany. It was introduced in Elberfeld around 1864. Christ Hoell left Germany in 1873 and came to America at age 27 with his wife, Wilhelmina (age 28), daughter, Emelie (4) and son, Oscar (10 months). Christ was a stone mason until he was appointed to the St. Louis Fire Department. After Lt. Hoell perfected the pompier ladder squads in the St. Louis Fire Department, he was granted leave of absence and went to New York City to instruct the fire officials in that city on the use of the pompier. Upon completion of their training, the fire officials offered Mr. Hoell a position in the New York Fire Department but he declined this offer and returned to St. Louis where he afterwards was promoted to Fire Captain.

Jacobus Turck of New York City is credited with inventing the first fire cap around 1740. It was round with a high crown and narrow rim. The helmet worn by the earliest American firefighters was indeed made of leather, but its similarity with the traditional helmet ends there. The first firefighter helmets were stove pipe type helmets similar to the hat made famous by President Lincoln. This helmet was made of rigid leather. The front of the helmet was painted with the name of the company the wearer belonged to. It did afford the wearer with some protection, but it was sadly lacking in several areas. Improvements on his design were later made by a gentlemen named Mathew DuBois, who had sewn iron wire in to the edge of the brim to give the helmet shape and strength, and provide resistance to heat, moisture, and warping.

The leather helmet as it is known today came from a very modest and non-fire related beginning. Although the year the traditional fire helmet was invented is mired in speculation and debate, it is generally agreed upon as sometime between 1821 and 1836. The fire service lumbered along with this stove pipe type helmet until about 1836.

The gentleman credited with its founding was named Henry T. Gratacap. Gratacap was a fireman in New York City, but made his living as a luggage maker. He had made quite a name for himself because of his innovative luggage specifically designed for ocean bound transit. It was made of leather that was specially treated, which offered unparalleled durability and withstood wetness without rotting. These qualities were also very desirable in a fire helmet. Gratacap changed the whole design, in doing so, he invented what we refer to as the traditional American fire helmet. The earliest leather helmets featured four combs, which are ridges of leather marking stitched seams. Theoretically, the more combs a helmet had, the stronger it was, so later helmets came equipped with eight, 12, or 16 combs. Gratacap designed the first “eight comb” (a design composed of eight segments) fire helmet. It was named the “New Yorker” and originally adopted by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in the late 1800s.

Gratacap designed this helmet to be absolutely functional. The reinforced conical dome was to protect the head from falling objects, the tall front shield was designed to break windows, the strange brim design was to capture water and redirect it to the rear of the helmet where it could cascade harmlessly off the back of the coat and not down the collar. This long rear brim could also be used to protect the wearer from intense heat. The helmet would be worn backwards and the firefighter would place his chin on his chest and the heat would be deflected away from the face. Old tillermen often wore the helmet like this when responding in heavy rain or snow to give their face a little protection from the elements. This helmet was snapped up by firefighters as soon as it hit the market.

Sometime around 1825, a more ornamental touch was added, an eagle was mounted atop the crest. The idea for the eagle derived from a cemetery monument for a firefighter that had been created by a sculptor; there was no history or significance to it, but it captured the imagination and fancy of firefighters and so became part of the Leather Helmet story. A 1930 New Yorker article points out that the eagle "sticks up in the air, it catches on telephone wires, it is always getting dented... every so often, some realist points out how much safer and cheaper it would be to do away with the eagle, but the firemen always refuse." The eagle still exists as an integral part of the helmet today.

During this time, two brothers named Cairns were operating a metal badge button and insignia business in New York City. The Cairns Brothers are credited with the idea of mounting an identification badge to the front of Gratacap’s helmets; today these are known as front pieces.

The two companies operated cooperatively until Gratacap’s retirement sometime in the 1850s, when the Cairns & Brother legacy was born. In 1869 Cairns & Brother Inc. bought Gratacap’s factory, and have pioneered firefighter helmet technology ever since. Cairns & Brother's commitment to protecting lives is evident in their "systems," where engineered components synergistically work together for unparalleled protection in harsh environments. The original OSHA compliant leather helmet, it is individually hand shaped, hand trimmed, and hand stitched to meet the strenuous demands of today’s most dangerous profession – firefighting.

The New Yorker helmet has remained virtually unchanged through its years of faithful and steadfast service. The letter helmet retains the same look and quality that generation after generation of firefighters have relied upon. They are made of stout tanned Western cowhide, a quarter of an inch thick, reinforced with leather strips which rise like Gothic arches inside the crown. Innovations to the original design have been relatively slight. A suspension system was added, a liner to protect the neck and ears and eye shields are about the only changes. Manufacturers have tried aluminum, plastic and even rubber, but if you ask the average firefighter what type of helmet he or she prefers, they will most likely answer the leather. One hundred and seventy seven years after its invention, the Gratacap is still the helmet of choice for American firefighters.

If you gave each retiring firefighter the opportunity to take one piece of equipment with them into retirement, they would probably choose the helmet. There is no greater symbol of the American fire service than that of the traditional leather fire helmet.

People wear helmets every day for a variety of reasons; construction workers, motorcycle riders, football and baseball players... and they all share a very similar type of helmet.

To look at the history of the telegraph fire alarm, one must go way back to the 1700's. Back then any organized fire department used church bells to alert its firefighters of a fire. However, there were times when the church bells would not ring. There is a story that the city of New Orleans, Louisiana lost 900 buildings in 1788 because the priests would not allow church bells to sound on Good Friday. Since the church bells didn't ring, no organized firefighting was done until it was too late. Aside from Church bells, there were bells at government buildings that would sound also.

The most famous bell to alert firefighters was the Liberty Bell. Yes, the same Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was used to notify firefighters, before it rang out for freedom.

Other means to notify firefighters of a fire ranged from shooting guns, to using moose horns, to hitting old railroad locomotive tires with a hammer. Some towns had night watchmen that would patrol the streets. Upon discovering a fire, they would shake a wooden rattle. Evidently, it was loud enough to wake people up. Upon hearing the rattle, the homeowners would throw their leather buckets outside for volunteers to pick up and start a bucket brigade.

Some larger cities had watch towers. Watchmen would look around a city from up high in a tower. Each tower had a number assigned to it, a flag and a lantern. When a watchman would see smoke or fire, he would sound his number and position his flag (if daytime) or lantern (at nighttime) to the direction of the fire. Other watchmen would hear his bell sounding and then ring his bell, repeating the tower number and also positioning his lantern to the direction of the fire. In some cities, the lanterns could be different colors, representing different directions. Soon, the bell towers were tied in together via telegraph lines.

Many historians credit Charles Robinson of New York for using the telegraph to transmit fire alarms to the bell towers. However, it was William Ellery Channing, a physician from Massachusetts, who is credited with the design and perfection of the first telegraph fire alarm box system. On May 30, 1845 Dr. William F. Channing of Boston, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, published an article in the Boston Daily Advertiser describing in general terms how a practical fire alarm telegraph system in the city of Boston could be constructed.

Although he was a physician, his interest was aimed more at electricity and magnetism. He envisioned a system of fire boxes and overhead telegraph lines leading to the police and a central fire alarm office. So much so that he attempted to convince the City of Boston to consider a system such as this. The city initially turned down his idea.

Channing partnered up with Moses G. Farmer who was considered by many to be an expert electrical mechanic. But what really interested Channing was Moses' bell striking device. In 1848, the City of Boston decided to investigate the potential of this new fire alarm system. The City council later voted for funds to construct two of the bell striking machines that would strike the bells from distant points. One was installed in City Hall. The other in New York City. When the operator in New York open and closed the circuit, the bell in Boston's City Hall rang.

Three years later in 1851, the city of Boston appropriated $10,000 for the construction of Channing & Farmer's fire alarm system, it was based upon Channing's plan he devised along with his associate, Moses G. Farmer, a telegraphic engineer. This was to be the first fire alarm telegraph system of its type in the world.

In Boston MA, 1852, Dr. William Channing and Moses Farmer develop the first, practical fire alarm system using the telegraph system to pinpoint the location of and communicate a fire alarm. The completed system was placed in service at 12 noon on April 28, 1852 with the first fire alarm office located in the City Building at Court Square and Williams Court. Staff included a superintendent, fire alarm operators and repairmen. These were the first positions of their type in the world.

The original system had 40 street boxes on 3 box circuits and 19 alarm bells on the three circuits. All of the boxes were of the manual crank type with locked outside doors, and the boxes were painted black. The first sector type boxes, started by simply pulling the hook, were introduced experimentally in 1864.

The very first call from this system was On April 29, 1852, at 20:25 hours, when a fire was located inside a barber shop. Mr. J.H. Goodale ran to the box at a church where District 1, Station 7 was located. He turned the box lever faster than what the system could register. He did not hear the alarm bells, so he went to the fire alarm office to report the fire. Clearly this new system did have its glitches which needed to be worked out, and they were.

For a brief overview, the internal mechanisms of a fire alarm box are simple in concept, yet intricate in design and operation. The concept allows a single action to set in motion a series of actions in order to send out a signal. The single action is the 'pulling' of the hook on the outside of the fire box. This downward action pushes a lever on the mechanism and this in turn activates the box. The mechanism is designed somewhat similar to a watch or clock, with internal springs, gears, contacts, and electrical components. Although the mechanism does transmit an electrical signal, similar to Morse Code, the mechanism itself does not require an electrical power source in order to operate. Each box has its own distinctive number. When the box was pulled or "hooked" a signal is sent across a series of wires to the fire communications center (basically a telegraph office), punched a ticker tape and rang the gong bell according to the number that was hooked. A file system containing a card with a planned response to an incident type for that box number was pulled out and the companies were turned out accordingly. In areas with volunteer departments, outdoor fire horns, whistles and air-raid-type sirens sounded the box number very loud and clear.

For example, let’s say a fire alarm box is pulled at Maple and 4th streets, and it is labeled as Box 4-5. The box would automatically transmit that number to the communication center in somewhat of an automatic “Morse code” system that looks like this: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The card for Box 4-5 (in the communications center) would contain the list of apparatus from various nearby fire stations that should be dispatched to the fire.

So, In 1854, Dr. Channing and Mr. Farmer formally apply for a patent for the “Electromagnetic Fire Alarm Telegraph for Cities”.

In March 1855, Channing gave a lecture at the Smithsonian Institute on The American Fire Alarm Telegraph. In the audience was John Nelson Gamewell, a South Carolina Postmaster and telegraph company agent. Gamewell was a bit of a telegraph buff and was quite interested in Channing's speech. Gamewell returned home to South Carolina and sought out his friend James Dunlap, who financed Gamewell's enthusiasm for the purchasing rights for installation of systems in the Southern United States. A few years later, Gamewell bought all the rights for about $30,000.

In Boston, a new fire alarm office with improved equipment was placed into service on December 26, 1865 in the top story of the then-new City Hall building at 45 School Street. Here, as was the case at the Court Square office, all the circuits entered the office overhead, all outside wiring being of the aerial type. On December 11, 1868 the purchase and delivery of the sector type boxes was authorized and within a short time all of the original crank type units were replaced with the hook style boxes. To provide more rapid access to the boxes for the purpose of giving alarms, the first keyless (T-handle) door was placed in service, on Box No. 42 at the intersection of Tremont and Winter Streets on April 16, 1881. On May 2, 1881 it was ordered that fire alarm boxes in the city were to be painted red instead of black, although for a period of time in the 1970's-1980's, some boxes were painted lime-green as were many pieces of fire apparatus.

At the time, Gamewell himself was not fairing very well. He had only sold a few systems, and with the start of the Civil War, the nations focus shifted. In addition, his investor Dunlap, refused to put another cent into Gamewell's fire box system.

During the Civil War, the government confiscated all of the patents for the fire alarm box system. Penniless, Gamewell moved his family to Hackensack, NJ in 1866.

In 1867, Mr. John F. Kennard purchases the Fire Alarm Telegraph patents and returns them back to John N. Gamewell forming a partnership. Thus, Kennard & Company was established in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts to manufacture the fire alarm systems.

Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company formed in 1879 with John N. Gamewell as proprietor, using the iconic fist holding lightning bolts as registered as trademark.

Meanwhile, other fire alarm companies were forming. But in 1910 it was Gamewell's company that ended up cornering the market as he captured about 95% of the total market share.

In today's world, the only company still manufacturing telegraph fire alarm boxes is the Gamewell Company, owned by Honeywell, Inc. While no one is purchasing new complete telegraph fire alarm systems, there are some towns that still add to their existing systems.