Chapter 2

FROM the earliest times the Romans well recognized the ever present menace of fire and as a matter of
precaution a law was passed compelling the erection of separate houses, each standing in its own plot of
ground. But as the size of the city increased this regulation became more honored in the breach than in
the observance, with the result that serious conflagrations occurred frequently and thus the subject of
effective "fire-fighting" was forced upon the attention of the authorities. Indeed, there is nothing
surprising in Rome having been constantly visited by such calamities. The houses in the poorer and more
populous quarter of the city were usually constructed of wood, sanctuary fires were continually kept
burning in every household in honour of the domestic deities and it does not require the imagination of a
Jules Verne to conjure up visions of the dire results caused by an act of carelessness or a moment's
thoughtlessness. The streets being narrow and tortuous, the smallest blaze would quickly develop into a
veritable conflagration, the magnitude of which would depend solely upon the natural barriers which
might stand in the way of the flames. In addition, intermingled with the dwelling houses, were vast
warehouses and granaries which offered an easy prey to fire.

Furthermore, human nature in Ancient Rome was much the same as human nature in modern New York
and enterprising miscreants were not lacking, who realized that by starting a fire and availing themselves
of the ensuing confusion, they could enrich themselves comfortably and quickly at the expense of their
neighbours. They were, in fact, the germ from which developed the individual who is a terror to his
neighbours, a pest in the community and a source of constant activity to fire departments, by whom he is
dubbed expressively a "firebug. "

Hence it will be seen that even at this early date the menace of fire in its primary conditions did not differ
materially from the modern fire risks in many towns. Under the Republic one of the duties of the Roman
"Triumvirs" was to protect the city from fire, and later they came to be called "Nocturns," because of their
mounting guard during the night. In this task they were assisted by the "Ediles," to whom the care of the
buildings in the town was entrusted. This constituted the "official" fighting force, but there were in
addition private organizations consisting of slaves, whose services were given gratuitously according to
the wishes of their masters, who doubtless in this manner hoped to rise in public esteem. This forms an
interesting analogy to the methods employed by many so-called philanthropists of the present day who
are usually ready to support any public work upon which a liberal amount of limelight is turned.
Little could be expected from a department composed of such heterogeneous elements, ignorant alike of
discipline and organization. The Emperor, Cæsar Augustus, realizing the importance of effective fire
protection in his capital, introduced the first regularly constituted "fire department" known to history. It
consisted of seven cohorts, each numbering roughly one thousand men. Their duties consisted not only
in the actual work of fighting the flames, but also in policing the streets contiguous to an outbreak and in
preventing robbery and looting. The fire chief was known as the "Præfectus Vigilum." He was assisted by
three lieutenants, "Subpræfecti" ; seven "Tribunes, " forty- nine "Centurions," and a great number of
"Principales." This last title was given to everyone in the Roman army, who had any species of fixed office,
to all those in fact who occupied the intermediate ranks between commissioned officers and common
soldiers. Prominent amongst the "Principales" were the "Librarii, " who kept the accounts and paid the
wages, the "Bucinatores" or buglers, the ensign bearers, one for each cohort, and the "Aquarii, " the
"Siphonarii," the "Sebaciarii, " and the "Mitularii," to whose respective duties attention will be paid when
considering the manner in which fires were fought. There were also four doctors attached to each cohort
and last, but by no means least, an official known as the "Questionarius," whose interesting duty it was to
apply torture in cases of suspected incendiarism .

The seven cohorts were quartered in as many barracks, designated "castra," which were so located that
each could effectively protect two of the fourteen regions into which the city was divided. As to the
construction of these barracks, there is fortunately preserved an important record in the shape of a
fragment of an ancient plan of Imperial Rome, showing the details of the barrack allocated to the first
cohort. This was situated near St. Grisogone in Trastavere and the building had evidently been specially
designed for the use of firemen on duty. The atrium or entrance hall was tiled with black and white mosaic
arranged to represent various marine subjects, while in the middle stood a handsome hexagonal fountain.
Flanking the walls on either side were benches for the men, while numerous inscriptions and rough
drawings evidenced the fact that in their moments of leisure the Roman firemen found amusement in
caricaturing their fellows. Opposite to the main entrance of the atrium was a door leading to a spacious
bathroom, giving the impression that the wants of the men, even in those days, were the subject of as
careful consideration as they are today.

It must have been about this time that the intellectual activity of the Romans commenced to assert itself
and not only the great "Thermes" or baths were open the whole night long, but also such halls of assembly
as the "Palestræ," the "Scholæ, " the "Bibliotheca" and the "Pinocoteca❞ would be crowded at all hours
with throngs of eager dis putants. In fact, nocturnal life in Rome had come to be an integral part of the
city's existence.

This in its turn necessitated some form of municipal illumination and this was likewise entrusted to the
fire department, a special branch being formed under the name of the "Sebaciarii," after their first captain,
one Sebaciarius. Special men were drawn monthly from each cohort for this service, their duties including
the supervision of the monster torches kept continually burning outside fire stations as a signal to all and
sundry whither to repair in the event of wishing to give an alarm of fire. Some few years ago a bronze
torch was excavated not far from St. Grisogone, which experts presume to have been a street lamp of this
period.
Fortunately Rome was well supplied with water, which was carried in "Hama" or light vases by squads of
firemen to the scene of an outbreak, where it was placed at the disposal of those in charge of the
"Siphones" or hand pumps. From specimens, which have been frequently found in excavations, these
latter must have been very similar to the old-fashioned syringes used by gardeners, only, of course,
constructed of wood.

The "Aquarii," or as their name designates, the water carriers, did not confine their attentions to that duty
alone. They were also expected to be conversant with all possible sources of water supply in the two
regions of the town for which their cohort was responsible.

On the whole, the firemen were well equipped with apparatus including hammers, saws, mattocks, and
other such implements, besides leather hose in suitable lengths. Large pillows, specially designed to break
the fall of anyone jumping from a height were in general use, and incidentally were not much improved
upon till the beginning of the last century. In addition the Roman ladder, the forerunner of the modern
escape, had already been introduced and a detailed description of the same may be found in the chapter
dealing with appliances.
Given these data it is not difficult to frame in the mind's eye a picture of a fire in ancient Rome. There is
sufficient evidence that the Romans were distinctly human and no doubt an outbreak of fire provided a
pleasant interlude when the discourse of a popular orator started to become tedious. Hence it can be
imagined, even as today, that the "Nocturns," or fire police, were fully occupied in preventing the curious
from hindering the firemen. The "Præfectus Vigilum, " or Fire Chief, would arrive to take charge of
operations and woe betide any one in the vicinity, were there any suspicion of incendiarism. The services
of the "Questionarius," or Fire Marshal, would be hastily requisitioned and, judging by the comprehensive
fashion in which the law was administered at that period, it may be hazarded that while no doubt the
guilty eventually received their well merited reward, it is not unlikely that meantime a proportion of the
innocent had also tasted of that official's ingenious skill . This assuredly must have had a discouraging
effect upon the enthusiasm of the genus "firebug," for inasmuch as example is generally a deterrent, it
mattered little whether the punishment reached the real offender, so long as the "modus operandi" of
the punishment and the reason thereof were known and appreciated.

But to return to a more serious vein of thought, it is a fact that modern methods of procedure against
incendiaries lack the finality and thoroughness of those early days. In a later portion of this volume the
subject is treated at length and hence it is unnecessary further to pursue the question. Suffice it to say,
that, broadly speaking, the Fire Department of Ancient Rome was as well organized and equipped for its
duties as many a municipal force as late as the eighteenth century and it might not be exaggeration to
hazard, even composed of as competent fire-fighters as some corps of today.

Chapter 3

Ir may be safely asserted that the fire department of ancient Rome was better organized and better
equipped than the rough and ready volunteer services maintained by the great European cities during the
middle ages. There had, in fact, been a period of retrogression, which was coincident with the
dismemberment of the Roman Empire, when all art and science languished in the chaos that ensued.
Needless to say, the problems affecting fire control were relegated to the background, and, indeed, the
art of destroying towns received more consideration than that of their preservation. Thus it is that no
records can be found of mechanical appliances being used at the conflagrations which demolished
Constantinople and Vienna. Indeed, this retrograde movement had so far affected the whole subject that
even in the Renaissance, when Europe teemed with fresh ideas and new thought, no other method of
fighting fires existed than the primitive bucket of the Pre- Roman period. By 1590, however, there were
signs of an awakening interest and in an account of a fire in England the use of a monstrous syringe is
related as the introduction of a novelty, although in reality it must have been practically a counterpart of
the "siphonarius," mention of which was made in the last chapter. In 1615, a hand engine was made in
Germany, but it was merely a pump without hose, the principle embodied being a rotary paddle wheel,
which by being turned rapidly forced the water out through an orifice. This again was not new, the idea
having probably been derived from Greek sources. Even in 1666, the good citizens of London were without
any mechanical appliances and were practically helpless to stem that terrific conflagration, which
devastated their city and consumed 13,200 houses covering an area of 436 acres, the ancient cathedral
of St. Paul and thirty-six other churches, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, hospitals and four prisons,
in which, incidentally, several persons lost their lives. The value of the property destroyed amounted to
nearly sixty million dollars, and it undoubtedly served to impress upon the public mind the necessity of
some proper system of fire prevention. Immediately afterwards the city was divided into four districts,
each under the control of a special officer possessed of authority to take charge in the event of a fire.
fire. It must be understood that at this time social and economic conditions made life comparatively
simple. Gas and matches were unknown thus eliminating those two fruitful sources of carelessness.
Buildings were as a rule one-story in height and the floors, even in the dwellings of the wealthy, were
flagged with stone. Hence the change was slow in coming and was concomitant with the demand for
increased security of persons and property. Business activity began to show itself in all parts of Western
Europe in the fifteenth century, and towns destined to be the industrial centres of the modern world had
their genesis. With their growth began afresh a full appreciation of fire risks and the necessity of fire
control. Yet it was not until the eighteenth century that one Richard Newsham designed a hand engine of
practical utility. Water was supplied to it by hand and was then pumped out through a hose, thus forming
the predecessor of the manual, draughting its own water and thereby supplying pumps.

America had to learn her lesson in her own way. From the Atlantic to the Pacific her colonists found the
country covered with dense forests, which were naturally utilized for building purposes, and, as a result,
as early as 1648 the first fire ordinance was adopted in New York, forbidding the use of wooden chimneys
and providing for the purchase of one hundred leather buckets, hooks and ladders. A body of volunteers
was organized to patrol the streets at night and watch for outbreaks, who from their persistent,
painstaking and sometimes rather indiscreet efforts were christened suggestively. “The Prowlers. " Their
work was, however, appreciated, and in 1678 the town of Boston organized the first regular fire company
under municipal control and imported from England a species of hand pump. Only in 1808 did a
Philadelphia firm put on the market riveted leather hose, and soon afterwards an ingenious hose carriage
of American invention was adopted and remains in use in a modified form to the present day. England
was the first country to manufacture rubber hose, about 1820, and its employment with certain
improvements has become general. The application of steam as a means of obtaining power was
responsible for a revolution in fire apparatus as it was in all other lines of mechanical effort. It has
contributed in no small degree to the construction of effective portable machinery with which to fight
fires, and the benefits derived from its use have been almost incalculable.

Obviously, it is the endeavour of all firemen to check a fire in its early stage, since generally speaking, its
commencement is small and progress comparatively slow. It is no exaggeration to say that some of the
great conflagrations which for hours and even days have baffled the combined efforts of huge fire
departments with scores of determined firemen equipped with much powerful apparatus, could have
been extinguished in a few seconds by the cool-headed and well-directed work of one man armed with
but a single pail of water, had he arrived in time. In other words, if ready means of suppressing a fire in its
infancy were at hand many serious outbreaks might be averted, and hence it is that so much depends
upon effective apparatus and the speed with which it is conveyed to the scene of ¡ action.
For imagine what happened in the old days before the adoption of the steam fire engine. First, consider
the bucket period. A person discovering a fire would run to his nearest neighbour for help, and then the
alarm would be given from one house to another and immediately all would be confusion. Volunteers
there would be in plenty, armed with buckets or any other domestic utensil which would contain water.
Forming a line they would pass the buckets from hand to hand, sending them back by their women folk
to be refilled. With such loss of time and feeble resistance it is small wonder if usually the flames continued
their course practically unchecked, and a building saved from complete ruin was considered as a
remarkable achievement.
Next came the period of the hand engine. Bells upon churches and other public buildings were now the
means of spreading the dire tidings, and upon hearing their summons the voluntary firemen would hurry
to their quarters and drag their engine in the direction of the first alarm. Then arose the question, where
was the nearest water supply, and no doubt time was wasted through unsolicited advice. If, as was often
the case, the supply proved to be at too great a distance from the outbreak for one engine to furnish an
efficient stream, a second was stationed between the fire and the water. The ensuing contest between
both parties of excited men as to which should occupy the place of honour near the fire, and the efforts
of the vanquished to pump up more water than the engine in front could use, no doubt, added to the
gayety of the community, and the mythological God of Fire must have smiled and perhaps murmured,
"What fools these mortals be. " But this opera bouffe method of fire-fighting really served a useful purpose,
inasmuch as the increasing seriousness of the fire risk did not appeal in the same degree to the sense of
humour of those who lost their property, with the result that the advent of a new factor in fire control
was welcomed by the influential of the population. George Braithwaite, an Englishman, first conceived a
steam fire engine, which was completed in the year 1829 and was a portent of the great change to come.
Skeptics there were who scoffed at its superiority and who jeeringly referred to it as the "steam squirt" or
the " kitchen stove. " But it had come to stay, and in 1840, a New Yorker, by name Paul Hodges,
constructed a model of curious design, which, however, proved impracticable.

The year 1845 was marked by the first of the great fires, which heralded the era of new building
construction in the United States and which, therefore, deserves more than passing mention. Pittsburgh,
Pa. , was the scene of the disaster, which originated from the simplest act of carelessness. On washing
day, in the early part of April, a house-wife made a small fire, upon which to boil water, in the back yard
of her home. A high wind was blowing and sparks from her miniature bonfire were carried to a neighboring
building, which quickly ignited. With incredible rapidity the flames spread from house to house, and,
despite the desperate efforts of volunteer and amateur firemen, the destruction ceased only when no
material was left for the fire to feed upon in a territory fifty- six acres in extent. The financial loss was five
million dollars, an enormous one for those days, and two thousand families wandered homeless over the
charred remains of what had been their dwellings. This is one of those instances when prompt and timely
action would have probably saved the situation, but the antiquated methods employed, coupled with the
delay inseparable from the summoning of volunteers, was just sufficient to transform what might have
been a back-yard blaze into a conflagration of the first magnitude. And so it always will be in fire control ;
time is an ally of the utmost value, which in its turn demands the maximum of celerity on the part of all
concerned. Prominence is given to this episode since some such reminder was needed in America, as
elsewhere, to stir up its citizens to a realization of what fire could accomplish, even from the smallest and
most trifling beginnings.

Untold romance lies in the history of the great forest fires of America, which even today rage to a large
extent uncontrolled, but which educated the early settlers to a vivid realization of their perils. Thus, in the
prosperous colony of New Brunswick there is chronicled a conflagration, which in its destructive horror
has left an indelible mark upon the population as well as upon the land itself.
Along the banks of the river Miramichi there were scattered in 1825 prosperous settlements of fishermen
and farmers, while through the forest which extended for hundreds of miles to the north and south
roamed hunters and trappers of nomadic habits in search of a livelihood. To them, nature appeared so
bountiful, that no thought of any enemy common alike to both entered their contented minds. The
summer had been a dry one and the autumn had brought but little rain, till the pine needles and leaves
crackled under the weight of a passing step. And a careless lumberman was to transform this haven of
quiet into a holocaust of ruin ! Having finished his evening pipe, he knocked it out against a tree stump
and turned in, little recking of the consequences. He awoke to find the forest ablaze about him, and
although fearfully burned managed to make his way to the nearest camp, where there was no need to tell
his story. For east and west, north and south the glow of an unnatural day was upon them. From the
waters of the Miramichi to the shores of Bay Chaleur, there was one roaring hurricane of flame and no
human means wherewith to stay it. Dawn followed dawn bringing no relief, till the heart of a great
province was transformed from a richly wooded country into a lonely and desolate waste. So much had
been accomplished by human carelessness, though it is ever thus that the world has learned its lessons.
No less than two hundred persons either perished in the flames or were drowned in the river, vainly trying
to find safety in its cooling waters. Over a thousand horses and cattle were swept to their doom, and six
thousand square miles of forest disappeared as completely from the face of the earth as though they had
never been. In some places the destruction of vegetation was so thorough that even to this day nothing
can grow there but stunted shrubbery and coarse grass, a constant reminder of this tragedy. With such
examples of the terrific power of fire, was it surprising that the new world hailed the invention of the
steam engine with enthusiasm as a possible panacea for its sufferings ?

Even to the amateur mechanic the principles governing the construction and working of the steam fire
engine are simple and easy of understanding. In the earliest examples an upright boiler with a spacious
fire box at its base was set between the rear wheels of an ordinary carriage body, and surmounted by a
short smoke-stack. Bolted to the front of the boiler were two steam cylinders, above them being placed
the pump itself, so that the piston rod of the engine served as the rod of the pump. Steam drove the
pistons up and down in the engine, drawing water through a large suction hose on one side and forcing it
out on the other through a smaller hose. From the pumps the water was forced to an air-chamber forming
a cushion and serving to equalize the pressure, thus giving an unvarying discharge. The principle of these
pumps was, therefore, very much akin to that of the hand engine, but with enormously increased power.
As this was long prior to the introduction of the water tube boiler, steam had to be generated in the old
way, by which the heat given off by combustion is conveyed by tubes through the boiler. The water supply
of the boiler was obtained from a small pipe connected to or near the suction chamber and pumps. On
the average the diameter of the cylinders in the various sizes of engines ranged from six and one-half to
ten inches, while the stroke as a rule measured eight inches. These rough particulars will give the reader
some idea of the chrysalis from which the modern fire engine has emerged.

Since fires cannot be fought without water, some account of the problem connected with its supply
deserves attention. Here again may be observed the retrograde movement, since in Roman times it was
not uncommon to find aqueducts forty miles in length, which, from their situation, were enabled to deliver
to the city, in accordance with the laws of gravity, a sufficient quantity of water at a moderate pressure.
Naturally this was of great advantage in fire-fighting and from historical records it is clear that the most
was made of it. But in Europe of the middle ages, these lessons had been forgotten and the practice had
fallen into desuetude. Rivers, wells and ponds were considered adequate for the needs of the population
and it is curious to meditate that the intellectual wealth of that time expended itself solely upon art and
the most profound metaphysics to the exclusion of more mundane, though probably more useful,
considerations regarding public health and safety. Yet, even in the middle of the last century, it was by no
means uncommon to find large towns dependent upon a water supply operated by private companies
and conveyed by means of open mains through the streets. In 1815 Philadelphia introduced a complete
system of underground pipes constantly supplied with water by a central pumping station. This plan
proved a success and has since been gradually adopted even by many of the smallest towns in America.
This system, however, did not at its initiation take into consideration the fire department, and the city of
New York probably had the first water service to which hydrants were connected for that particular
purpose. By degrees has been evolved from this mode of supply, that most valuable adjunct of modern
fire-fighting, the “high pressure" system, which even now has not been extended to its limit of usefulness
and which is lacking in cities where it should most certainly be installed. A detailed description of its
advantages is given in a separate chapter.

Naturally, an outbreak of fire being invariably attended with some danger to human life, those far-sighted
Romans cast about for the most simple yet effective means of coping with the situation. Two pieces of
their apparatus were specially designed for this purpose and have survived in a modified form until the
present day. Firstly, mention must be made of the Roman ladder. The great advantage of this apparatus
lies in its simplicity. In its constructive details it has changed practically not a whit since the days 20 FIRES
AND FIRE-FIGHTERS of Nero, and it is as useful in wide thoroughfares as in narrow courts, while its
portability is such that one man can carry the entire equipment. It consists of a series of short ladders
from six to nine feet in length, the lower part of each being slightly broader than the top. By means of a
slot the sections can be fitted together, all being interchangeable except that designed for the bottom,
which has its sides somewhat more outspread in order to provide a firmer hold upon the ground. The
method of erection is simple and ingenious. The lowest section is first placed against the wall to be scaled,
at a considerable angle. The fireman then ascends it with a "section" on his shoulder and armed with a
rope, a hook belted to his waist and a pulley. When he reaches a certain rung, which in modern practice
is painted scarlet, he puts his leg through the ladder, his foot against the wall, and hooking himself on, in
order to leave his hands free, pushes the ladder away from the wall and fits the "section" he has carried
on the top of the "section" upon which he is standing. He then hauls up another "section" and repeats the
same manoeuvre. At the Colosseum in Rome, for exhibition purposes, these ladders have been joined up
together till they reached a total length of one hundred and sixty- four feet. This apparatus, it may be
remarked, is in regular use in many of the Italian fire departments today.

The second noteworthy appliance of Roman times, which has endured through all these centuries, and
which in the writer's humble opinion, modern invention has not improved, is the jumping pillow. This was
nothing more nor less than a large mattress some eight feet square, stuffed with hair or feathers, and
designed to break the fall of any one jumping from a height. Nowadays the practice is to use a net made
of heavy rope attached to springs to afford additional resiliency. The chances of any one jumping from a
height of more than three stories must always be intensely hazardous, but all things considered, there
appears to be a balance in favor of landing on the pillow. During that most distressing fire at the Asch
Building in New York, when a number of lives were lost, several young women attempted to jump to
safety, were caught in the net and found-death. The impetus their bodies gathered while falling was so
terrific that the shock of the impact killed them in every case. Hence it will be seen that the fire-fighting
world is still awaiting the genius of the inventor, who will be able to devise some other means of catching
unfortunates who are compelled by dire necessity to jump to their doom.

This brief résumé will have been sufficient to demonstrate the fact that the inclusion of fire-fighting
amongst the scientific problems of the day and as one worthy of serious consideration dates from modern
times, and hence the many improvements which have been introduced into its practice are all of such
recent origin, that even now they are only just emerging from an embryonic stage. It is probable that the
next century will witness advances along all lines, of such immense consequence that present apparatus
will be totally outclassed and will be relegated to the glass cases and dusty environment of museums,
where the curious of future generations will gaze with interest, tinged possibly with amusement, at the
appliances used to fight the flames by their forefathers. So far the use of chemistry as an ally of water in
subduing fires is only in its infancy and though prophecy is admittedly unsatisfactory and more often than
not misleading, it may be hazarded that the cumbersome steam fire pump will in due course disappear
from the sphere of active operations and that the outbreaks of the future will be dealt with swiftly and
easily by a combination of high pressure streams coupled with chemical forces as yet inoperative. It has
taken many centuries to evolve the fire departments of the present, but as so often happens, now that a
scientific advance has at last been made, that advance will continue with increasing rapidity until "fire,"
as was always intended, shall be the "servant" and not the "scourge" of man.