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massive fire began, it swiftly took its toll,
burning more than 2000 acres in 27 hours. The
City of
Chicago
quickly rebuilt, however, and within a couple of years residents began
celebrating their successful restoration by memorializing the anniversary
of the fire with festivities.
Intending
to observe the fire's anniversary with a more serious commemoration, the
Fire Marshals Association of North America (FMANA), now called the
International Fire Marshals Association (IFMA), the oldest membership
section of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), decided that
the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should be observed not with
festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the
importance of fire prevention. So on October 9, 1911, FMANA sponsored the
first National Fire Prevention Day.
In
1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first national Fire Prevention
Day proclamation. For more than 70 years, the nonprofit NFPA has
officially sponsored and selected the theme for the national commemoration
of Fire Prevention Week, honoring the anniversary of the Great Chicago
Fire and using the event to increase awareness of the dangers of fire. And
every year since 1925, the President of the United States has signed a
proclamation pronouncing the Sunday-through-Saturday period in which
October 9 falls a national observance.
When
President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first Fire Prevention Week,
October 4-10, 1925, he noted that in the previous year some 15,000 lives
were lost to fire in the United States. Calling the loss
"startling," President Coolidge's proclamation stated,
"This waste results from conditions which justify a sense of shame
and horror; for the greater part of it could and ought to be prevented...
It is highly desirable that every effort be made to reform the conditions
which have made possible so vast a destruction of the national
wealth."
NFPA
continues today to make Fire Prevention Week a priority and counts on the
participation and effort of tens of thousands of fire and safety
professionals, American Red Cross volunteers, and individuals working to
reduce the risk of fire and the toll its takes on our society.
What
is The Fire Triangle?
In
order to have a fire, there must be three elements:
-
Fuel
-- something which will burn
-
Heat
-- enough to make the fuel burn
-
Air
-- more specifically, oxygen
Usually
these three elements are expressed as a triangle, called The Fire
Triangle. All three elements must be present at the same time to have a
fire. Fire will burn until one or more of the elements is removed, then
will go out.
Firsts
Within the Fire Service.
First
Volunteer Fire Company in America
In
1736 in Philadelphia, PA, Benjamin Franklin formed the first volunteer
fire company, called the Union Fire Company. Franklin served on it as
America's first volunteer fire chief.
First
Paid Fire Department in America
A large fire in Boston in 1679, led to the organization of the first
paid fire department in North America, if not the world. Boston selectman
imported a fire engine from England and employed a fire chief, Thomas
Atkins, and 12 fire fighters to operate it.
First
Firehouse Pole
David B. Kenyon, Captain of Engine Company No. 21 of the Chicago Fire
Department, was the inventor of the sliding pole in 1878. Information
from: A Synoptical History of the Chicago Fire Department, published by
the Benevolent Association of the Paid Fire Department of Chicago,
Chicago, 1908.
First
Automatic Sprinkler
The idea of automatic sprinkler protection dates back to about 1860.
The first automatic sprinkler system patented in the United States was
developed by Philip W. Pratt in 1872 in Abington, MA. From 1852 to 1885,
perforated pipe systems were used extensively in textile mills throughout
New England, and from 1874 to 1878 Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven,
Connecticut, continued design improvements on his invention: the first
practical automatic sprinkler head.
First
Fire Alarm Telegraph
The fire alarm telegraph was invented by William F. Channing of
Boston, MA, and Moses G. Farmer of Salem, MA, in 1847. After many
attempts, Channing was successful in getting the city of Boston to agree
to test the device. Channing, working with Farmer, tested the system,
solved the problems, and installed the first municipal fire alarm system
using a telegraph in Boston, MA, in 1852. |
