The first fire engines came to New York in 1731 from Richard Newsham of London. Fires were fought in this manner until hand engines were introduced. During a fire alarm, citizens were expected to throw their buckets into the street to be picked up by able bodied persons forming part of the bucket brigade. The rattlewatch was still active during the British colonial period, and watchmen supplemented their rattles with bells rung at the fort and at churches. If the fire wardens found anyone in violation of the city’s fire prevention ordinances, that person could be fined up to twenty shillings.įines were used to keep fire equipment, such as hooks, small ladders, and buckets, in good condition. Fire wardens were appointed to inspect chimneys and hearths, as well as to make sure each house had at least one leather bucket. In 1683, the British took over the colony of New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. At the scene of the fire, a bucket brigade was formed – one line of people passed filled buckets from the water source to the fire, and the second line passed empty buckets back to the water source to be refilled. Citizens of New Amsterdam were required to fill three buckets of water at sunset and place them at their doorsteps in case an alarm was sounded. Fires, at that time, were fought using leather buckets. Townspeople were expected to wake up and hurry to the location of the fire. One of the first fire alarm systems was instituted in 1658 with the “rattlewatch.” The rattlewatch consisted of eight men who were charged with patrolling the town at night carrying wooden rattles that they sounded upon discovery of smoke or fire. In 1648, the Governor of the colony, Peter Stuyvesant, appointed four fire Wardens to help prevent fires by patrolling the colony and inspecting homes for wooden chimneys and thatched roofs. Organized firefighting began as early as the Dutch settlement in New Amsterdam.
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