ORGANIZED FIREFIGHTING DATES BACK TO 12 B.C.

Fire Prevention Week is traditionally a time when people are reminded to check their smoke detector batteries, to practice those fire drills and escape procedures in the home and are afforded tours of the local fire departments.

But there's a lot more to Fire Prevention Week. As Lt. Paul Breitenstein of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department explains, firefighting and fire prevention is deep-seeded in tradition and history.

In the year 12 B.C., the ancient city of Rome had a great fire, killing hundreds of people and destroying much property.

As the rubble was being cleared away, Emperor Augustus moved to prevent such a thing from happening again.

The emperor enlisted 7,000 men as a "fire suppression" force, whose duties not only included the combating of future blazes, but also the checking homes to eliminate fire hazards and to ensure proper water resources for firefighting.

"What Augustus had done in effect was create the first fire department and building inspectors," Breitenstein said.

To pay for his department, Augustus assessed a 25 percent tax on the purchase of slaves.

Through the ages, many tribes, cities and nations used fire to combat one another, because of its seemingly uncontrollable nature and destructive effect. The need for organized firefighters was enhanced. Those cities or nations who did not have good fire control techniques, were left behind, conquered or destroyed.

One such city in early colonial America was Boston, which was at one time the largest city in the new world.

"Boston lost out because it experienced so many great fires, which went largely uncontested by the colonists," Breitenstein said. "So people began to move away from Boston, toward Philadelphia, which became the first capitol of the United States."

Benjamin Franklin organized the first fire department of the New World in Philadelphia in 1736. It was called the Union Company and consisted of a staff of volunteers firemen who would organize brigades and fire rescue squads when needed.

George Washington was a volunteer firefighter for the city of Alexandria, Va. John Hancock and Alexander Hamilton were also members of fire departments at one point of their distinguished careers.

"These were fire companies run by the city; not the government," Breitenstein said.

Unfortunately, these fire companies evolved into fire insurance agencies, wherein people could purchase fire service for their homes, in the event it was ever needed.

Homes were marked with special insignias, telling the fire companies insurance had been purchased and that they should combat the blaze.

But a fierce competition grew between insurance companies.

"It got to the point where two fire companies would arrive outside someone's home and fight over who got to fight the fire, while the house was burning to the ground," Breitenstein said.

In response to the uncontrollable nature of the fire insurance companies, the National Fire Protection Association was founded in 1871 the same year that recorded two of the worst fires in the country's history.

Foremost in people's minds was the Great Chicago Fire, which started Oct. 8, 1871 and burned for days.

Legend blames the fire on Mrs. O'Leery's temperamental cow, but the jury is still out on the true cause.

That same day in the thick forests of Northern Wisconsin, one of the worst forest fires of all time started, destroying more than one million acres of forest and killing hundreds of people.

"The Wisconsin fire did not get that much attention because of what was happening in Chicago," Breitenstein said. "In truth, it was probably worse than the Chicago fire."

After the fires burned themselves out, the U.S. government realized that they could no longer combat fires strictly on an offensive basis, but needed some form of prevention measures to be taken.

The NFPA was formed which developed codes for how buildings were built, regulated proper water sources for the fighting of fires, and outlined strict procedures home and business owners must follow for the prevention of fires.

"This history is why we are so prevention-oriented today," Breitenstein said. "We've been learning the hard way for years; now we're putting that experience to work in the way we live today.

"The fire department is no longer sitting around the station waiting for fires to occur," he continued. "We've taken a proactive stance to work with the community in the prevention of fire."