6 AD - The Corps of Vigiles were established by Emperor Augustus after a disastrous fire in Rome. Three ranks have been identified within the Corps of Vigiles. The Aquarius - This was a firefighter whose main duties were the supply of water to the siphos or pumps and the organisation of ‘bucket chains’. The Siphonarius - This firefighter was responsible for the supervision and operation of the water pumps. The Uncinarius - This firefighter carried a large fire hook used for pulling off burning roofs. All corps members carried knives, axes and spades to help them in their duties.

303 - Florian was a Corps of Vigiles Commander in the roman army who denounced the pagan roman gods in favor of christianity and was executed by drowning in the Enns River with a stone tied around his neck. Later a woman named Valeria had a vision in which Florian wanted to be buried in a more appropriate location. St. Florian as he became known is now regarded as the patron saint of firefighters.

1631 - Boston Governor John Winthrop outlaws wooden chimneys and thatched roofs.

1648 - Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam (New York City) was the first in the New World to appoint fire inspectors with the authority to impose fines for fire code violations.

1666 - The Great Fire of London, considered a wake up call to larger cities. Brought about the develeopment of the first fire insurance companies, which provided their own on-call firefighting teams

1673 - A Dutch inventor, Jan Van der Heiden invented the fire-hose. This hose was constructed of leather sewn together and coupled every 50 feet with brass fittings, the length and connections remain the standard to this day. This allowed firefighters to perform penetration attacks, but also brought more risk to the firefighter.

1736 - Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia founded the first volunteer fire department. Ben's concern was that fires started too easily and spread too rapidly, a fact that arose from the colonists' widespread use of thatched roofs. Fires were started by embers from chimneys and lightening, and spread rapidly from house to house. While investigating ways to prevent lightening from striking thatched-roof houses and other buildings, Ben invented the lightening rod.

1765 - George Washington imported the first fire engine from England. This engine was probably a hand-pumper, requiring men to move the engine to the fire and operate the pumps with levers to direct water through the hoses. The engine was given to the Alexandria, Virginia fire company, where Washington was a volunteer firefighter himself.

1810 - Follow injuries to several dignitaries in Austria, Napolean Bonaparte created the first professional firefighters known as Sapeurs-Pompiers, from the French Army

1818 - The first known female firefighter Molly Williams took her place with the men on the dragropes during a blizzard and pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow.

1822 - The creation of cotton webbed rubber lined fire hose was patented significantly improving its durability and and reliability.

1830 - The first modern standards for the operation of a fire department were established in Edinburgh, Scotland. These standards explained, for the first time, what was expected of a good fire department.

1852 - William F. Channing, a Doctor in Boston used telegraph technology developed in the early 1840's to create the first fire alarm box system. Later that year Boston had fire alarm boxes all over the city. The first box was struck on April 29th of that same year.

1853 - The Cincinati Fire Department is the first to employ full time, professional firefighters