The London Fire Brigade

The Great Fire of London, in 1666, devastated a huge area of the City and prompted changes which led to the first organised firefighting in London. In the centuries that followed, the London firefighters developed into a fully trained and well-organised professional group, capable of fighting fires above and below ground and providing a wide range of other rescue and emergency services to the capital.

The London Fire Brigade Museum
94a Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1

The London Fire Brigade Museum is open to the public and school parties by appointment. To arrange an appointment please contact the Curator on 0171 587 2894

The beginnings of organised fire fighting

A typical parish handpump of the early 18th Century After the Great Fire of 1666 houses were rebuilt using brick and stone, far less flammable materials. The late 17th Century also saw the beginnings of the insurance industry and companies soon realised that they could make money by offering fire cover policies to owners. Charters were granted allowing this business to flourish. Before long, the insurance companies realised that their losses could be minimised by employing men to put out fires that started in properties covered by their insurance. The companies introduced new fire engines with improved pumps (all manually operated) and recruited men from amongst the watermen who worked on the barges and lighters on the Thames. These men would agree to be retained by the insurance company to be called out in the event of a fire.

Of course, the insurance companies were only interested in the properties that they insured so they introduced a scheme to mark properties. Each policy holder was issued with a metal badge or mark which was fixed to the outside of a building. When a fire broke out, it was not unusual for several company's firemen to arrive at the scene. If the building did not carry their mark, they would leave, often leaving the building to burn down.

Typical building insurance marks - look for them on old buildings in your area

The firemen would arrive with a manual pump (similar to the parish pump in the picture above). Water could be poured into the trough from buckets and then pumped (by manually cranking the levers) through a leather hose to a metal nozzle providing a jet of water to be directed at the fire. Early water mains consisted of hollowed out tree trunks laid beneath major roads. The firefighters dug down into the roadway and bored a hole to open the top of the trunk. A pipe could then be inserted to take water for the pump. However, the water supply was not good so was unlikely to be able to support more than one pump. The first crew that arrived at a fire got water to put out the fire. Fierce competition developed - the first company to arrive and tap into the trunk would be seen to be the most effective at putting out fires and would stand to gain additional business. Fights often broke out between rival crews attempting to bore into the same trunk supply.

The increasing importance of the firemen and danger of fire was recognised by law in 1707. The position of the insurance firemen was recognised and they were given protection against the notorious Admiralty Press Gangs. Another law laid down that a servant who accidentally set fire to a building would be liable to a fine of £100, an enormous sum for the time. As no servant would have been able to pay such a fine, the alternative would have been a prison sentence. If the servant was thought to have started the fire deliberately, then they would be sentenced to death. During the period of the American War of Independence, an American spy was captured after setting fire to buildings in Portsmouth Dockyard - he was sentenced to be hanged from the yardarm at the entrance to the Dockyard. It was only recently (as late as the early 1990s) that the death penalty was removed for the crime of 'arson in HM Dockyards'.

Gradually, throughout the 18th Century, the insurance industry expanded and as it did so it came to realise that it was in the interests of all companies for its 'brigades' to cooperate. Eventually, in 1833, this led to the Sun Insurance Company, together with ten other companies, agreeing to the setting up of the first single firefighting force to cover London - the London Fire Engine Establishment.

Horse drawn, steam fire pump of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade

The London Fire Engine Establishment - 1833

The agreement between the leading insurance companies led to the founding of a single firefighting force in 1833 - known as the London Fire Engine Establishment. The first Superintendent of the new force was the former Edinburgh firefighter Mr James Braidwood who was given command of some 80 full time firefighters operating from 13 fire stations. Braidwood's firefighters were trained in new ideas and techniques many of which still hold good today. Braidwood believed that to be really effective a fireman should get aas close to the seat of a fire as possible rather than relying on a longshot with a hose.

About this time, the first steam fire pumps were making their appearance. Braidwood was not impressed and preferred to use the old manually operated pumps. In 1834, a huge fire destoyed the Houses of Parliament and many important buildings and records were lost. Despite valiant efforts by the new Establishment, then only part that was saved was the great Westminster Hall. Today, this part of the Palace of Westminster with a great medieval timber roof, is used for important state occasions.

The great fire of Westminster made the insurance companies think again about their commitment to firefighting and they began to make representations to the government to bring all firefighting under a single control. There was little response until after another great blaze - this time on the south side of the river near London Bridge station.

A riverside warehouse in Tooley Street caught fire and soon the fire spread to other warehouses, barges and quays along the south bank of the Thames. Again, the warehouses were laden with flammable materials and a huge conflagration developed. All of the men and engines of the London Fire Engine Establishment were involved in fighting the fire, including James Braidwood who died early on in the blaze when a wall collapsed on top of him.

	Epaulettes from the uniform of James Braidwood - worn (and dented) when he was killed by a collapsing wall, 1861

The Tooley Street fire raged for two days before it was brought under control and was not fully extinguished for a fortnight. The fire proved too much for the insurance companies who were forced to substantially increase their premiums to recover their losses. Appeals to the Government were renewed and, at last, a committee was appointed to look into firefighting in London. After some debate, the committee recommended the formation of a Brigade at public expense under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Braidwood's successor as Superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, Captain Eyre Massey Shaw was appointed to take command of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade from 1865.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade

Massey Shaw became one of the world's best known firefighters and introduced new ideas and training into the Brigade. He expanded the use of steam appliances and pioneered the use of telegraph systems. Shaw took over the control of street fire escapes from a separate Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire and increased the number of stations. Under careful management, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade got by on only modest income - £31,000 from halfpenny rates in London together with a grant of £11,000 from the Government. For their day, Shaw's firemen were comparatively well paid earning 22 shillings a week (20 shillings to the pound) - but the men were on almost continuous duty and were compelled to live at their working stations. Flats were provided for firemen and their families above the stations.

The men of a Victorian Fire Station - complete with the Station pets! During this period, the Watling Street Fire Station acquired a dog called 'Chance' who showed a natural aptitude for search and rescue work. Completely untrained, Chance would run up the escape ladder into a burning building and start digging in the rubble. If he found a casualty he would run back to his master and bark to tell him that someone was in need of rescue. Chance became famous and was easily identified by his collar which read, "Stop me not but onward let me jog, for I am the London firemen's dog". After his death, Chance was stuffed and exhibited at fairgrounds.

	Hayward's Patent Fire Grenade, circa 1860 Filled with carbonic acid, the glass bottle was intended to be thrown into a fire to extinguish the blaze - an early fire extinguisher. Samples of these can still be seen, often two or three together in racks, in old houses.

A famous firefighter of the time was Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII). He took a keen interest in the 'exciting' business of fire fighting and his own fire uniform was kept hanging up at the Chandos Street Fire Station (near Charing Cross). His presence could always be expected at any notable fires!

In 1889, the newly formed London County Council took over the running of the Metropolitan Brigade. Shaw disliked the new controls that they imposed and resigned two years later. He was knighted by Queen Victoria on his last day of service.

A Fireman to be successful, must enter buildings; He must get in below, above, on every side, from opposite houses, over brick walls, over side walls, through panels of doors, through windows, through loopholes cut by himself in the gates, the walls, the roof; he must know how to reach the attic from the basement by ladders placed on half burned stairs, and the basement from the attic by rope made fast on a chimney; His whole success depends on his getting in and remaining there, and he must always carry his appliances with him, as without them he is of no use.

Capt. Sir Eyre Massey Shaw

Motor fire appliances became more common on ths streets of London

The Brigade's title changed to the London Fire Brigade in 1904 by Act of Parliament, although the name had been in common usage for some years. The first motor car fire appliance was introduced in 1902 but this was not totally satisfactory and horse-drawn appliances continued in use. The motor appliances gradually improved and were widely introduced across the capital leaving the last horse drawn machine to be withdrawn in 1921.

Enemy air raids claimed some 670 lives in London during the First World War, a fraction of what was to come later. Initially, the Brigade lost many men to the services but when the air raids on London began many former firemen were returned to London service. Eventually, men still serving with the London Fire Brigade were exempted from service in the armed forces.

	Brown's System street fire alarm, circa 1900. The first widespread fire alarm in use in London.

During the inter war years the Brigade progressed rapidly. Fire appliances were considerably improved and the first fully enclosed appliances made their appearance. New and faster fireboats appeared for service on the river Thames and a new headquarters was built. Working hours were shortened and the famous brass helmets were replaced with stronger compressed cork - which also provided far greater protection against electric shock from overhead power lines.

Towards the end of the 1930s it was becoming increasingly obvious that another war was looming. The Government passed an Act of Parliament authorising the creation of a new Auxiliary Fire Servce which, when war came on September 3rd, 1939, saw AFS and regular firefighters stationed throughout London.

Enemy raids did not start until the late summer of 1940 and during the winter months their intensity grew almost nightly. Thousands of men and women were called in to deal with the devastation caused and Winston Churchill recognised the importance of the Fire Service when he called the firefighters, 'the heroes with the grubby faces'.

The street fire alarms were gradually phased out in favour of the Post Office Telephones 999 service (introduced in 1937). Street fire alarms accounted for 95% of all false alarm calls at the start of World War II and by the end of the war far more homes had access to telephones or to nearby public call boxes. This made the old street alarms reduntant and 999 calls were routed to the Brigades new central control room at Lambeth. Shortly after the war years the first two way radios appeared, giving communications between fire appliances at an incident and the central control officers.

After the war years the changing face of London was reflected in the changes in the Brigade. There was an increase in the number of 'special services' (incidents not involving a fire) as increasing road traffic brought more accidens and high rise developments meant lift accidents to cope with. Changes in legislation made fire prevention and fire safety work more important and the Factories Acts and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act gave fire brigades the power to enter buildings and carry out inspections of fire precautions and means of escape - fire brigades became responsible for issuing fire safety certificates.

London Fire and Rescue crews in intensive rescue operations during the Cannon Street train crash in 1991 London now enjoys a highly professional fire fighting force, highly trained to work in all situations - fire, rescue, accident etc. The first woman fire fighter joined the brigade in 1982 and the number has now risen to over 50. Television programmes such as London Burning have brought the work and professionalism of the London Fire Brigade to a far wider audience. London now has the advantage of a force of some 6250 operational fire fighters trained to meet all eventualities - from fire to car accidents, from floods to chemical spillages.

In 1997, the time taken from receipt of an emergency 999 call, to the fire appliance leaving the fire station was just 45 seconds