A fire engine, firetruck, or fire ambulance is a vehicle, usually a specially-designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an incident as well as carrying equipment for firefighting operations in a fire drill. Some fire engines have specialized functions, such as wildfire suppression and aircraft rescue and firefighting, and may also carry equipment for technical rescue.
A fire hydrant, fireplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least the 18th century. Above-ground pillar-type hydrants are a 19th-century invention.
Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural firefighting and wildland firefighting. Specialized training includes aircraft firefighting, shipboard firefighting, aerial firefighting, maritime firefighting, and proximity firefighting.
Firefighting jargon includes a diverse lexicon of both common and idiosyncratic terms. One problem that exists in trying to create a list such as this is that much of the terminology used by a particular department is specifically defined in their particular standing operating procedures, such that two departments may have completely different terms for the same thing. For example, depending on whom one asks, a safety team may be referred to as a standby, a RIT or RIG or RIC, or a FAST. Furthermore, a department may change a definition within its SOP, such that one year it may be RIT, and the next RIG or RIC.
A fire station is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire hoses and other specialized equipment. Fire stations frequently contain working and living space for the firefighters and support staff.
This is a glossary of firefighting equipment.
The Fireman is the second film Charlie Chaplin distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation in 1916. Released on June 12, it starred Chaplin as the fireman and Edna Purviance as the daughter to Lloyd Bacon.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) is an all-risk, all-hazards fire department, providing fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of San Diego, California, United States. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the state of California, after Los Angeles and responds to nearly 162,000 calls per year. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department covers 343 square miles of service area including 17 miles of coastline, with responsibility extending 3 miles offshore.
The Underwriter's Salvage Corps in Cincinnati, Ohio was created and operated by the Underwriters Association, a syndicate of Cincinnati-based fire insurance companies, for the purpose of reducing financial losses to their companies from claims due to building fires by providing a company of trained men with proper equipment to work in conjunction with the city fire department to protect life, structures and their contents from fire, smoke damage, and damage from the water that was used to fight the fire. The Salvage Corps worked to save and protect the structure and its contents while the city fire department concentrated on rescuing persons from the burning structure and extinguishing the flames. The Salvage Corps provided this service to all property owners without charge, whether they were insured or not.
The Hamilton White House is a historic home in Syracuse, New York. The house, Greek Revival in design, was built by and for Hamilton White, circa 1840/42, and occupied by his family in 1842/43. Many believe based on similarities in structure and style that the unknown architect and builder was the same person who designed and built the Moses Burnett House, completed in early 1842, later to become the Syracuse Century Club building. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 due to its significance in the area of architecture and its relationship, through Hamilton White, to the commerce and politics of Syracuse.
The New Bedford Fire Museum is a local history museum at 51 Bedford Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the 1867 Fire Station No. 4, the city's oldest surviving fire station. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The museum is open between July 4 and Labor Day. It houses a collection of firefighting equipment and memorabilia related to the history of firefighting in the city.
The Engine House No. 11 is a fire station located at 2737 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest remaining firehouse in the city of Detroit; it was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Fire Barn 5 or Fire Station 5 is a historic building in Elgin, Illinois. It was the fifth official fire barn in Elgin, originally housing horses and a fire fighting carriage. Over the years, the carriage was replaced by automobiles. The building is an example of Classical Revival architecture and operated as a fire station until 1991, the year it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It now functions as the Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 Museum, a museum of firefighting history.
The Laurel–Rex Fire Company House, consisting of the Laurel Fire Company's engine house and the Rex Hook & Ladder Company's truck house, is a historic fire station located in York City, York County, Pennsylvania. The oldest building, the Laurel engine house, was built in 1878, and is a two-story, brick building in the Italianate style. The original engine house was expanded in 1887 with a horse stable and in 1892 with a ladder truck house. It has a three-story bell tower on the southwest corner and a second faux tower atop the roof on the northwest corner. It measures 48 by 96 feet.
The Great New York City Fire of 1845 broke out on July 19, 1845, in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The fire started in a whale oil and candle manufacturing establishment and quickly spread to other wooden structures. It reached a warehouse on Broad Street where combustible saltpeter was stored and caused a massive explosion that spread the fire even farther.
The Berea Fire station was constructed to serve the northern district of Johannesburg in 1910. It is situated in stand 927/8 on Mitchell Street in Berea. It is sometimes known as the Doll's House and it is the oldest functioning fire station in Johannesburg. The station was built in a time when Johannesburg had electricity but paraffin lamps were still providing lighting, which added to serious fire threats.
Engine Company 21, organized in 1872, was the first fire company in the Chicago Fire Department. The fire pole was invented by members of the company in 1888, and after inventing it, Engine 21 had the fastest response time in the city.
The Northmoor Engine House, or Station 19, is a Columbus Division of Fire station in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2003. It was named for Jerry Kuhn in 2002; Kuhn was a lieutenant for Station 19 and died in the line of duty in 1972.
Engine House No. 10 is a Columbus Division of Fire station in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The original firehouse was built in 1897, while its neighboring replacement, also known as Station 10, was completed in 2008.
The Exeter City Fire Brigade was the first municipal fire brigade in Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom. The brigade was formed in 1888, on the recommendation of Captain Sir Eyre Shaw, the Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, who conducted a parliamentary inquiry into the Exeter Theatre Royal fire during which 186 people died, making it still the worst-ever building fire death toll in the UK.
