Fire Service History & Tradition

5/23: This Day in Fire History:     (Submit an event) 1964: A church fire in San Francisco, CA claims 17.

"This Day in Fire History" is intended to present interesting facts about fire and the history of the fire service. While many of the entries involve significant fires throughout history, there are other facts included as well. For example, on June 16, 1916 Hugh Halligan was appointed to the FDNY. He would later go on to invent the "Halligan Bar" in the 1940's, now considered an essential tool of firefighting.

Other interesting facts include the first U.S. Patent for a sprinkler system (September 17, 1872), the debute of the television show "Emergency!" (January 15, 1972), and even the success of The Doors' "Light My Fire" (#1 on July 7, 1967).

There are currently about 200 events posted in "This Day in History." Registered users will soon be able to suggest events they feel should be included in this list by loggin in.

Log in or register with us to submit your own piece of history to our database.