Where was the first professional fire department?

Where was the first professional fire department?

It depends. How do you define a "professional fire department"?

Note: Today all firefighters are considered "professional". They are divided between "volunteer" or "career" categories. Both are trained and have the same responsibilities and equipment standards.

The first full time department, in western culture, might have been in Rome some 2000 years ago. They had people who were selected to roam the city and not only sound the alarm and put out fires but enforce fire codes (sometimes with corporal punishment). These were called the "Corps of Vigiles". Unfortunately they were not exactly a "paid" department. Augustus Caesar formed this corps from slaves.

There are many claims to who would be the "first" "modern" "professional" fire brigade or department. What is "modern" or what is "professional"?

Credit for the first "professional fire brigade" is often given to Napoleon Bonaparte. While French emperor, he ordered that a division of the French army known as Sapeurs-Pompiers be used to protect Paris with 30 manual fire pumps around 1800. But there were people who were paid to provide some form of fire protection or suppression service, in Paris, many years prior to that. In 1699 François du Mouriez took interest in a better pump, fire hose and some other advancements, and provided 12 fire pumps to the city of Paris to become the first "fire chief" (director) of des pompes de la Ville de Paris in 1716. The French fire brigade was known as, "Compagnie des gardes-pompes" (literally the "Company of Pump Guards"). The French word for pumper, "pompier" became the name for French firefighters to this day. On March 11, 1733 the French government proclaimed that the service of the fire brigades would be free of charge. Prior to this there was a fee and people often avoid calling in order to avoid being charged.

Edinburgh, Scotland, claims to be the first organized municipal fire brigade in the world, when the Edinburgh Fire Engine Establishment was formed in 1824, led by James Braidwood. London followed in 1832 with the London Fire Engine Establishment. Clicking on a link about James Braidwood proclaims that he "is credited with the development of the modern municipal fire service." But this ignores the fact that Boston, as mentioned below, had a crew who was paid to maintain their one pump and respond to fires as early as 1678 and the fact that London established "fire companies" after the Great Fire of London in 1666. But in fairness, James Braidwood probably did contribute some major advances in firefighting. Prior to him, most firefighting was done from the streets. He pioneered and developed the strategy of entering and fighting fires from within the structure. One might assume that this advancement was made possible due to the invention of better pumps in 1725 and dependable leather fire hose in 1672.