<P> London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and above all in 1666 (the Great Fire of London). The Great Fire of 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane, consumed about two square miles (5 km2) of the city, leaving tens of thousands homeless . Prior to this fire, London had no organized fire protection system . Afterwards, insurance companies formed private fire brigades to protect their clients' property . Insurance brigades would only fight fires at buildings the company insured . These buildings were identified by fire insurance marks . The key breakthrough in firefighting arrived in the 17th century with the first fire engines . Manual pumps, rediscovered in Europe after 1500 (allegedly used in Augsburg in 1518 and in Nuremberg in 1657), were only force pumps and had a very short range due to the lack of hoses . German inventor Hans Hautsch improved the manual pump by creating the first suction and force pump and adding some flexible hoses to the pump . In 1672, Dutch artist and inventor Jan Van der Heyden's workshop developed the fire hose . Constructed of flexible leather and coupled every 50 feet (15 m) with brass fittings . The length remains the standard to this day in mainland Europe whilst in the UK the standard length is either 23m or 25m . The fire engine was further developed by the Dutch inventor, merchant and manufacturer, John Lofting (1659--1742) who had worked with Jan Van der Heyden in Amsterdam . Lofting moved to London in or about 1688, became an English citizen and patented (patent number 263 / 1690) the "Sucking Worm Engine" in 1690 . There was a glowing description of the firefighting ability of his device in The London Gazette of 17 March 1691, after the issue of the patent . The British Museum has a print showing Lofting's fire engine at work in London, the engine being pumped by a team of men . In the print three fire plaques of early insurance companies are shown, no doubt indicating that Lofting collaborated with them in firefighting . A later version of what is believed to be one of his fire engines has been lovingly restored by a retired firefighter, and is on show in Marlow Buckinghamshire where John Lofting moved in 1700 . Patents only lasted for fourteen years and so the field was open for his competitors after 1704 . </P> <P> Richard Newsham of Bray in Berkshire (just 8 miles from Lofting) produced and patented an improved engine in 1721 (Royal Patent Office 1721 patent #439 and 1725 patent #479) and soon dominated the fire engine market in England . Pulled as a cart to the fire, these manual pumps were manned by teams of 4 to 12 men and could deliver up to 160 gallons per minute (12 L / s) at up to 120 feet (36 m). Newsham himself died in 1743 but his company continued making fire engines under other managers and names into the 1770s . The next major development in fire engine design in England was made by Hadley, Simpkin & Lott co. in 1792 with a larger and much improved style of hand pumped engine which could be pulled to a fire by horses . </P> <P> In 1631, Boston's governor John Winthrop outlawed wooden chimneys and thatched roofs . In 1648, the New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant appointed four men to act as fire wardens . They were empowered to inspect all chimneys and to fine any violators of the rules . The city burghers later appointed eight prominent citizens to the "Rattle Watch" - these men volunteered to patrol the streets at night carrying large wooden rattles . If a fire was seen, the men spun the rattles, then directed the responding citizens to form bucket brigades . On January 27, 1678 the first fire engine company went into service with its captain (foreman) Thomas Atkins . In 1736 Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia . </P> <P> The United States did not have government - run fire departments until around the time of the American Civil War . Prior to this time, private fire brigades competed with one another to be the first to respond to a fire because insurance companies paid brigades to save buildings . Underwriters also employed their own Salvage Corps in some cities . The first known female firefighter Molly Williams took her place with the men on the dragropes during the blizzard of 1818 and pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow . </P>

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