In the beginning

Firefighting in London is probably as old as the city itself. We know there were firefighters in ancient Rome, the 'Vigiles', and it seems likely that a similar force was established in Londinium (London) during the reign of the Roman Empire.

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After the fall of the empire in the fourth century, any organised firefighting attempts in the city were abandoned and were not to emerge again for several hundred years.

And even when they did, they were erratic and half-hearted, as when William the Conqueror implemented his couvre-feu - or curfew law - in the 11th century. This meant that people had to douse all fires and lights at nightfall and was a bid at early fire prevention in the face of hazards such as straw 'carpeting' and thatched roofs. Severe penalties could be imposed on anyone caught disobeying the curfew.

Even so, a huge fire in 1212 gutted a great swathe of the city and the death toll was said to be 12,000. This fire was known as the Great Fire of London until four centuries later.

The years leading up to the 17th century saw more efforts of varying degrees in the field of fire protection. Some Lord Mayors issued fire prevention instructions to parish councils and builders but these were largely ignored.

Around the year 1600, the first primitive fire appliances appeared. Some took the form of large syringes or fire squirts - another type was a manually operated pump mounted on a tank of water with a nozzle on the top.

These machines were maintained by the parishes and several were used but with little real impact at a large fire in 1633. Most of them broke down, others proved to be virtually useless and the fire took its toll on a number of homes at London Bridge.

page 2 of 5: The Great Fire of London

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