The first 'brigade'

The first 'brigade' was called The London Fire Engine Establishment. It was headed by former Edinbugh fire chief, Mr James Briadwood.

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The force boasted 80 full time firefighters, commonly known as 'Jimmy Braiders', and 13 fire stations. Discipline was strict and the men operated a 24 hour duty system with very limited leave.

Braidwood brought to London many new ideas and techniques. He believed that to be really effective, the firefighters should get as close to the seat of the fire as possible rather than rely on a 'long-shot' with a hose, a principle which still holds good today.

About this time, the first steam fire engines were being invented but these were not to Braidwood's liking, preferring himself the old manual machines.

The Establishment was tested in 1834 when a huge fire occurred at the Houses of Parliament and a large part of the historic building and valuable records were destroyed. Despite its valiant efforts, the Establishment only managed to save Westminster Hall.

After this, the insurance companies began to think again about their commitment to the Establishment and made representations to the Government to bring the parish fire engines under their control. Their pleas, however, fell on deaf ears.

In 1861, the greatest test of the Establishment arrived with the Tooley Street fire. A riverside warehouse caught light and before long every man in the force, including Braidwood, was fighting the blaze. In the early stages, Braidwood died when a wall collapsed on him. The fire raged for two days, engulfing much of the Tooley Street areas before it was brought under control and it was not fully doused for a fortnight.

The Tooley Street fire was too much for the insurance companies, who immediately raised their premiums and renewed their appeal to the Government. A committee was appointed and, after some debate, recommended that a Brigade be formed at public expense under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works.The Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act was thus passed in 1865.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade

In 1866, the new Brigade was commanded by one of the world's best known firefighting personalities, Captain Eyre Massey Shaw, who had taken over the reins on Braidwood's death.

A personal friend of the Prince of Wales, Captain Shaw was noted in society circles and, indeed, immortalised in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta 'Iolanthe'. Yet the man was not a flippant socialite and under his astute direction the Brigade developed consistently.

He expanded the use of steam fire engines, introduced telegraph systems and rationalised life saving operations by taking over the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire and increasing street escape stations.

The Brigade got by on modest income and Londoners paid just a halfpenny in the pound for their firefighters. The £31,000 raised was boosted by a Government grant of £11,000. A firefighter was comparatively well paid for his day earning 22 shillings a week but the men were on almost continuous duty and were compelled to live at their stations.

The prince of Wales, later Edward VII, took a keen interest in the 'exciting' business of firefighting and, at the Chandos Street fire station in Charing Cross, the Prince's fire uniform was always kept at the ready as the Royal presence was likely at any of the capital's notable fires.

In 1889, the newly-formed London County Council took over control of the Brigade and Shaw soon rebelled against its more rigid controls on his activities.

For years he had run the Brigade his own way and after two years of stormy exchanges he resigned in 1891. He was knighted by Queen Victoria on his last day of service.

page 4 of 5: A 20th Century Fire Service

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