New Technology, New Culture... (TOP)

Technological advances of the nineteenth century resulted in far more effective, albeit more expensive, fire fighting equipment. The introduction of running water into the towns via pumps, water mains, and in some cases sophisticated water works systems made possible the use of leather hose. No longer did the engines have to be filled manually; water could be both taken in and discharged by means of hose. This gave rise to the formation of those companies-groups whose chief function was to supply hose to the engine companies on the fire ground. Those men who were freed from the bucket brigades were now needed as extra manpower for the engines. By 1840 these were so large and powerful that a first class engine required 20-24 men to pump it, all of whom had to be relieved every three minutes!

This era was the most colorful in American fire fighting history. Engines and hose carriages were lavishly painted and ornamented by well known artists including John Woodside and Jacob Eichholtz. Silver and brass lanterns, often with beveled and etched glass panels, lit the paths. Speaking trumpets used to magnify directives given at fires were made of brass, but for parades they were made of silver and silver plate, often elaborately engraved.

The colors of the company's apparatus were often repeated in the members' uniforms. The frock coats and painted stovepipe hats of the first half of the century slowly gave way to the more fitted woolen shirts and pants and leather helmets of the 1850s and 1860s. The colors and designs of each, however, were vivid and distinctive. They served not only to identify the firemen on the fire ground but to provide the members with a sense of group solidarity.

More organized social activity took place during this period. While the companies always had social overtones, now they marched in local and distant parades, visited fire companies in neighboring cities, and held balls and dinners both for their own entertainment and as a means of supplementing their income. (TOP)