WHY DO WE (THE PUBLIC) HAVE TO PARK AT LEAST TEN FEET FROM A FIRE HYDRANT?

Firefighters need a straight line approach to the fire hydrant so that they can connect the hose (or hoses) to it. A fire hose with water pressure in it does not bend all that well, so a clear path to and from the hydrant is very important.  You do not want this (below) to happen to your car !   Besides that, you could get fined (a ticket) as well, depending on your local fire hydrant/fire lane ordinances !!!

​History of the Fire Service and Major Fire Incidents

1,000,000 years ago, history records indicate that primitive man knew how to make fire (Nice, France)

500,000 years ago, historical records indicate primitive man learned how to control fire (China and Europe).

400 BC - Alexandria, Egypt - the first known water pump.

23 BC - Caesar Augustus in Rome created the first firefighting force. “Servants of the Commonwealth” were a group of slaves and troops capable of protecting Rome from fire. (Not very effective!)

100 AD - With the collapse of the Roman Empire, firefighting and fire protection gave way to the Dark Ages.  Ignorance and superstition led to the mystery of fire and its cause.

1066 - William the Conqueror lead the Normans to rule England.  Under his law, all fires were to be extinguished by nightfall.  The word “Curfew” (French for “cover fire”) originated about 200 years earlier.

1100 - Laws and Ordinances were passed in London declaring no thatched roofs and the requirement of party walls and structures to be built of stone.

1566 - Ordinance in Manchester, England requiring safe storage of fuel for bakers ovens.
1607 - Jamestown, VA was founded in the “New World”.  Fire in 1608 destroyed all the buildings and supplies, forcing settlers to return to England or remain and face the hostile Indians and hard winter.

1630 - City of Boston, MA was Incorporated.

1631 - Great conflagrations in 1631, 1654 and 1676 burned Boston down again and again. New codes were adopted calling for fire resistive building materials, open spaces, water supply, and firefighting forces.

1638 - Massachusetts passed first law banning smoking outdoors.  Passed because of heightened awareness of fire and associated devastation.

1648 - Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam (New York City) adopted building codes and established Fire Wardens to protect the settlement. This was the first fire organization in America.

1666 - September 2 - The Great Fire of London starts.  Fire burned for 5 days and destroyed most of the city.  13,200 homes, 100,000 boats and barges were lost, leaving 200,000 homeless.  Only 6 lives were lost. Nearly complete destruction of England’s worldwide trading empire. As a result… the Fire Insurance Company was born.  This led to increased emphasis on development of fire equipment and volunteer fire companies to protect insured premises. Fire marks were used by these companies to identify their buildings.

1679 - Boston, MA establishes America’s first fire department, first fire engine, first firehouse and first paid firefighters. All accomplished because of the severe losses from numerous large-scale conflagrations.

1737 - Volunteer Fire Department was formed in New York City.

1752 - Benjamin Franklin forms the first American Fire Insurance company.

1819 - London, England was the site of the first steam fire engine to be built. Not dependable, needing many revisions and much skill to operate.

1827 - The Wooden Match, with a chemical head was invented by Englishman John Walker.

1835 - December 16 - The Great New York Fire.  The leading financial and trade center of the country at the time, 674 buildings lost, 10,000 left jobless.  Most of the 28 Insurance Companies operating did not have the financial resources to meet claims and failed. Congress did not bail out New York.  Financial bankruptcies multiplied. Some believe it lead to a national economic depression 2 years later.

1853 - Cincinnati, Ohio becomes the first fully paid fire department.

1854 - Safety matches were developed.

1866 - As the result of large loss fires, the National Board of Fire Underwrites is formed.  They provided promotion of fire prevention and fire protection until 1965. They merged and became the American Insurance Association. Later they changed their name to the Insurance Service Office (ISO).

1871 - October 8 - The Great Chicago Fire started on the evening of Sunday October 8th and burned until the morning of Tuesday October 10th.   One third of the city was destroyed over a period of 30 hours, burning an area that was 4 miles long and 1 mile wide. It is estimated that 300 people died and the fire destroyed 17,450 homes & buildings leaving over 100,000 people homeless. The fire caused $200 million in damage, of which only $88 million was covered by insurance.  57 out of 250 insurance companies doing business failed. The fire started at Mrs. O'leary's property although there has been no definitive proof that it started from her cow kicking over a lantern. ​

1871 - October 8 - Forest fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin accelerated into a firestorm and destroyed all but one building under construction. Fire consumed timber over 1200 square miles. Fire moved so fast that the residents could not flee. This was the worst recorded forest fire in North American history, destroying millions of dollars worth of property and timberland, and taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives.

1900 - Introduction of the gasoline powered engine into the fire service. It was seen as a threat to the steam engine.

1903 - December 30 - Iroquois Theatre Fire in Chicago, Illinois kills 602 people. The theater was supposed to be completely fireproof. Incomplete construction, including fire escapes, confusing signs, lack of training, no fire alarm system and doors that open inward are to blame.

1906 - April 17 - San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. 514 city blocks were destroyed, 28,000 buildings lost, 674 dead and over 3,500 hurt. The earthquake lasted 90 seconds.  Rupture of water mains, access and construction made fighting the fires difficult.
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1911 - March 25 - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in Manhattan, New York. 146 workers lost their life in the 10 story Asch Building. The fire flared up in a scrap bin under one of the cutters' tables on the eighth floor.  The Fire Marshal concluded that the cause of the fire was likely the disposal of an un-extinguished match or cigarette butt. A poor fire escape system was a contributing factor in the large loss of life.  Many people jumped 8 to 10 floors to their death.

1922 - President Calvin Coolidge proclaims the first Fire Prevention Week to commemorate the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire.

1932 - The last steam fire engine in New York City is retired.
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1942 - The Cocoanut Grove was a premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 1940s in Boston, Massachusetts. On November 28,  it was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history, claiming a total of 492 lives and injuring hundreds more making this fire the worst multiple-death nightclub fire to date.

1945 - Dresden, Germany - February 14 & 15 - Over 300,000 fatalities. Allied bombing near the end of World War II, dropping over 3,800 tons of incendiary bombs on the city in a 2 day period. It created a firestorm unmatched in history.

1945 - Atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima, Japan and kills 80,000

1946 - December 7th The Winecoff Hotel Fire claimed the lives of 119 people in downtown Atlanta Georgia. This hotel was advertised at "absolutely fireproof" while the hotels steel structure was indeed protected against the effects of fire, the hotels interior furnishings were combustible and only a single stairwell served as an exit route for all 15 floors. The hotel's original owners also died in the fire. 

1947 - April 16 - Texas City, Texas disaster.  The ship (S.S. Grandcamp) carrying a cargo of ammonium nitrate explodes in the harbor.  561 died and over 3,500 were injured.

1949 - First American burn injury facility was created at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas.

1950 - “Sparky” the Fire Dog was introduced by NFPA as a national symbol for safety.

1962 - Kansas City, Missouri Fire Chief develops “EDITH” (Exit Drills in the Home) project.

1965 - Watts, California erupts in riots on Friday, August 13.  Arrests for drunken driving lead to increased tension and riots.  Over 200 fires burning at one time. One firefighter was killed and 180 were injured in the suppression efforts.

1973 - Special Commission appointed by President Nixon presents a report entitled “America Burning”. It outlined the current and future fire concerns of our country.  It led to the creation of the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy at Emmitsburg, Maryland.

1976 - Factory Mutual Research Corporation begins developing and testing residential sprinklers.

1977 - Beverly Hills Supper Club in Kentucky burns, killing 163.  Loss attributed to overlooked fire codes and overcrowding.

1978 - NFPA publishes the first annual firefighter death/injury study.  Imitation of Firefighter Safety and Survival training on a nationwide basis.

1980 - On November 21 a fire occurred at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The fire killed 85 people and this incident remains the deadliest incident in Nevada history and the third-deadliest hotel fire in modern U.S. history. 

1986 - On December 31st, new years eve an arson fire set by three disgruntled employees at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico claimed the lives of 98 people and caused 140 injuries. 

​1991 - On February 23rd, a fire in a 38-story high-rise in Philadelphia takes 18.5 hours to contain and kills 3 firefighters.

1992 - Oakland Hills, CA - In October a wild land fire spreads and destroys 1,800 homes and 900 apartments.  19 people were killed and 148 injured.  Loss estimated at $5 billion.

1994 - Storm King Mountain fire in Colorado claims the lives of 14 firefighters in a “blowup”.  9 fatalities are members of the Prineville, Oregon Interagency Hotshot Crew.

​1995 - Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK was bombed.  The blast killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others.

​2001 - September 11 - On this day a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks took place against the United States of America. These attacks resulted in 2,997 victim fatalities, over 25,000 injuries and cost an estimated $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. In New York City at one of the attack location 343 firefighters of the FDNY lost their lives. 

The death toll continues to rise as 9/11 related cancer and respiratory disease continues to claim the lives of those who lived through the attacks.  

2003 - February - The Station Night Club Fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics that were set off during a live band performance. It was the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in US history, killing 100 people, and the second deadliest in New England,

​2016 - November - Warehouse fire in Oakland, California kills at least 33 people. The death toll is expected to rise as the investigation continues. 

2016 - December - Several explosions occurred at an open-air fireworks market at  San Pablito Market  In Tultepec, Mexico. The incident claimed the lives of 31 people and injured 72. 

​2018 - November - The California Camp Fire. Named after its place of origin on Camp Creek Road in Butte County which is located in the northern part of the state, the Camp Fire became the deadliest wildfire in the states history claiming the lives of 86 people. Aside from being the deadliest, the Camp Fire was also the most destructive wildfire to ever burn in California. It burned more than 153,000 acres, or 240 square miles, destroyed some 19,000 structures, including about 14,000 homes, and caused an estimated $11–13 billion in residential and commercial losses. The blaze capped a ferocious wildfire season in the Golden State, which saw more than 1.8 million acres of land burn—over 550,000 more than the number of acres that burned in 2017, and only about 200,000 shy of the number of acres that burned in the three years before that combined. (NFPA Journal, January/February 2019 - volume 113 Number 1)

2019 - April 15th, ​just before 18:20 CEST, a fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris. By the time it was extinguished, the building's spire and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged; extensive damage to the interior was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed. Many works of art and religious relics were moved to safety early in the emergency, but others suffered some smoke damage, and some exterior art was damaged or destroyed