Most homes or businesses have essential safety equipment, including smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler systems. Most people don’t realize that some of that gear, especially items from the 19th and early 20th centuries, is very much in demand by collectors and fire enthusiasts. Now, that doesn’t mean people who like to set fires. No one wants to see a fire destroy a home or cause injuries. But some firefighter equipment has become popular in the antiques space. While there have been many technological advances, collectors of fire memorabilia treasure the gear from the old days of leather helmets, horse-drawn fire engines, and even toy trucks.
HOME FIRE EQUIPMENT
In the early 1800s, purchasing insurance against losses from a house fire became more commonplace. To both advertise their products and keep a record of their customers, insurance companies issued cast iron “fire marks” that hung outside a home, visible to passersby. The cast iron placards were often the only thing besides a chimney and hearth that would survive a fire in an old wooden building, so they also served as a homeowner’s coverage record.
In addition to the markers, every home had fire buckets. Laws differed, but most cities and towns required homes to have at least two buckets within easy reach. Kitchen fires were a huge problem in the 19th century, so the buckets usually hung near the cooking hearth. Early examples of fire buckets were either thick leather with riveted straps or metal pails with hand-painted scenes. In smaller towns in the late 18th century, residents knew that if church bells rang and it wasn’t hourly, or on a Sunday morning, they needed to grab their buckets and join their neighbors in helping to put out whatever was burning. Owners placed their house numbers on their buckets, so everyone went home with the correct buckets when a hand-to-hand brigade was over.
HELMETS AND HELMET FRONTS
A ubiquitous piece of fire equipment that is instantly recognizable is, of course, the fire helmet. A helmet’s basic shape and size hasn’t changed much over the years, even if the materials have. According to the National Museum of American History, a New York City luggage designer came up with the standard design between 1821-1836. The long back brim (sometimes called a duckbill) kept water from running down the backs of firefighters, and the sectioned design of the crown made it solid and durable. The top of the helmet often had a brass figure as an anchor for the helmet front. It would have the number of the fire company or another designation such as rank. Helmet fronts were initially made from leather and later metal or ceramic. The fronts are collectible, as they often document firehouses and companies that are no longer operating.
PRESERVING THE LEGACY
Before writing this article, there had to be some research. What better place to do that than a fire museum? The US has hundreds of repositories of fire history and memorabilia, from small displays in local stations to free-standing museums. I’m in Boston, so I took myself to the Boston Fire Museum and spent an afternoon with ex-firefighters, all well-versed in fire history. Boston is a city that has seen its share of devastating fires. Still, the vocation of being a firefighter is a respected tradition in many families, where the job often seems handed down from grandparents, parents, and their children. Most firefighters have several family members who grew up on the stories of their fathers, uncles, and cousins who did the job. In the past, firefighters were mostly men, but that is also changing. Housed at a re-purposed firehouse built between 1890 and 1891 at 344 Congress Street, the Boston Fire Museum location operated as an active fire station until 1977. After being briefly owned by the Transportation Museum, the Boston Sparks Association acquired the building and maintains the museum.
I spoke with volunteer guides Chris Kelley and Michael Gerry, both fire buffs and retired firefighters. They spend hundreds of hours volunteering at the museum giving tours and maintaining an enviable collection of memorabilia. Fun fact: Famed Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler was a collector of firefighter items. From badges and patches to helmets, Mr. Fiedler had a lot of gear. After he died in 1979, his family donated his collection of over 100 hats to the Boston Fire Museum. To this day, the helmets are proudly displayed in the rafters of the building.
Another cherished item in the museum collection is the scratch-built model of Boston Engine 44, known as the MV Angus J. McDonald Fire Boat. Captain John Williams of the Boston Fire Department made a scale model of the ship in 1925 when it was still in service. The boat served Boston from 1895 to 1947, and the model is on display for visitors.
Whether it’s a helmet, a badge, or a vintage print, firefighter memorabilia remains a hot item for collectors as well as family members of firefighters. The history behind fighting fires in cities and towns is well-documented, and most major cities have photos and news clippings of the work the brave men and women of their fire departments do every day. In Boston, the fire museum includes a mural that depicts the great fire of 1872. There is also a special exhibit of diagrams and photos from the devastating fire at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in November of 1942. It’s from these fires that many of today’s regulations and safety procedures originated, so while tragic, the history that is maintained serves to protect future generations.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for Gannett News/Wicked Local. When not writing or walking her snorty pug Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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