Learn

You may be wondering what happened after the invention of the fire engine to all those trusty horses that gallantly served the many city and county fire departments across the country.

The older horses were put out to pasture for their retirement. The younger horses were sold to various merchants who used them to pull their delivery vans and carts. Occasionally a delivery cart would be seen careening around a corner at break-neck speed with the deliveryman holding on for dear life as the horse raced to the scene of a fire! Even after many years, the well-trained horses could not resist answering the call of a fire alarm!

What’s black and white all over and is often found at a firehouse? A Dalmatian! These handsome dogs are considered the mascot of fire departments. How did this come about? Many years ago the fire stations and horse stables of London were infested with rats. Dalmatians were used to chase the rats out. Most importantly, the dogs also guided the horse-pulled fire wagons through the city streets. Many firehouses still keep Dalmatians as pets today.

There have been volunteer fire fighters and whole volunteer fire departments from the early days of our country all the way to the present. Some very famous folks seemed to have been able to take time from their busy schedules to come to the aid of their friends and neighbors in times of trouble. Included in the list of famous volunteers are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.