Ben Franklin like many of the Founding Fathers of America was a brilliant man.  He was an abolitionist, diplomat, inventor, printer, revolutionary, and even a fireman! Surprisingly, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock were also volunteer firefighters. Unlike the other founding fathers who were firefighters, Ben Franklin’s contributions to the fire & life safety industry can still be seen today.

Boston’s firefighting clubs inspired Ben to create the first volunteer fire company in Philadelphia. He named it the Union Fire Company in 1736. The company consisted of all males dedicated to putting out fires and saving property. Their equipment included a leather bucket and linen bag. The firefighters used the linen bucket to put out fires and the linen bag held rescued valuables. Additionally, the Union Fire Company’s members including Ben Franklin and a few others established a fire insurance company.

The group founded The Contributionship for the Insuring of Houses from Loss by Fire in 1752. The board created a set of parameters for building’s to meet to receive insurance. Some of the constraints required buildings to be easily accessible for firemen, there couldn’t be any major interferences inside or on the property that would hinder firefighting, and that the building wasn’t a high risk for having fires. Only buildings that met these certain parameters received insurance. Some suspect that a few modern fire code requirements originated from the insurance company’s prerequisites for coverage.

Ben Franklin certainly accomplished a great deal over his lifespan and impacted fire & life safety in America and all around the world. Thanks to Ben Franklin, we have fire companies to call when there’s a fire and fire codes that protect us and our property.

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