Celebrating America’s Firefighting Presidents

It was early morning on Christmas Eve 1851.

President Millard Fillmore was at the White House, enjoying the holidays with his family, when he heard shouting.

“Fire! Fire! The Library of Congress is on fire!”

As the story goes, the president of the United States was a man who loved books despite growing up in a cabin and owning only a Bible, a hymnal and an almanac. So he raced out the door of the White House and, upon arriving at the Library of Congress, he joined the efforts to fight the fire.

Fire wagons were loaded with water barrels and hoses. Fillmore called in U.S. Marines from the nearby Navy Yard to join the bucket brigade. The president stayed in the fight until Christmas Day.

Though more than 35,000 books were lost in the fire, many more were saved thanks to the efforts of Fillmore and others, who stepped up and volunteered to battle the blaze.

As we celebrate Presidents Day, our 13th president represents one fine example among many of early American leaders playing a vital role in the fire service.

Early American Leaders Helped Shape the Fire Service As We Know It

If you hear firefighters tell it, some of our most prominent forefathers were firefighters. The stories are passed down through generations like a badge of honor.

Some sources claim that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams and others served as firefighters, either before, after or during the years where they played pivotal roles in shaping our nation.

The fire service, like America itself, was in its infancy then. Few records exist to verify these facts. The human resources departments in those years were woefully understaffed.

Our first president, George Washington, is said to have been named an honorary member of the Friendship Fire Company, established in 1774 in Alexandria, now a town in Northern Virginia but at the time part of the District of Columbia.

To show his appreciation, Washington is said to have purchased the best firefighting equipment on the market for the fledgling fire company.

American presidents, throughout the course of history, have played vital roles in advancing fire prevention and protection. They’ve helped establish the earliest fire departments. They signed acts that established organizations dedicated to fire protection.

We all know that every president is asked to put out metaphorical fires on a daily basis. It’s good to know that many of them shared our passion for putting out the real life blazes, too.