In 1736, Franklin created the Union Fire Company, one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America.
Philadelphia Fire Department: Engine 8, Ladder 2
The Philadelphia Fire Department's Engine 8, Ladder 2 station is a direct descendant of Ben Franklin's Union Fire Company. It stands at 4th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia's Old City, between the U.S. Mint and Girard Fountain Park.
Some history: Union Fire Company, sometimes called Benjamin Franklin's Bucket Brigade, was a volunteer fire department formed in Philadelphia in 1736 with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin. The first fire fighting organization in Philadelphia, though followed within the year by the Fellowship Fire Company. The fire company was formed on 7 December, 1736 after a series of publications in the Pennsylvania Gazette by Franklin and others pointing out the need for more effective handling of fires in Philadelphia and remained active until approximately 1820.
I also recall something I read at the Ben Franklin museum about his sister's house or friend's house burning to the ground in a different city, which inspired Ben Franklin to pioneer fireproofing inside houses.
About the Company: In the 1884 book History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, John Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott described the organization of the company:
The Union Fire Company was an association for mutual assistance. Each member agreed to furnish, at his own expense, six leather buckets and two stout linen bags, each marked with his name and the name of the company, which he was to bring to every fire. The buckets were for carrying water to extinguish the flames, and the bags were to receive and hold property which was in danger, to save it from risk of theft. The members pledged themselves to repair to any place in danger upon an alarm of fire with their apparatus. Some were to superintend the use of the water, others were to stand at the doors of houses in danger, and to protect the property from theft. On an alarm of fire at night it was agreed that lights should be placed in the windows of houses of members near the fire "in order to prevent confusion, and to enable their friends to give them more speedy and effectual assistance.'
The "Keys To Community" Ben Franklin bronze bust is just to the right of the Firehouse, and is made up entirely of KEYS! There is a small park with a fountain behind the brick wall.
