{"id":1648,"date":"2016-01-08T20:27:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T20:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bluegoosestl.org\/?p=1648"},"modified":"2016-01-08T20:27:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-08T20:27:27","slug":"american-fire-marks-part-1-of-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluegoosestl.org\/?p=1648","title":{"rendered":"American Fire Marks Part 1 of 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

AMERICAN FIRE MARKS – A GOOD STORY<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 1 of 7
\n<\/strong>Robert M. Shea, CPCU
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fire Mark Circle of the Americas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone loves a good story, and the modern literature on American fire marks contains one or more of the following ideas to enliven the story:<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 The volunteer fire company would not fight a fire unless there was a fire mark on the burning building.<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 The volunteer fire company received a reward from the insurance company whose fire mark was on the burning building.<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 The use of fire marks diminished because of the institution of paid municipal fire departments.<\/p>\n

Like most stories, the above points are more fiction than fact – more hype than history. But, what are the facts and what was the purpose of fire marks in America?<\/p>\n

NO FIRE MARK, NO FIREFIGHTING COMPANY<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The misconception that volunteer fire companies put out fires only on buildings that displayed a fire mark arises from the fact that some articles on fire marks do not make a distinction between the English and American relationship to fire marks.\u00a0The English fire insurance companies employed their own fire brigades, which only fought fires on properties identified by their employers\u2019 fire mark or badge.<\/p>\n

In America, the volunteer fire companies were in existence before the first fire insurance company was organized. They fought fires whether or not a building displayed a fire mark.
\nResearch shows that it is only in the 20th<\/sup> century when the idea first appears that a volunteer fire company would not fight a fire if there were no fire mark.\u00a0 Some examples from Philadelphia Include:<\/p>\n