Prior to the 17th Century there wasn’t much in the way of organized fire control in Europe. Neighborhood night watches were organized by the residents of an area and they would essentially stay awake and keep an eye out for leaping flames. In the late 17th century this was to change, after The Great Fire of London in 1666 wiped out tens of thousands of homes, the first fire engines (hand pumps) appeared, and by the beginning of the 18th Century fire brigades, in the modern sense, were being created…

12.03. filed under: !. design. history. 4