History
In 1742, the town of Bladensburg became the first governmental entity to pass a fire prevention ordinance. The simple ordinance stipulated that all residential and commercial buildings had to be equipped with a smoke chimney. In 1886, the town of Hyattsville organized the first volunteer fire company in the county. With a donated budget of $27, the fire company bought a two-wheeled hand truck equipped with a barrel, pump, and hose. Two years later, in 1888, the town of Upper Marlboro organized the Marlboro Fire Association following two major town fires. John C. Wyvill had the first fire station built at a cost of $342.
It wasn't until the 1930s that the County organized its fire services at is known today. The University of Maryland created a Fire Service Extension to train firefighters and is widely regarded as a focal point for fire training for departments located east of the Mississippi River.
In 1966 the county incorporated paid firefighters within its volunteer force based on the Yarger Study which stated:
- At least two "paidmen" at each station.
- All paid firefighters should be county employees.
- A unified command structure should be developed under the direction of a County fire chief.
- Fire communications should be consolidated under the County fire chief.
The Department of Fire Protection was created on June 14, 1968 which consumed all other previous fire organizations under a single command.
In May 2009, the PGFD received local media attention following a massive natural gas explosion at a Forestville stripmall. PGFD Captain Robert Rouse (Engine 823) was one of 8 firefighters and 1 gas worker injured during the event.
Read more about this topic: Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“They are a sort of post-house,where the Fates
Change horses, making history change its tune,
Then spur away o’er empires and o’er states,
Leaving at last not much besides chronology,
Excepting the post-obits of theology.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“I assure you that in our next class we will concern ourselves solely with the history of Egypt, and not with the more lurid and non-curricular subject of living mummies.”
—Griffin Jay, and Reginald LeBorg. Prof. Norman (Frank Reicher)
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)