Baltimore Equitable Society - Fire Mark

Fire Mark

The Sign of the Clasped Hands, so frequently seen on the exterior of houses in the region, means that the home is (or was) insured by the Baltimore Equitable Society (Baltimore Equitable Insurance). The Society chose the clasped hands, depicting the hand of the company and the hand of the policy holder shaking, symbolizing the agreement by both parties to the contract of insurance. Called a “fire mark,” this sign of coverage was once just as important as the paper policy document.

In Europe insurance companies owned the fire companies that fought the fires. At one time fire companies would only extinguish the fire if the home had the proper fire mark.

This was never the case in the United States. Here, Benjamin Franklin established public and volunteer fire departments that responded to fire danger regardless of insurance arrangements. Still, the fire mark was a very important feature of most insurance companies of that day. The society still gives the fire mark to any person insured with Baltimore Equitable who wishes to receive it. It is numbered and painted in the traditional black with gold leaf.