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The Dublin Fire Brigade Museum
The DFB museum pictures of which are on the
right of the page is situated in our training centre on the Malahide
Road Dublin 3.
The museum
comprises 2 floors which house a treasure trove of historical items
from the brigades history.
To visit the museum you need to contact the training centre at (00353
1) 8338313 or fire @ dublincity.ie.
The museums curator is Firefighter and Paramedic
Las Fallon who knows more about the brigade than most of us put
together! He can be contacted for a trip to the museum and any general
historical questions at
dfbmuseum @ irishfireservices.ie
A Very Short History of the Brigade.
ßeing
over a thousand years old Dublin has seen it's fair share of fires
both great and small, ironic and tragic. In 1190 and again in 1283
the city annals record the destruction of a great part of Dublin
by fire. In 1305 the Common Council of Dublin issued an ordinance
which ended with “any person answerable for the burning of a street
shall be arrested,cast into the middle of the fire, or pay a fine
of 100 shillings”
In 1546 the council made
provision for supplying “forty buckets of leather for carrying
of water to fight fires and twelve graps of iron for pulling
houses that chance to be afire”. 1670 saw the Lord Lieutenant charging
the Lord Mayor to provide engines, etc., to quench fire in times
of great danger, 35 years later the city was still looking for such
engines and consequently sent to London for one and ordered that
another one be built here and a house to be built to house
them. These seem to be the first municipal fire engines but now
came the question of an organized fire fighting force.
On the 4th July 1711 one
John Oates a water engine maker petitioned the Dublin Assembly that
he be allowed to six pounds per annum to keep in good order the
cities water engine and men at his own expense to fight any outbreak
of fire. The second half of the 18th century many improvements in
the engines notably the addition of an air vessel enabling a jet
of water to be operated continuously instead of in spurts.
In the early 19th century
besides the fire engine owned by the corporation, the police and
most of the parishes had their own engines. At this time with the
expansion and increase of wealth in the city it was the insurance
brigades which had become the main fire fighting force. Dressed
in brightly coloured costumes with the badges of their company
on their uniforms and supplied with engines by the companies these
men attended fires only in building which displayed the mark of
their own insurance company. Later on cooperation did develop between
the companies. The crew of the engine which arrived first received
the highest amount of pay.
Up until this time it was
property which was the first responsibility of the brigade but after
several terrible fires in Patrick Street near Christchurch cathedral
in which lives were lost the Royal Society for the Protection of
Life from Fire was set up with five fire escapes being bought and
kept at churches with men set to keep watch with them.
The First Dublin Fire
Brigade
The Dublin Corporation Fire Brigade Act was
enacted in 1862 and this allowed for the establishment of an organized
fire fighting force.It contained 13 clauses and incorporated the
Waterworks Act of 1861.
The position of superintendent or Chief Fire
Officer as it became known, was won by Mr. J.R. Ingram after
a written and oral examination. Mr. Ingram who was a Dublin man
had  been
a volunteer fireman in New York for eight years and also in London
for some time.
The brigade consisted of 24 men with a fire
station in Whitehorse yard off Winetavern street.
Over the years the brigade expanded, improved
and fought several major fires such as the great Whiskey Blaze in
1875.
Pumps at this time were purely manual such
as the 1883 Merryweather which relied solely on the efforts of teams
of fire fighters who worked handles on either side to provide a
continuous spray. Steam power came in for a while with horses being
used to pull the heavy machines. It was to be 1925 before the last
of the horses left their service in the DFB.
Notable
events since 1882
1884 Fireman John Kite killed on duty
when a house collapsed.
1898 Establishment of Dublin Fire Brigade
Ambulance service. 537 calls in the first year.
1899 First telescopic aerial ladder.
1903 Dorset street fire station opens.
1907 New headquarters in Tara street.
Costing £21,840 and built on 1/2 acre.
1909 First motorized appliance arrives.
Capable of 30mph with inbuilt pump and lockers.
1916 Easter rising with fires and shelling
all over the city. Snipers cause firemen havoc.
1921 Custom house destroyed by republican
forces.
1936 Three firemen killed in a fire
and explosion on Pearse street.
1941 German bombs land on parts of Dublin
killing 38 and destroying over 70 houses.
1956 All ambulances and engines have
radios fitted (started in 1951).
1968 New control room opened in Tara
street.
1974 3 terrorist bombs explode in Dublin
killing 28 and injuring over 100.
1981 48 young people die in the Stardust
disco fire.
1982 Purchase of the O Brien Institute
for a training centre.
1994 Firefighter Tim. Horgan killed
in ambulance crash while responding to a call.
1995 Over 4000 fire calls in 8 weeks
as gorse and forest fires hit Dublin.
1996 Ship fire fighting training introduced.
1998 New headquarters built in Townsend
street. Tara street closes after 91 years. New Station Opens
2001 Dublin control room starts taking fire
calls for Longford County. This brings it to a total of 4 counties
and Dublin. Ambulance service
achieves I.S.O. accreditation.
2002 Entire fleet of ambulances now replaced
by new Lunar body.
2003 Swiftwater rescue technician training introduced
2004 10 of the 11 ambulance are now replaced by the new Ford Voyager
Dennis Sabres have replaced about two thirds
of the fleet with more on the way. Rope Rescue Course Introduced
2005 Training started In Switzerland for tunnel firefighting
2007 Swords Fire Station opens fulltime with one fire appliance
and ambulance. Malahide retained station closes.
2008 11 of the 12 ambulance are now the new Ford CEN box body.
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Organization Structure
