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Fire Insurance Companies
In the 1700’s and early 1800’s, the responsibility
for fighting fires was undertaken by various fire insurance companies. A call of
"Fire" would be raised and the various fire companies would respond.
When insurance companies issued a fire insurance
policy, they also issued a wall plaque with the Company’s crest on it to be
mounted outside the property. These plaque were called Fire Marks. As a result
of this privatisation of fire fighting, two phenomenon were common; firstly it
was quite usual for the first company to arrive to step back and let the
property burn if the occupiers were insured by a rival company, also, it wasn’t
unusual for two companies to end up in a fight to sign up uninsured properties.
This took place before fighting the fire of course!
The Insurance Company Brigades did a good job over a great number of years but in the 19th Century, towns and cities began to form their own Brigades. Twelve hundred years after the Vigiles left, Britain had fire brigades again.
