Fire Marks continued:

In the early decades of the American colonies, as cities began to take shape, the need for fire brigades, or companies, became an increasing necessity. Here, unlike England, fire companies were founded by the citizens before the first fire insurance company was even organized. The first fire companies of America were purely volunteer and funded by the citizens, local businesses, and public monies. It was an honor for a citizen to be a member of the local fire department, serving the members of their community, much as it is today. 

As fire insurance companies began to organize and distribute fire marks to their policy holders in American cities, rumors began to develop concerning the treatment given to these dwellings as opposed to those without fire marks. Although never proven in fire company records, it is believed that certain insurance companies would give monetary rewards to those companies to place “first water” on a burning house that displayed their fire mark. This might help explain why it was considered an honor to be the first company on the scene of a working structure fire. 

Despite the rumored existence of monetary rewards for the first in company, it is irresponsible to assume that any early fire company in America would allow a certain structure to burn for not displaying an insurance company fire mark. Remember, these were community funded and founded organizations comprised of citizen volunteers. 

So you might ask yourself; “Why did American fire insurance companies issue fire marks?” There are several possible explanations. Some believed that as a policy holder, if your house was totally destroyed and your insurance contact with it, the cast iron fire mark would still remain. Another school of thought proclaims that fire marks thwarted the plans of a revengeful arsonist. A fire mark would indicate that the homeowner would be compensated for any loss incurred by a fire.

There are many interesting explanations for the purpose of historical American fire marks. Fortunately, in this day and age, they are merely decorative. If an emergency exists, rest assured your local fire company will respond and perform their duties in a professional manner without an agenda. 

As for the Fort Washington Fire Company fire mark, they were designed by member Nick Jennings, with the first one cast in January, 1969. The first casting is displayed on a plaque in the recreation room of the Summit Avenue station. Fort Washington Fire Company fire marks are available to anyone interested, at  a cost of $35. For more information, Click here to e-mail your request to Robert Ochotny. Proceeds from the sale of fire marks go to the Fort Washington Fire Company Memorial Fund. You may visit the Memorial to our past volunteer firefighters at the Burn Brae Station at Susquehanna and Twining Roads.  

Andrew Rathfon is a volunteer firefighter and a police officer for Upper Merion Township. Rathfon attended Wittenberg University where he majored in history and minored in political science and education. Information for this article comes from an interview with our own George Haggar who has been active with the Fort Washington Fire Company since 1938 and  an article by Shea, Robert M. “American Fire Marks: A Good Story”.