Historedia
AmericasEvent

Franklin's Volunteer Fire Company

When
1736
Where
Philadelphia
Episodes
1

In 1736, Benjamin Franklin created the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. Sources describe it as one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America and identify it as Philadelphia's first fire department.

Episodes

  1. 1736 · PhiladelphiaFounding of the Union Fire Company

    Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia in 1736, creating a volunteer firefighting organization.

Background and detail

Fire Company Founding. The Union Fire Company was created in 1736. One source characterizes it as one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America, while another identifies it as Philadelphia's first fire department.

People involved

Sources

  1. Benjamin Franklin Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
  2. Philadelphia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.