Savannah Fire Department History

"The history of the world is but the biography of great men."
˜ Thomas Carlyle ˜

We can't look at the Savannah Fire Department history without considering the history of the City of Savannah. Neither can we look at the the history of Savannah without considering the contributions made by the men and women of her fire department.

The City of Savannah, founded in 1733, is a city of beautiful historic buildings. Many of the early buildings are still a source of joy and pleasure to Savannah citizens and visitors alike. Much of the thanks go to private organizations like the Savannah Historical Society and public organizations such as the Savannah Fire and Emergency Services for the preservation of our buildings and physical history.

The history of Savannah Fire is not only intertwined with the history of Savannah, but that of our country. It reflects the public issues, technology, philosophy and politics of the day in each time period. Savannah Fire Department not only makes interesting reading, but helps us to better understand and gain perspective on the relevance of people, events and issues of today.

According to a Departmental chronology from a 1963 yearbook by the Savannah Council No. 1 Order of American Firemen, the first organized fire protection was established in 1789 when the Friendly Fire Club organized with a grand total of 35 "of the most respectable gentlemen of the town". It's good to know that while the number of firefighters has increased significantly over the years, the fire department is still comprised of the most respectable men and women of the town. Certain traditions such as honesty, integrity, and devotion to duty have been passed from generation to generation since the inception of the Department.

In the early years of fire protection in Savannah many firefighters were African-American; either slaves or free men of color.

The photo to the left is from another website, History of Black Firefighters. The website, written and maintained by Chuck Milligan and Rev. Ron Ballew, includes the history of Black firefighters from a number of US fire departments. It's well worth a visit to gain insight into the contibutions made by Black firefighters throughout different time periods.

As evidenced by information gatherd in yearbooks from 1941, 1963 and 1966, fire proctection in colonial Savannah was provided by a number of volunteer fire companies until February 1, 1890 when the "call force of the department was abolished and the service was reorganized on a full paid basis." So, February 1, 1890 is seen as the birth date of Savannah Fire Department.

Today, Savannah is experiencing a period of rapid (and some will say overdue) growth in land area and associated population. So too, the Fire Department is expanding in size to keep pace with that growth. In addition to numbers of firefighters, we have been adding services to address the complexities of our modern world.

For a straight forward chronology of the founding and advances in the Department, you can pay a visit to the official website of Savannah Fire Department. The official website offers a pretty good treatment of the Department's current programs and services.

It is not our intent here at Savannahfirefighter.com to replace, diminish or usurp the information contribution of the official Savannah Fire and Emergency services website. Just that while the programs and services are important, the true driving force of any organization is its people. As a privately operated website I believe Savannahfirefighter.com provides valuable, interesting and relative stories about the Savannah Fire Department through the eyes of firefighters. You know, the people who get things done.

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