1600s
In 1606, the Dutch founded the colony of New Netherland on land that is part of present day New York. Firefighting in the colony was very simple. When a fire was sighted, a call went out to "throw out your buckets" and a bucket brigade was formed by all the residents of the colony: men, women and children. Then in 1647, Peter Stuyvesant became the Director General (Governor) of the colony and began to take measures to make sure the colony was safe from fire. In 1648, he appointed four Fire Wardens to inspect the chimneys of the community and fine citizens with dirty chimneys, a common cause of fire in the colony. Residents were fined if a fire occurred in their home and these funds were used to buy and maintain ladders, hooks and fire buckets. Eventually, all residents were required to fill a bucket of water at sunset and leave it on their doorstep, in case of fire during the night.
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