Why are Dalmatians considered firehouse dogs?
In the early days of the fire service, fire trucks were horse drawn. In those days nearly every firehouse had a resident Dalmatian. The job of the Dalmatian was to direct the horses, keep the horses company and guard the firehouse. Today we do not keep horses in the fire station, but many firehouses still have a Dalmatian. The resident Dalmatian is still responsible for guarding the firehouse and the fire trucks. Week of 10/14/02 Q: When was the first fire department organized in the United States? A: A large fire in Boston in 1679 led to the organization of the first paid fire department in America. The city imported a fire engine from England and employed a chief and twelve firefighters. The first volunteer Fire Company was formed in Philadelphia, PA in 1736. Benjamin Franklin served as America’s First volunteer Fire Chief. Week of 10/7/02 Q: How long have sprinkler systems been in use? A: Fire sprinkler systems have been putting out fires since 1860. Although there have been some de
Dalmatians have shared the barns and the hunt courses with horses for centuries, so when fire-apparatus was horse-drawn, nearly every firehouse had its resident Dalmatian to help direct the horses, keep the horses company, and guard the firehouse. The horses are gone from fire stations today, but the Dalmatians arent! Firehouse dogs nearly always were called Sparky, so Sparky was the obvious name for NFPAs fire prevention symbol.
Dalmatians have shared the barns and the hunt courses with horses for centuries, so when fire-apparatus was horse-drawn, nearly every firehouse had its resident dalmatian to help direct the horses, keep the horses company, and guard the firehouse. The horses are gone from fire stations today, but the Dalmatians aren’t! Firehouse dogs nearly always were called “Sparky” so Sparky was the obvious name for NFPA’s fire prevention symbol.
Dalmatians have shared the barns and the hunt courses with horses for centuries, so when fire-apparatus was horse-drawn, nearly every firehouse had its resident Dalmatian to help direct the horses, keep the horses company, and guard the firehouse. The horses are gone from fire stations today, but the Dalmatians aren’t! Firehouse dogs nearly always were called “Sparky,” so Sparky was the obvious name for NFPA’s fire prevention symbol.
