The Establishment of the Fire Department

After the Broad Street Riots, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen reorganized the city's firefighting force. By creating a full time paid force, the city hoped to end problems caused by companies comprised of volunteers. On July 29, 1837, Mayor Samuel A. Eliot combined the city's fire fighting orders and by-laws into one ordinance entitled "An act for preventing and extinguishing fire and establishing a fire department." This ordinance signalled the advent of Boston's modern fire department.