James Braidwood (fire fighter)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Braidwood (1800 - 1861) was the first director of the London Fire Engine Establishment (the brigade which was eventually to become the London Fire Brigade). [1] and is credited with the development of the modern municipal fire service.[2]
He was born and educated in Edinburgh where he learned about the construction of buildings, a skill he later put to use in fire fighting. He was distinguished for his heroism on the occasion of great fires both in Edinburgh (1824) and London (1830).
On 22 June 1861 his life was claimed in the Tooley Street fire [3] at Cotton's Wharf near London Bridge Station when a falling wall crushed him to death. It took two days to recover his body and his heroism led to a massive funeral on 29 June, a public spectacle equal almost to the Tooley Street fire itself [4], which continued to burn for a fortnight causing £2million of damage.
James Braidwood is buried at Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, London, within sight of the Stoke Newington Fire Station.
[edit] References
- ^ London Fire Brigade website
- ^ The foundations of the modern fire service
- ^ London Fire Brigade website - Key dates
- ^ Edinburgh University profile of James Braidwood
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
