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History of the San Francisco Fire Department

Notice: Important Meeting to Form a Fire Department — 1849
The First Six Great Fires — 1849-1851
Eyewitness to the Sixth Great Fire — 1851
First Fire Companies Organized — 1850-1854
San Francisco’s Pioneer Steam Fire-Engine — 1856
End of the Volunteer Department — 1866
The Department’s Early History, by Chief Frederick F. Postel
How the Fire Department Telegraph is Worked — 1877
Daniel Hayes and the Hayes Ladder Truck — 1900
History of the Department’s Leather Helmets
Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 — Includes Official Company Officers’ Reports
Death of Chief Dennis T. Sullivan — 1906
New Water Supply for Earthquakes — 1908
New Central Fire Alarm Station for San Francisco — 1912
Evolution of the Department 1866-1918
End of the Steam Era — 1922
The Department’s Response to the 1923 Berkeley Conflagration
A New Home for Fire Chiefs — 1923
House of Alarm Bells - Central Fire Alarm Station — 1937
The 1989 Earthquake — Complete Department Report
The 1991 Oakland Firestorm — Complete Department Report

See: San Franciso Fire Index for more.