Made from leather with a rope handle, the buckets only held a small amount of water and some of that water was spilt as the buckets were passed from hand to hand along a line of people towards the fire. This leather fire bucket was found close to Pudding Lane and was probably dropped in the chaos of the fire. Originally started at a bakery on Pudding Lane, the fire quickly tore through two square miles of the city and destroyed thousands of buildings including the Royal Exchange, the Guildhall and the medieval St Paul’s Cathedral.īack in those days, fires were fought by parish groups using fire buckets, axes and simple water squirts stored in the local church. London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and the infamous fire in 1666.
Needless to say, this lead to a number of devastating fires engulfing many of the world’s major cities. Before about the 17 th century there was very little in the way of an organised fire service anywhere in the world.
Putting out a fire didn’t used to be as simple as dialing 999. Early beginnings: The humble leather fire bucket The history of fire buckets is intertwined with the history of firefighting, and mankind’s historical relationship with – leather, metal and plastic.
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