U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 1: Professional Firefighters

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS

Profile America — Saturday, April 1st. For much of history, firefighting was an improvised voluntary activity. The ancient Romans had a permanent corps of firefighters who were neither volunteers nor professional — they were slaves. But for centuries thereafter, volunteer units were the rule. The first professional fire department in the U.S. was established on this date in 1853 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Members of the company received $60 per year, with lieutenants earning $100, and captains $150. The real money was made by the pump wagon drivers — $365. Today, while trained volunteer companies perform much firefighting, there are some 65,000 professional firefighters in the U.S. Their mean annual pay is slightly over $41,000 per year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at .

Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 4103
Firefighting history/accessed 2/9/2017:
www.fireserviceinfo.com/history.html#profireddept
Firefighters/American Community Survey: https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/B24121
Earnings/American Community Survey: https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/S2412

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau