He founded Santiago in 1541 and took possession of a plot of land located immediately north of the Plaza de Armas.

[1] After the Chilean independence, the former building was used as a police station until 1863, when the property was transferred to the Firefighters Corps of Santiago, which was established that same year as an initiative of José Luis Claro and triggered by the Church of the Company Fire.

Between 1865 and 1866 it was added a tower to the building, built by Fermín Vivaceta, to housed an alarm bell —colloquially called paila— imported from United States by Henry Meiggs.

[1] The building was renovated in 1986, and in 1992 the quarters facing Santo Domingo Street were remodeled to house the vehicles of the Commandancy.

[2][3] A fire museum was housed in the building for commemorating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Firefighters Corps of Santiago, which will hopefully be connected to the Museo Histórico Nacional.