Union Fire Company

Each member agreed to furnish, at his own expense, six leather buckets and two stout linen bags, each marked with his name and the name of the company, which he was to bring to every fire.

The buckets were for carrying water to extinguish the flames, and the bags were to receive and hold property which was in danger, to save it from risk of theft.

According to Scharf and Westcott, the company was limited to 30 members who met eight times a year and agreed to pay a small fee, used for purchasing fire-fighting equipment, if they were late to or missed a meeting.

[3] With respect to the equipment, Scharf and Westcott note the following:[3] At this time engines and buckets were the only available apparatus, as pumps were few, and the supply of water scant.

[3] In addition, in that year, according to Franklin autobiography editor John Bigelow, the Company possessed 250 buckets, 13 ladders, two hooks and "no bags.

Benjamin Franklin, the Fireman , ca 1850. Charles Washington Wright. Franklin is depicted in the fire helmet worn by the Union Fire Company. [ 5 ] The painting contains a significant anachronism. The fire helmet depicted was not invented until more than thirty years after Franklin's death. [ 6 ]