PHOTOS: In the eighteenth century, fire protection was usually by citizens rallying around the fire battling the flames with bucket brigades. Winchester required buckets on each floor of every building and fifty-gallon tubs of water placed about the town. If a fire broke out, a bell was rung and the towns folk were expected to turn out and fight the flames including women and children.
In early days, people were the original fire alarms. These individuals would hustle around the town, ringing bells to warn the community of imminent danger and alerting folks to come equipped with buckets to fight the fire. Very often, by the time the bucket brigade volunteers were organized to fight the fire, there was nothing but glowing embers remaining at the scene.
Throughout the 1800s, the purpose of firefighting was more about salvage.