The history of organized firefighting in the United States dates back to the 1700s with the formation of Mutual Fire Societies, organizations of neighbors volunteering with each other to combat fires. According to Dennis Smith’s book, The History of Firefighting in America:

“The Mutual Fire Societies became social as well as protective associations, setting a pattern for organized volunteer firefighting groups, which would one day be the backbone of firefighting in America and would dominate it for a century and a half.”