By the late 1600s many of the first settlements in the new world had become small cities and the number of people continued to grow. The need for fire protection also grew since the buildings were usually made of wood and built close together. Many of the cities had fires that burned down almost all of the city.
The fire engine or pump tub at the right was built in London in 1678 and imported into Boston in the late 1600’s.
This type of pumper had to be carried to the scene of the fire and placed in front of the building. The firefighters had to set up a bucket brigade and keep the tub filled while one or two men pumped the water out the nozzle with the single lever handle.
Later, larger more powerful pumpers were designed and placed placed on carts to be pulled to the fire by the fire fighters.
