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George Washington was a volunteer firefighter in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1774, as a member of the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Company, he bought a new fire engine and gave it to the town, which was its very first. However the United States did not have professional firefighters in the sense of government-run fire departments until around the time of the American Civil War. Prior to this time, amateur fire brigades would compete with one another to be the first to respond to a fire because insurance companies paid brigades to save buildings.[citation needed] Underwriters also employed their own Salvage Corps in some cities. The first known female firefighter Molly Williams took her place with the men on the dragropes during the blizzard of 1818 and pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow.

Fire houses were a sort of social gathering place rather than a place where professionals would meet, and the money paid to the brigade went into the house's fund rather than to individual members. It was not all that uncommon to see someone "squatting" on a fire hydrant by placing a barrel over it so other fire brigades could not use it. However, paid professional firefighting services were eventually established.

Contact Us:

Citizens that wish to take pride and give back service to their community may attend any regular scheduled Training meeting to find out more on becoming a member of the Seman Fire Department. These meetings are held weekly on Monday nights at 7pm at Fire Station #1 located at 15860 Central Plank Rd, Eclectic AL 36024

For those interested in joining the Seman Fire Department or if you would like to communicate with us, we have provided our addresses, phone numbers and e-mail. Help us to be an asset to our community.


Address:
15860 Central Plank Rd
Eclectic, AL


Phone:
 334-541-4600

 For Emergency Calls:
Dial 911

Email:
Webmaster@semanvfd.org



 

 

 

 


If you're a patch trader, we're sorry but we will not be able to
provide you with a patch. Our patch supply is very limited and in order to be
fair to everyone, we will not respond to requests for patches.  Thanks!

©Seman Volunteer Fire Department, July 4 2009