|
The badge of a fireman is the Maltese
Cross. This Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection and a badge
of honor. Its story is hundreds of years old. When a courageous
band of crusaders known as the Knights of St. John, fought the
Saracens for possession of the holy land, they encountered a new
weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a simple, but a
horrible device of war, it wrought excruciating pain and
agonizing death upon the brave fighters for the cross. The
Saracen's weapon was fire.
As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, they were
struck by glass bombs containing naphtha (colorless flammable
liquid mixture). When they became saturated with the highly
flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch into their
midst. Hundreds of the knights were burned alive; others risked
their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful,
fiery deaths.
Thus, these men became our first firemen and the first of a long
list of courageous firefighters. Their heroic efforts were
recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each here a badge of
honor - a cross similar to the one firemen wear today. Since the
Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a
little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross
came to be known as the Maltese Cross.
The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that
the fireman who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life
for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their
fellow man so many years ago.
The Maltese Cross is a fireman's
badge of honor, signifying that he works in courage - a ladder
rung away from death.
|
