History of Firefighting

In the mid 17th century the only tools for fighting fire were buckets, hooks and handheld pumps. (Gunpowder could be used to blow up buildings and create fire breaks). However, in 1672 Jan Van der Heiden invented a flexible leather hose with brass fittings. Van der Heiden also pioneered hand-pumped fire engines to use with the hose. localhistories.org/a-history-of-firefighting