The museum’s collection contains a model of a firefighter’s helmet of the end of the 19th century.
The first volunteer fire brigades appeared in the Middle Ages. Drawings depicting European firefighters have survived to this day. German volunteer firefighters wore small leather helmets as protective headgear, while Austrian — wide-brimmed hats made of felt.
In 1820, French-style fire helmets appeared in Europe. They not only protected the heads of firefighters, but also gave their uniforms a solemn look: in front, the city coat of arms was placed on the helmets, framed with images of fire instruments, the sides of the crest were often decorated with embossing, and the chin strap was covered with brass scales. Some helmets even had embossed figures of griffins on them.
In the Imperial Russia, helmets of the French type appeared after 1812. Before that, firefighters mostly used the same headgear as police officers. In different cities helmets varied: they could be high or low, metal or leather. In some governorates, helmets were decorated only with a coat of arms, while others — with many decorative elements. Helmets of the same pattern for all fire brigades were not in use until the 1920s.
In the past, fires often broke out because of careless fire handling in dwellings and industrial workshops of the Tomsk Governorate (the former name of the Kemerovo Region). Therefore, creation of professional teams and volunteer fire-fighting societies in rural areas and towns was needed at the time.
The first fire department of Mariinsk was organized in 1872. It consisted of five people. In 1901, the first fire society of Kuzbass appeared in the city. It was located on the first floor of the town government on the corner of Bolshaya Moskovskaya and Tsyganskaya streets (now Lenina and Communisticheskaya streets). The roof of the building was crowned with a spire — there were fire inspector cabins and an observation deck. The firefighters worked under extremely harsh conditions: they were on duty continuously and experienced tremendous physical exertion.
During the first five-year plans the territory of the modern Kemerovo region became a large-scale construction site: dozens of factories, cultural and household buildings, many residential buildings were erected here. For this reason, the danger of fires increased sharply, but the fire department of the region was still small and virtually unarmed. For example, in 1928, there were only 132 men, whose tools were a horse-drawn water barrel, a hand pump, pike poles and an axe.
In 1930, firefighters received the first domestically manufactured open cars. With their help, firefighting became much more effective.
The first volunteer fire brigades appeared in the Middle Ages. Drawings depicting European firefighters have survived to this day. German volunteer firefighters wore small leather helmets as protective headgear, while Austrian — wide-brimmed hats made of felt.
In 1820, French-style fire helmets appeared in Europe. They not only protected the heads of firefighters, but also gave their uniforms a solemn look: in front, the city coat of arms was placed on the helmets, framed with images of fire instruments, the sides of the crest were often decorated with embossing, and the chin strap was covered with brass scales. Some helmets even had embossed figures of griffins on them.
In the Imperial Russia, helmets of the French type appeared after 1812. Before that, firefighters mostly used the same headgear as police officers. In different cities helmets varied: they could be high or low, metal or leather. In some governorates, helmets were decorated only with a coat of arms, while others — with many decorative elements. Helmets of the same pattern for all fire brigades were not in use until the 1920s.
In the past, fires often broke out because of careless fire handling in dwellings and industrial workshops of the Tomsk Governorate (the former name of the Kemerovo Region). Therefore, creation of professional teams and volunteer fire-fighting societies in rural areas and towns was needed at the time.
The first fire department of Mariinsk was organized in 1872. It consisted of five people. In 1901, the first fire society of Kuzbass appeared in the city. It was located on the first floor of the town government on the corner of Bolshaya Moskovskaya and Tsyganskaya streets (now Lenina and Communisticheskaya streets). The roof of the building was crowned with a spire — there were fire inspector cabins and an observation deck. The firefighters worked under extremely harsh conditions: they were on duty continuously and experienced tremendous physical exertion.
In 1917, three fire departments were already operating in the region: Mariinsk fire department, Kuznetsk fire department and an industrial team to protect a chemical plant in the village of Shcheglovo. These departments went out to extinguish fires in horse-drawn carts.
During the first five-year plans the territory of the modern Kemerovo region became a large-scale construction site: dozens of factories, cultural and household buildings, many residential buildings were erected here. For this reason, the danger of fires increased sharply, but the fire department of the region was still small and virtually unarmed. For example, in 1928, there were only 132 men, whose tools were a horse-drawn water barrel, a hand pump, pike poles and an axe.
In 1930, firefighters received the first domestically manufactured open cars. With their help, firefighting became much more effective.
