James Braidwood

James Braidwood (1800–1861) was a Scottish firefighter who was the first Master of Engines in the world's first municipal fire service in Edinburgh in 1824. He was also the first director of the London Fire Engine Establishment and is credited with the development of the modern municipal fire service.

Early life

He was born in Edinburgh, the tenth child of Janet Mitchell and Francis James Braidwood, a cabinetmaker. The family lived in College Street next to the University of Edinburgh. By 1810 the family owned an upholstery firm, Braidwood and Son, in Adam Square and were living in Roxburgh Square. James was educated at the High School in Edinburgh, east of his home.

Career

He was the first director of the London Fire Engine Establishment (the brigade which was eventually to become the London Fire Brigade). He is credited with the development of the modern municipal fire service.

Appointed Master of Fire Engines at the age of 24, two months prior to the Great Fire of Edinburgh, Braidwood established principles of fire-fighting that are still applied today. His training as a surveyor gave him exceptional knowledge of the behaviour of building materials and housing conditions in the Old Town of Edinburgh. He recruited to the service expert tradesmen – slaters, carpenters, masons and plumbers – who could apply their various fields of expertise to fire fighting. He also recruited experienced mariners for an occupation that required heavy manual work in hauling engines and trundling wheeled escape ladders up and down Edinburgh's steep streets, as well as nimble footwork when negotiating rooftops and moving through partially destroyed buildings. His many original ideas of practical organisation and methodology, published in 1830, were adopted throughout Britain. He was, however, resistant to the introduction of steam-driven engines. In 1833 he left Edinburgh to lead the London Fire Engine Establishment. The London Fire Engine Establishment had to fight a blaze at the Palace of Westminster, on 16 October 1834, that destroyed almost all of the Palace.