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First Fire Insurance Company
January 4, 2012
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Profile America -- Wednesday, January 4th. Today, when a home is damaged or destroyed by fire, there usually is no question that it was insured against such a catastrophe. The first fire insurance company in America was the Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses against Fire, organized in 1735 in Charleston, South Carolina. The company was apparently swamped with claims after a disastrous fire in 1740. The first full-time, professional fire fighting company was formed in 1853 in Cincinnati. It was also the first to use steam-powered fire engines. In the U.S., there are more than 1.3 million fires each year, over a quarter of them in residential buildings. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4529
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 356
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html