About the name “Firemark”
The Great Fire of London of 1666 was the catalyst for the British insurance industry’s creation. The fire destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral, and many commercial premises. Needless to say, fire insurance became a cause célèbre. Nicholas Barbon, an economist, established the first of many fire insurance companies, the Fire Office, in 1680. However, each company operated its own fire brigade, which would attend only those fires in buildings displaying their “fire mark” — a plaque that indicated which company insured the property. The insurers soon realised the folly of this practice and began to work co-operatively, but it was another 200 years before the publicly-owned London Fire Brigade came into being.
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