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Denver Fire Department Celebrates 150 Years Of Rich History

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver's very first firefighters were just a handful of men who worked on a volunteer basis, formed on March 25, 1866 after tragedy struck the Colorado territory.

"That followed a devastating fire in 1863 that burned down what we now know as Lodo," said Win Ferril at the Denver Firefighters Museum on Saturday.

He said the goal back then was to simply keep fires from spreading, using buckets and any water they could find.

"At that time we didn't have a water main system," Ferril said.

Over the last 150 years Denver's firefighting team has grown to 1000 uniformed firefighters. They were celebrated Saturday at the museum.

dfd anniversary
(credit: CBS)

"Denver goes into fires, Chicago goes into fires, NYC goes into fires. In Europe they don't do that, they fight it from outside the building," he explained.

Ferril says it's important for kids to learn the legacy of firefighting, and inspire them to perhaps one day join the ranks.

"They are real heroes. It's a tough job, it was tough then and its even tougher now," he said.

The Denver Firefighters Museum is a nonprofit organization.

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