To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the American Fire Service, Firehouse® devotes a special section this month to the long, dramatic, distinguished and sometimes tragic history of firefighting. So many events and i ncidents have occurred in the past 350 years that we can only scratch the surface of this rich history. Over the last 22 years, this magazine has always realized how much historical fires and some of the nation's most disastrous incidents, as well as memo rabilia, photos and collectibles, have meant to our subscribers.

Many of America's largest, most significant fires have been described in our pages. We asked two of our longtime contributing editors, Frank Brannigan and Harry Carter, to review many of the most important fires and their consequences to civilian life and firefighter safety. Noted fire apparatus historian (and FDNY battalion chief) Jack Calderone reviews important developments, from hand-drawn and horse-drawn engines to motorized rigs.

A large photo of a horse-drawn steamer being pulled by three horses racing to a fire, with all 12 hooves off the ground at the same time, adorns a wall in my fire department office. I'm sure many readers would like to travel back to that period or some ot her and fight a fire. Paul Hashagen, who provides our Rekindles column each month, has written several sections of our special look at the history of the American fire service. Bucket brigades and iron men, smoke helmets and riveted hose are some of the e xciting items we examine in this special look at yesteryear. The veterans of that bygone era would be hard-pressed to believe that today we use radios, PASS devices, SCBA, thermal imaging cameras, hydraulic extrication tools, hydraulic door-opening device s, positive-pressure ventilation, blitz attacks, large-diameter hose, vehicle exhaust systems, global positioning systems and so much more. It's hard to believe we got by without most of it only a few years ago. How times change.

Every time an alarm is received in your response area, a little piece of history is made. Although most calls are routine, many of us have responded to what is referred to as a once-in-a-career type call – a fully involved New England-type mill, a la rge row of stores or a strip mall, large warehouse, gas or chemical explosion or an aircraft incident. Today, the last American heroes, U.S. firefighters, respond to about 12 million calls for assistance a year.

The first recorded fire in my town occurred in 1778, when American patriots set fire to a British spy's barn. In 1891, the year my fire department was formed, members responded to four calls. Today, 107 years later, just like many other firefighters we so metimes respond to four calls in an hour. Will you be making history on your next run?