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→Medieval History and Early Modern History
Technical and social changes for much of the Medieval period were limited in relation to firefighting. This meant that the concept of using watchmen who would respond and call other watchmen or volunteers to then respond to the fire largely persisted in the towns and cities of Europe and other regions. Pumps and wagons were sometimes used, but technically these were not much different from ancient periods. Most of these watches were locally administered by neighborhoods or districts in cities. However, in the 16th century, with the increasingly population of cities such as Paris, we begin to see more centralized watchmen who were responsible to the king and central authorities directly.
The Great London Fire of 1666 began to change how fire was perceived. Insurance companies soon began to cover and insure buildings, which gave them interest in protecting those buildings. These insurance companies in London began to organize their own fire brigades, although these firefighters were mostly interested in protecting buildings they insured. The led to public markers that indicated which buildings were insured by given companies. However, this system was chaotic and buildings would only be saved by specific insurance companies, leaving others to burn. The insurance companies also realized that it was in their interest to put out fires in buildings they did not insure, as that could then help to save buildings they did insure. With London's population growing rapidly in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the situation soon changed again. The London Fire Engine was established in 1833, reflecting the need to centralize firefighting across an increasingly expanding city. However, this was nothing more than a fire department for insurance company that was only minimally financed by the insurers, where 13 stations serviced the entire city of London. It took 1865 the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act to finally create a formal fire department in the city that was funded with public money, creating the first official fire department for the city.
==Modern Developments==
