The City of Birmingham Fire Brigade was founded in 1875. In 1895 a new chief officer was appointed, Alfred Robert Tozer (senior). He died in 1906 when he was followed into position by his son Alfred Robert Tozer (junior) who continued in the position until 1940. Alfred Robert Tozer (senior) was formerly employed by

Merryweather & Sons Merryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines. The founder was Moses Merryweather (1791–1872) of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses (1839–1877). Fire appli ...

of Long Acre and Greenwich, London, where he had designed fire pumps. The Birmingham Fire Brigade was merged with other fire brigades to form the National Fire Service in 1941, and then reformed in 1948 as the Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service. In 1967, the brigade was responsible for the deliberate destruction by fire of Witton Isolation Hospital, which had been used to treat people with

Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. The Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service remained in existence until 1974 when it was amalgamated with other fire brigades in the West Midlands area to form the

West Midlands Fire Service West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Midlands, England. The service is the second largest in England, after London Fire Brigade. The service has 38 fire stations, with a blended ...

with the headquarters at Lancaster Circus, in Birmingham.

References

{{Reflist Organisations based in Birmingham, West Midlands Defunct fire and rescue services of England