The Worshipful Company of Firefighters is one of the 110 livery companies of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The Company's aim is to promote the development and advancement of the science, art and the practice of

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

, fire prevention and life safety. It operates essentially as a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a c ...

, and also encourages professionalism and the exchange of information between members and others who work in allied fields. One of the new City livery companies, its origins date from 1988 with the founding of the Guild of Firefighters. The Company of Firefighters was recognised by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

from 13 June 1995 as a company without livery; it was granted livery by the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...

on 23 October 2001, thereby becoming the Worshipful Company of Firefighters. It received its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

on the 11th December 2013. The Firefighters' Company ranks 103rd in the livery companies'

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

and is based at The Wax Chandlers' Hall on Gresham Street a building it co-habits with the

Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers The Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers is one of the oldest livery companies of the City of London, with one of the smallest memberships (about 120). The Wax Chandlers' Company, ranked 20th in the City Livery Company order of precedence, ...

. The

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

to the Firefighters' Company is Steven Tamcken and the Beadle, since foundation as a Guild in 1988, is John E P Norris SBStJ (pictured right). The Firefighters'

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

ed: ''Quarterly: 1 and 3, Argent on three Bars wavy Azure a Firehelmet Or; 2 and 4, Argent over all a Cross Gules and in pale a Sword downwards Argent''; and, its

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

is ''Flammas Oppugnantes Fidimus Deo.'' The Company's Church is

St Mary-Le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest and most important thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuil ...

References

External links

Firefighters' Company website

Firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

1995 establishments in England {{UK-org-stub