History of Firefighting By marspage Jan 13, 1500 Reinvention of water pump Jan 7, 1608 First recorded structure fire Jan 13, 1630 Fire Prevention law Chimney can't be made of wood and roofs can't be made of thatch Jan 13, 1648 Fines given for not following prevention laws Jan 13, 1666 London Fire Jan 13, 1672 First firehose Jan 13, 1679 First import of fire engine Jan 13, 1752 incentives created for volunteer firefighters Jan 13, 1829 Steam fire truck Jan 13, 1832 First horse-drawn fire truck