Changes

In the Roman period, the city of Rome grew rapidly and began to have problems with major fires. Initially, fires may have been only extinguished in places where homeowners or property owners could pay the price. Negotiation of the price may have occurred while the fire was burning, although evidence for this is not entirely certain. The first dedicated city-based fire department was developed, perhaps ironically, by emperor Nero, who was blamed for the great fire of Rome. The firefighting capabilities consisted of men assigned as <i>Vigiles</i>, who also served as Rome's police force, that had access to buckets, pumps, and even equipment to tear down buildings to make it easier to stop a fire from spreading. The firefighting force patrolled the streets of Rome and the fact they were responsible for policing and firefighting indicates that the <i>Vigiles</i> were essentially a protection force.  China, Parthian, and Sasanians likely developed similar types of dedicated groups who would be responsible to respond to events such as a fire in the city. Similar to the Roman <i>Vigiles</>, they may have patrolled the streets as watchmen and simply responded to fire events.