Marcus Licinius Crassus

The first ever Roman fire brigade of which we have any substantial history was created by Marcus Licinius Crassus in 2nd century B.C. He used to purchase buildings on fire for a very low price and then put the fires out with his trained army of 500 slaves and rebuild them. If the owners refused to sell their property, he would not engage in firefighting. There are records indicating that some of these fires were started by his own firefighters.