Firefighter Costumes - The Early Days
Firefighter costumes are a popular choice at Halloween, birthday parties, and many other occasions. They come in all different colors and designs. One interesting twist is to wear a historical firefighter costume.
What did firefighters wear in the early days? While there isn't much information from colonial times, it's probably safe to assume that firefighters' choice of outfits was far more limited than it is today. They didn't have rubber, synthetic fibers, or oxygen tanks.
And it wasn't until well after the 1600's that inventors began to develop modern firefighting equipment. Very early firefighters probably wore ordinary clothing and fought fires from the outside, because they had no protection from the heat and smoke. So if you want the costume of a colonial firefighter, just look like an everyday person from the 1600's. Maybe carry a bucket.
A more satisfying approach would be to adopt the uniform of the mid-1800's. In the 1730's Jacobus Turck, who managed New York City's pair of state-of-the-art pumper trucks, invented the fire helmet -- a wide-brimmed, leather helmet with a high crown. About a century later, Henry T. Gratacap developed a more modern version. This was a leather dome, reinforced for strength and added protection, with a brim that swept back to a long tail and a prominent shield on the front. The new design gave firefighters additional protection. With their safer firefighter costumes, they could fight indoors as well as out. To rock this look, use a somewhat familiar-looking but nevertheless old-fashioned helmet.
For the rest of your 1800's firefighter costume, consider wool for total authenticity. Its heaviness and breathability made it a good early choice which offered some protection in both hot and cold places. Firefighters of the time wore long trench coats that had stiff collars. They also wore leather boots, and their shirt under the trench coat was usually red.
Facial hair for men mostly took the form of beards. Sometimes they would soak them in water and breathe through them whenever there was thick smoke. This is a move you may want to consider in the event your costume party gets a little slow.
No beard but you still want a historically appropriate breathing apparatus? Then line a couple of canvas bags with rubber, attach them to each other, and strap them on your back. Hold them on with a belt and shoulder straps. Now it's time for you to attach rubber hoses to the air sac and connect them to a mouthpiece. Use a bellows to fill up the sac. To fully emulate the firefighter costumes of the time, add a leather hood, goggles, a whistle, and a nose clamp and congratulations... you're period-authentic!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randall_Moeller
What did firefighters wear in the early days? While there isn't much information from colonial times, it's probably safe to assume that firefighters' choice of outfits was far more limited than it is today. They didn't have rubber, synthetic fibers, or oxygen tanks.
And it wasn't until well after the 1600's that inventors began to develop modern firefighting equipment. Very early firefighters probably wore ordinary clothing and fought fires from the outside, because they had no protection from the heat and smoke. So if you want the costume of a colonial firefighter, just look like an everyday person from the 1600's. Maybe carry a bucket.
A more satisfying approach would be to adopt the uniform of the mid-1800's. In the 1730's Jacobus Turck, who managed New York City's pair of state-of-the-art pumper trucks, invented the fire helmet -- a wide-brimmed, leather helmet with a high crown. About a century later, Henry T. Gratacap developed a more modern version. This was a leather dome, reinforced for strength and added protection, with a brim that swept back to a long tail and a prominent shield on the front. The new design gave firefighters additional protection. With their safer firefighter costumes, they could fight indoors as well as out. To rock this look, use a somewhat familiar-looking but nevertheless old-fashioned helmet.
For the rest of your 1800's firefighter costume, consider wool for total authenticity. Its heaviness and breathability made it a good early choice which offered some protection in both hot and cold places. Firefighters of the time wore long trench coats that had stiff collars. They also wore leather boots, and their shirt under the trench coat was usually red.
Facial hair for men mostly took the form of beards. Sometimes they would soak them in water and breathe through them whenever there was thick smoke. This is a move you may want to consider in the event your costume party gets a little slow.
No beard but you still want a historically appropriate breathing apparatus? Then line a couple of canvas bags with rubber, attach them to each other, and strap them on your back. Hold them on with a belt and shoulder straps. Now it's time for you to attach rubber hoses to the air sac and connect them to a mouthpiece. Use a bellows to fill up the sac. To fully emulate the firefighter costumes of the time, add a leather hood, goggles, a whistle, and a nose clamp and congratulations... you're period-authentic!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randall_Moeller
posted by global take off at
1:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home