Chicago Citizen's Fire Insurance Patrol

Chicago Citizen's Fire Insurance Patrol Soundex Code C220

The Chicago Fire Department is well known for obvious reasons, however, for a long while it was not the only company in town. The Citizen’s Fire Brigade was formed by a group of businessmen and insurance companies in 1857. In 1871, the Brigade was reorganized as the Chicago Citizen's Fire Insurance Patrol. The Patrol’s job was to go into buildings after firemen and protect goods and assets from water damage and thievery. It was especially concerned with protecting major industrial interests in the city.

At least 23 cities in America were protected by such emergency salvage companies financed by insurance underwriters. The last city to still have an active Fire Insurance Patrol was New York, which was disbanded in 2006.

Forgotten Chicago.com claims to know of six former Fire Insurance Patrol stations in Chicago. See their website for details.

The Chicago Citizen's Fire Insurance Patrol’s peak strength was in the 1920s, when the Patrol operated nine companies and responded to more than 11,000 alarms per year. The Patrol was disbanded in 1959, and has since been largely forgotten about, even though most of the stations still remain.