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Vigiles were stationed at the harbour cities of Ostia and Portus. A vexillatio (detachment) of four centuries was detached from Rome for four months at a time, with two centuries being stationed at each city. During the Great Fire of Rome, the vigiles took to looting the city rather than enforcing law and fighting the fires. [8]
The Great Fire of Rome (Latin: incendium magnum Romae) began on the 19th of July 64 AD. [1] The fire started in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus . After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days.
The imperial-era Vigiles would patrol the streets of Rome looking for fires. They would uses axes, catapults, or ballistae to destroy buildings near a fire to prevent the fire from spreading. It is possible this is the origin of the phrase "hook and ladder". [1] The Vigiles could also use buckets and water pumps to extinguish fires. [16]
Roman Emperor Augustus formed a group of slaves, Vigiles, in AD 6 to combat fires using bucket brigades and pumps, as well as poles, hooks and even ballistae to tear down buildings in advance of the flames. The Corps Vigiles patrolled the streets of Rome to watch for fires and served as a police force. The later brigades consisted of hundreds ...
Plan of imperial Rome with the seven districts controlled by the cohorts and the position of each cohort. The offices of the praefectus vigilum were located in the Campus Martius, perhaps in the quadriportico of the theatre of Balbus (along the via Lata), inside the barracks of the First Cohort of Vigiles (Latin: statio primae cohortis vigilum). [2]
The first public firefighting organization in the western world was probably the "Vigiles", a military structured body with fire control and rescue duties that protected the city of Rome in the early centuries A.C. Two stations can be still visited in Rome (The "VII Coorte" and the "Ostia Antica" barracks).
The tresviri capitales or tresviri nocturni were one of the Vigintisexviri colleges in Ancient Rome. [1] They were a group of three men that managed police and firefighting. [1] [2] [3] Despite this they were feared by the Roman people due to their police roles, and they were condemned due to their neglect of firefighting during an unknown incident, which was likely the Great Fire of Rome.
The Vigiles or more properly the Vigiles Urbani ("watchmen of the City") or Cohortes Vigilum ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. The Vigiles also acted as a night watch, keeping an eye out for burglars and hunting down runaway slaves, and were on occasion used to maintain order in the streets.