Though central to the social, political, and cultural life of the nineteenth-century city, the urban volunteer fire department has nevertheless been largely ign

During the period of America's swiftest industrialization and urban growth, fire struck fear in the hearts of city dwellers as did no other calamity. Before the

Municipal Services and Employees in the Modern City considers the roles played by local institutions and particular processes that shaped the urban fabric. It r

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873.