The most famous of the fires that devastated Rome It was the year 64 A.D. at the time of Nero . The legend places the emperor in the Maecenas Tower contemplating the fire and playing (to say the least) his lyre.
Fires were frequent in Rome . A densely populated city, with a lot of flammable material (straw, wood, cloth, etc.), narrow alleys full of stalls... and to deal with it a few slaves located at strategic points in the city with buckets of water. The consequences were terrible. So, after the fire of the year 6 A.D., the emperor Augustus he decided to replace this completely ineffective system by creating a corps de vigiles (vigilantes) that today we could call the first professional fire department in history.
The corps de vigiles was made up of:
- the aquarii (aguadores), they transported water in human chains.
- the siffonarii , they threw the water on the fire with hand pumps (siphos)
- the uncinarii , with spears fitted with hooks they were attached to the burning ceilings and walls.
If after the creation of this fire department (they also carried out surveillance tasks) the fire of 1964 was so devastating, perhaps the legend that blames Nero has some truth.
