There is a tradition in the United States whereby firm departments of many smaller towns are a voluntary nature. The system works amazingly well, and the volunteers are renown for their pride and dedication to this vital task. The history of the volunteer fire department stems from ancient times, but in the Untied States can be traced to one Peter Stuyvesant. At the time, Holland had numerous possessions and colonies including Curacao in the Caribbean, which were run by the Dutch West India Company, of which Stuyvesant was an employee. On July 28, 1646, Stuyvesant was appointed Director General of "New Netherland and the places situated therabout, as well as the aforementioned islands of Curacao, Buenaire, Aruba, and…appurtenances thereof." He arrived to his new duties in New Amsterdam (New York) on May 11, 1647 and immediately went to work. Although he was extremely autocratic, he brought the colony some badly needed improvements in both physical construction and administration. A significant improvement was the formation of the first volunteer firemen in America. From that beginning an important tradition was born that flourishes yet today. The Firefighter!
