1Recognizing the Philadelphia Fire Department for 277 continuous
2years of providing fire protection and countless acts of
3bravery and heroism in serving the people and visitors of the
4City of Brotherly Love.

5WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department has served the
6residents and visitors of the city since December 7, 1736; and

7WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin brought a group of 30 men together
8on that date to form the Union Fire Company, the first organized
9volunteer firefighting company within Philadelphia; and

10WHEREAS, The equipment of the first Union Fire Company
11included leather buckets with strong bags and baskets for
12packing and transporting goods, which were taken to every fire;
13and

14WHEREAS, Mr. Franklin and his newly formed firefighting
15brigade met monthly to discuss fire prevention and firefighting

1methods, which included mandating all homeowners to have leather
2firefighting buckets within their houses; and

3WHEREAS, The efforts by Mr. Franklin and his firefighting
4cohorts within the Union Fire Company inspired other men to form
5their own companies in other neighborhoods within the city,
6which, within a short span of time, brought about the formation
7of the Heart-in-Hand, the Britannia, the Fellowship and other
8fire companies; and

9WHEREAS, The work of the volunteer firefighting companies,
10coupled with the matchless leadership of Mr. Franklin, helped
11alleviate the frantic fright the threat of fire created and
12caused Philadelphia to quickly become one of the world's safest
13cities in terms of fire damage; and

14WHEREAS, In the late 1860s, city officials spoke of
15transforming the volunteer service that had provided great
16protection into a professional fire department to meet the ever-
17growing needs of an expanding city stepping into an industrial
18age; and

19WHEREAS, In December 1870, a council meeting took place that
20included approval of an ordinance to establish a professional
21fire department, bringing forth the birth of the current
22Philadelphia Fire Department; and

23WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to a
24combined total of 277,636 emergency incidents in 2011; and

25WHEREAS, Nearly 230,000 of the combined total calls in 2011
26involved emergency medical incidents, and nearly 48,000 of those
27calls involved responses for fire and other 911 emergency public
28safety service requests; and

29WHEREAS, Throughout the years, the Philadelphia Fire
30Department has provided outstanding and dedicated service to its

1residents and visitors, and its firefighters have shown in
2countless ways their bravery and heroism in protecting life and
3property within the City of Brotherly Love; and

4WHEREAS, Many firefighters with the Philadelphia Fire
5Department have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty; and

6WHEREAS, Those who have given their lives in 2012 include
7Robert P. Neary and Daniel Sweeney and in 2013 Battalion Chief
8Michael Goodwin; and

9WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department works to prevent as
10well as combat fire within the city in order to protect lives;
11and

12WHEREAS, During 2012, members of the Philadelphia Fire
13Department visited 7,745 homes and installed 18,966 smoke alarms
14as part of its "Freedom from Fire, Building a Safe Environment
15through Community Risk Reduction" effort; and

16WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department, with the help of
17Drexel University, developed a fire safety application that
18provides fire and life safety information to help educate the
19public; and

20WHEREAS, The combined strategy of conducting home visits,
21installing smoke alarms and providing fire and life safety
22education has contributed to a downward trend of fire fatalities
23within the city and resulted in the lowest number of fire
24fatalities in the Philadelphia Fire Department's recorded
25history; and

26WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department recently presented
27the 2013 "Firefighter of the Year" award to Firefighter Brandon
28Mlodzinski for his valiant efforts and dedicated service in the
29rescue of three young children in a storm-surged Atlantic City
30surf; therefore be it

1RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and
2honor the Philadelphia Fire Department upon its 277th
3anniversary on December 7, 2013, its founder Benjamin Franklin
4and the other members who formed the city's Union Fire Company;
5and be it further

6RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and
7honor the current Philadelphia Fire Department upon the 143rd
8anniversary of its formal creation by the Philadelphia City
9Council; and be it further

10RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
11sacrifices of the department over the years in protecting life
12and property in the city, including the loss of firefighters
13Robert P. Neary and Daniel Sweeney in 2012 and Battalion Chief
14Michael Goodwin in 2013; and be it further

15RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives join with the
16City of Philadelphia in congratulating Firefighter Brandon
17Mlodzinski for being named by the selection committee from
18Fireman's Hall as the 2013 "Firefighter of the Year."