The Fire Police are as old as the bucket brigade itself where they would make sure the equipment made it safely and the scene was secure. Thanks to our friends at the Putam Northern Western Fire Police Assn. we learned the first mention of the fire police was at the FASNY convention in Elmira in 1876. At the 1877 convention it was mentioned again as the "Protective Police" and that they "should be comprised of the most reliable people to be found".

At the request of FASNY a bill was introduced to the state legislature to form the fire police and on May 20th, 1939 it passed both houses. On May 29th of that year, Governor Herbert Lehman signed Chapter 583 of the Laws of 1939 legalizing the formation of the fire police by the state fire departments. The fire police are the "step child" of both the volunteer fire service and the police service.

Fire Police can be found in fourteen states including New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia, Maine, and Pennsylvania. The authority for the Fire Police falls under article 209 (c) of the General Municipal Law of New York, and various sections of the New York V&T Law. They take an oath of office administered by a municipal clerk, magistrate, judge, or justice of the peace, depending on the juristiction, and that is kept on file with the town they are associated with. They are classified as New York State Peace Officers under Executive Law Section 845 (Chapter 482 Laws of 1979 and Chapter 843 Laws of 1980), after which they are listed with the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service - Office of Public Safety in Albany New York. This must updated annually, or the home fire department can found in contempt of court.