The Lowell Fire Department was established by the state legislature on February 6, 1830. As Lowell began its climb as a center of industrial power, fire protection evolved from the days of the United Fire Society's bucket brigades to organized volunteer fire companies and a full-time paid department. Lowell Firefighting features images, memorabilia, and photographs covering more than 175 years of this mill city fire department's history. Photographs depict the work of Lowell's firefighters through a prolific period of serious fires and urban decay. Today the Lowell Fire Department protects a city rich with tradition that is reinventing itself, responding to all manner of fire and rescue emergencies.