Published: January 03, 2012

Charleston, South Carolina Company Was First Residental Insurer

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4: FIRST FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY

Profile America -- Wednesday, January 4th.

Today, when a home is damaged or destroyed by fire, there usually is no question that it was insured against such a catastrophe.

The first fire insurance company in America was the Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses against Fire, organized in 1735 in Charleston, South Carolina.

The company was apparently swamped with claims after a disastrous fire in 1740.

The first full-time, professional fire fighting company was formed in 1853 in Cincinnati. It was also the first to use steam-powered fire engines.

In the U.S., there are more than 1.3 million fires each year, over a quarter of them in residential buildings.

You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4529
Statistical Abstract 2012, t. 356

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau