num_pages: 46
description: In the annals of American firefighting the early 1800s were a dark time. Volunteer fire companies operated less as public servants and more as rival gangs: defying city regulations extorting money from victims sabotaging other companies to put out fires first or letting them burn out of pure spite. Willard Sears a Boston builder and abolitionist set out to change all that with a vision for a fire company that would bring professionalism to a field laced with corruption and violenceand gathered a ragtag group to follow him under the banner of Company Eight. Ultimately Sears quest would pit him against the most powerful forces in the city in a battle that would shape the future of firefighting in America. Writer Matthew Pearl delves into historical archives to bring to life for the first time a true story of courage and persistence.
language: English
title: Company Eight
publisher: The Atavist