Vigiles The Vigiles or more properly the " Vigiles Urbani " ( " watchmen of the City " ) or " Cohortes Vigilum " ( " cohort s of the watchmen " ) were the firefighters and police of Ancient Rome . History . The " Triumviri Nocturni " were the first men , being privately owned slaves , organized into a group that combated the common problems of fire and conflagration s in Rome . The privately operated system became ineffective , so in the interest of keeping himself and Rome safe , Augustus instituted a new public firefighting force called the " Vigiles " . Augustus modelled the new firefighters after the fire brigade of Alexandria , Egypt . The Vigiles were also known by their nickname " Spartoli " or " little bucket fellows " which was given to them because of the buckets they carried water in , which were made of rope sealed with pitch . In AD 6 , Augustus levied a 4 % tax on the sale of slave s and used the proceeds to set up the new force . They were commanded by the " praefectus vigilum " , who was of equestrian rank , and " subpraefectus " and were divided into seven cohort s commanded by a tribune . Each cohort was divided into seven centuries , each of 70 – 80 men commanded by a " centurion " . Each cohort patrolled two of the city ' s fourteen administrative " regiones " . The cohorts were doubled in size in AD 205 . The " Vigiles " also acted as a night watch , keeping an eye out for burglars and hunting down runaway slaves , and were on occasion used to maintain order in the streets . Their most famous prefect , Naevius Sutorius Macro , succeeded Lucius Aelius Sejanus as Prefect of the Praetorian Guard after his men had been used by the Emperor Tiberius to retake control of the city from Sejanus ' s soldiers . " Vigiles " were stationed at the harbour cities of Ostia and Portus . A " vexillatio " ( detachment ) of four centuries was detached from Rome for four months at a time , with two centuries being stationed at each city . The " Vigiles " appear to have lost their status as an independent unit and come under the authority of the Praetorian prefects sometime in the early 3rd century . Organization . In the beginning , the corps had difficulty recruiting men . In an effort to entice men to enlist the Lex Visellia was passed in 24 AD , granting full citizenship and a bonus cash stipend to Vigiles after six years of service . By the 2nd century , citizens were also allowed to enlist . The " Vigiles " were accommodated in barracks and patrolled the streets , especially at night , on the lookout for any unsupervised fires . Every householder was obliged to keep equipment for fighting fires , and the men themselves were equipped with pumps , buckets , hooks ( for pulling down burning material ) , picks , mattock s and axes . They also used " ballista e " for knocking down burning houses and creating firebreak s . They even had their own medical support ( " medici " ) , with four doctors attached to each cohort , and their own chaplains ( " victimarii " ) . A " siphonarius " operated a pump and an " aquarius " supervised the supply of water . The ordinary firefighters were called " milites " ( soldiers ) . Duties . Fighting Fires . Every cohort was equipped with standard firefighting equipment . The " sipho " or fire engine was pulled by horses and consisted of a large double action pump that was partially submerged in a reservoir of water . The " Vigiles " designated as " aquarii " needed to have an accurate knowledge of where water was located , and they also formed bucket brigade s to bring water to the fire . Attempts were made to smother the fire by covering it with patchwork quilts ( " centones " ) soaked with water . There is even evidence that chemical firefighting methods were used by throwing a vinegar based substance called " acetum " into fires . In many cases the best way to prevent the spread of flames was to tear down the burning building with hooks and levers . For fires in multiple story buildings , cushions and mattresses were spread out on the ground for people to jump onto from the upper levels . A major duty of the " Vigiles " was to enforce preventative measures against conflagrations . Adequate fire fighting equipment was required in every home . The Digest of Justinian decrees that Vigiles are “ ordered to remind every one to have a supply of water ready in his upper room ” . While the " Vigiles " only had advising authority , their recommendations were often followed to avoid repercussions for negligence . Corporal punishment was the most common punishment for negligence according to the Digest of Justinia , “ where persons have paid insufficient attention to their fire , the prefect . . . orders them to be beaten ” . During the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 over one third of Rome was destroyed by flames . The young Emperor Nero helped to direct the vigiles in fighting the flames . It was rumoured that the Vigiles intentionally allowed the city burn under orders from Nero , who later built his palace on land that was cleared by the fire . Regardless , Nero enacted fire code laws following the Great Fire to avoid further conflagrations . These laws called for more public access to water and prohibited buildings from sharing a common wall . Police Force . In addition to extinguishing fires , the " Vigiles " were the nightwatch of Rome . Their duties included apprehending thieves and robbers and capturing runaway slave s . The task of guarding the baths was added as a duty of the " Vigiles " during the reign of Alexander Severus when the baths remained open during the night . They dealt primarily with petty crimes and looked for disturbances of the peace while they patrolled the streets . Sedition , riots and violent crimes were handled by the " Cohortes urbanae " and ( to a lesser extent ) the Praetorian Guard , though " Vigiles " could provide a supporting role in these situations . The " Vigiles " were considered a para - military unit and their organisation into cohorts and centuries reflects this . Quarters . The first " Vigiles " sequestered private homes and buildings to use as their command post s . It was not until the mid - 2nd century that official stations were built explicitly for the " Vigiles " use . By the early 3rd century sub - stations ( " excubitoria " ) , which held forty to fifty men , were constructed to accommodate the expanding city and the surrounding suburbs . The locations of four of the seven cohort " stationes " or barracks have been fairly definitively identified : The VII Cohort was probably housed in a " statio " provisionally identified near the Aemiian Bridge . As mentioned elsewhere detachments of watchmen were stationed at " Ostia " and " Portus " and there were sub - stations throughout the city . What arrangements were made for policing the outer suburbs of the city is not known . ( Certainly after the governmental reforms of Diocletian the jurisdiction of the " Praefectus Urbis " extended as far as the east coast and for one hundred miles in every direction . This might suggest that his subordinate , the " Praefectus " Vigilum , had a commensurate responsibility . ) Prefect of the Vigiles . Also known as the Prefect of the Watch , the Prefect of the " Vigiles " was an equite appointed by the emperor to command the seven cohorts . It was not a particularly sought after office until the 3rd century . Prominent jurists with a legal background began serving as Prefect to fulfil the magisterial capacity of the office . As a judge , the Prefect made rulings in his court for the common thieves caught during the night . Eventually , the Prefect was given jurisdiction over daytime petty crime s as well . According to Justinian , in the event of more serious crimes the decision was made by the praefectus urbi , “ if the offender is a person of such ruffianly [ sic ] and infamous character . . . the case is sent on to the prefect of the city ” . Beyond the office of the prefect , there was an extensive hierarchy of ranks within the " Vigiles " similar to that of the military ' s . While some terms of service could extend beyond twenty years , most commissioned ranks were much shorter . Since the " Vigiles " never achieved the prestige of the Praetorian Guard or the Urban Cohort s , serving in the corps was usually only a means of achieving more honourable and lucrative posts . One known " Praefectus " , Placidianus was put in charge of an expeditionary force sent to Gaul by Claudius II ( Gothicus ) on his accession in 269 AD to secure the lower Rhone valley against the so - called Gallic Empire . This is the only known instance of the holder of this office being given a substantive command outside Rome . Whether or not his force included " vigiles " from the city is uncertain . Whether or not the " Praefectus Vigilum " had his headquarters in any of the " stationes " identified above or whether he had an entirely separate " praefectura " is not known . If he is associated with one of the barracks it is likely to have been that of I Cohort in the " Via Lata " . In popular culture . The " Vigiles " often play a prominent role in the Marcus Didius Falco novels of Lindsey Davis , providing assistance in Falco ' s investigations . In particular , Falco ' s old army friend Lucius Petronius Longus is a ' Watch Captain ' in " Regio " XIII .