victorian era    
Volunteers The Roles The Day The Duties  
AIn each of the firehouses, one man would preside over the kitchen and prepare the food for the day. The fireman may have been self-appointed or volunteered against his will. But either way, he did whatever it took to please his fellow firemen. The cooks took pride in their cooking and they were cooking for one of the most critical audiences in the city. If a cook slipped up, his food might be called “dog food” or “kamikaze gumbo” by the firemen; all this criticism may have come from trying to cook after hours of kitchen work, house work, daily drills and possible studying for a promotional exam. None of these duties could replace cooking, even though the only tangible reward from cooking was being exempt from washing the dishes.
     A fireman was constantly busy with chores, cooking, cleaning and, of course, fighting fires, so leisure time was slim. But when they had breaks in between everything they had to do, they had time to themselves. Most of the down time that they had was spent playing cards, getting in shape, playing sports, chatting with each other or writing letters to their family. Although the life of a fireman was hard and group oriented, their leisure time, although rare, was anywhere from energetic ball playing to blissful napping.