The first firefighters of Tehran – 90 years ago

The Birth of a Department

The Fire Department of Tehran was established in the early 1930s, and by the time the Ettelaat reporter arrived for his visit in August 1935, the department was already regarded as a symbol of progress. It was located above the Hassanabad intersection—today’s Hassanabad Square—a bustling node where horse-drawn carts, bicycles, and the few automobiles of the era all converged. The building, with its European-inspired architecture, was one of the proud municipal constructions of the period.

For centuries, Tehranis had relied on volunteers, neighbors, or at best a few water carriers to confront the devastating fires that frequently broke out in bazaars, workshops, and wooden houses. Buckets, wet blankets, and desperate prayers were the only weapons against fire. But now, for the first time, Tehran had a disciplined, uniformed, and mechanized firefighting force.


Modern Machines: The Fire Engines of 1935

As the Ettelaat article explained, the pride of the department was its fleet of thirteen fire engines and water sprinklers. Some were small and nimble; others were massive machines capable of carrying heavy loads of water. Their tanks held between two and five tons of water—measured then not in liters but in kharvar (a Persian unit of weight and volume). In practical terms, the smaller trucks could carry 7 kharvar of water, while the largest carried 18 kharvar.

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