This post appeared in a previous blog and is here for posterity’s sake.

Fire Patrol No. 1, originally uploaded by plemeljr
I didn’t know this, but apparently the Fire Patrol is a private fire company working under the New York Board of Underwriters, basically to protect insured property (and make sure firefighters don’t steal stuff). From their short history:

The Fire Patrol can trace its beginnings back to 1803, when the Mutual Assistance and Bag Corporation was formed by a group of volunteers to protect and preserve the contents of buildings from fire and water damage.

Fire Patrol members have the same equipment, but wear red helmets, and are dispatched by the FDNY. Here is a google cache with some good info. I also heard that there isn’t a lot of love lost between the FDNY and the Fire Patrol.