Boston Protective Department Explained

Boston Protective Department
Established:	1859
Dissolved:	1959
Strength:	61 (circa 1911)
Stations:	3
Trucks:	3

The Boston Protective Department was a salvage corps created by insurance companies in Boston, Massachusetts. The department was first organized in 1859 and granted a charter by the Massachusetts legislature in 1874. The department disbanded in 1959. Like many salvage corps, the employees were not employed by the city.^[1]

During the department's heyday, it had 3 stations, usually old firehouses. In 1911, the department had 61 employees, which consisted of a superintendent, three captains, six lieutenants, 33 permanent men and 18 auxiliaries.^[2]

Stations

• Protective #1 - 124-126 Broad Street - Downtown^[3]
• Protective #2 - 4 Appleton Street - South End^[4]
• Protective #3 - 161 Roxbury Street - Roxbury^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Boston Protective Department . Bostonfirehistory.org . Boston Fire Historical Society . 19 November 2020.
2. News: PROTECT PROPERTY AT FIRES . 19 November 2020 . Boston Daily Globe . 11 October 1911.
3. Web site: Photos of BPD #1 members, stations, apparatus . Bostonfirehistory.org . Boston Fire Historical Society . 19 November 2020.
4. Web site: Photos of BPD #2 members, stations, apparatus . Bostonfirehistory.org . Boston Fire Historical Society . 19 November 2020.
5. Web site: Photos of BPD #3 members, stations, apparatus . Bostonfirehistory.org . Boston Fire Historical Society . 19 November 2020.