May 17 - Day of firefighters and rescuers
At the end of 1864, at the founding meeting of the Riga Volunteer Firemen's Association, civil servant Ivan Himiller (1835-1876) was elected as the chairman of the association.
On February 15, 1865, the statutes of the organization were approved and the Riga Volunteer Firefighters Association began its work - collected donations, purchased the necessary equipment, organized training and created four departments.
With donated funds, a firefighter's hand pump was bought from the well-known German engineer of that time, Karlis Metz, in Heidelberg (on display in the museum exposition). K. Mets came to Riga and demonstrated the advantages of his invention.
On May 17, 1865, the teams of the Riga Volunteer Firemen's Association went to Aleksandra Street (now Brīvības Street) for the first time, where there was a fire accident in the house of chimney sweeps. The team from the suburbs of Vidzeme arrived at the scene of the first fire, then the team from Town Hall Square (Rātslaukuma). Riga volunteer firefighters opened a new page of history in the fight against fires, laying the foundations for an organized fire extinguishing procedure.
The activities of the Riga fire brigade gained more and more public support, receiving rich benefits and donations, thus developing technical equipment - purchasing hand and steam pumps, mechanical ladders and hoses. Anna Ģertrude Vērmane (1750-1827) also donated to the city of Riga not only land for the establishment of a park, but also donated funds for the purchase of a fire pump.
Confirming that the representatives of the firefighting, rescue and civil defense sectors deserve the recognition and gratitude of the entire society with their selfless work in strengthening the safety of citizens, on April 7, 2011, the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia adopted amendments to the law "On Holidays, Remembrance and Commemorative Days", providing that henceforth, May 17 is the Day of Firefighters and Rescuers.