THE MALTESE CROSS

The badge of firefighters is the Maltese Cross. The cross is a symbol of protection; a badge of honor; and its story is hundreds of years old. When a courageous band of Crusaders known as the Knights of St. John fought the Saracens for possession of the Holy Land, they encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a simple but horrible device of war. The Saracen's weapon was fire.

As the Crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, glass bombs containing naphtha struck them. When they became saturated with the liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch into their midst. Hundreds of Knights were burned alive; others risked their lives in an effort to save their brothers from painful fiery deaths.

These men became our first firemen and the first of a long list of courageous firefighters. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow Crusaders who awarded each hero a badge of honor, a cross similar to the one firefighters wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross.

The Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection. It means that the firefighters who wear it are willing to lay down their lives for us, just as the Crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow men so many years ago. It is a firefighters badge of honor, signifying the he or she works in courage, a ladder rung away from death.