Alarm! Alarm!

Being a fireman isn’t all guts and glory. Before saving lives and buildings, these brave men have to put their pants on – one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. This photograph, dating to circa 1895, was taken inside an unidentified firehouse in Detroit. Note the man to the right with his arm wrapped around a sliding pole. To find more candid images from the Detroit Fire Department, search our online collections.