A pump for pumping water was developed in Alexandria in ancient times, and used for firefighting. Sometimes a water supply could be made by just digging a hole in the ground, and when it filled up with ground water, the firefighters would pump it out onto a fire.
In the early days of Rome a real estate investor/ extortionist named Crassus used a team of firefighters in an effective scheme. There was no public firefighting service at that time, so when a building was on fire, Crassus and his team would show up with their water pump. Before fighting the fire, Crassus would make a very low offer on the building, and to neighboring building owners. If the owners refused, Crassus let the building burn and spread to neighboring buildings, and would later make an even lower offer. If the owner agreed to sell the property, the firefighters would try to put the fire out. Crassus became very wealthy with this scheme, owned a good portion of the city of Rome, bought his way into political office, and ruled Rome as Triumvirate with Pompey and Julius Caesar. As Triumvirate, the area he ruled was centered in Syria, and extended over a wide region. Envisioning riches beyond belief and military glory, Crassus led an expedition against the Parthian Empire, in which he was killed and his legion was wiped out.
The pump below, patented in the U.S. in 1870, is very similar to ancient Roman force pumps of the type used to fight fires.
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