Since the Temple Fire and Rescue began 125 years ago as a volunteer department, firefighters have worn a modified version of the Maltese cross, an adaptation of the Crusaders’ emblem worn more than 1,000 years ago by the oldest orders of warrior monks.

Over the decades, the department’s name has evolved from Temple Fire Department to Temple Fire and Rescue to include its other important service - emergency assistance. The uniforms have also changed, but the job remains the same: protect and serve.

However, the department has added another important part of that venerable Maltese cross - education and prevention. Temple’s early-day bucket brigades sprang into action when smoke billowed forth. Now, Fire and Rescue personnel spent as much time in education, outreach and prevention as they do with putting out fires and responding to emergencies.

The annual Fire Safety Day, set for Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, is an important part of the department’s educational outreach.

The evolution is important, said Thomas Pechal, Temple Fire and Rescue safety educator and department spokesman. “Nationally, the trend started in the 1950s, when cities were tightening building and safety codes. These standards reduced the likelihood of fires and provided for more fire escapes and safety measures.” By 1990, Temple had inaugurated its fire education program, an outgrowth of the fire marshal’s duties.

The Temple Fire Department, however, has not had time to rest on its laurels. A growing city creates new challenges, Thus, the department outgrew its ragtag bucket brigades of motley volunteers a century ago to 21st century highly trained, professional emergency personnel.

Although the beginnings of Temple’s first fire protection efforts were wobbly, today the department can count more successes than losses. Galveston volunteer fireman Tom Dirmeyer is credited with founding the Temple Fire Department in 1883. Up until then, the city relied on an impromptu bucket brigade that sprang into action when someone yelled “fire.”

By June 1883, a hearty league of volunteer firemen had transformed themselves from an unstructured bucket brigade to a more polished department with officers and organization, including Charles W. Littlepage, fire chief; and three companies.

That first department was a loose brotherhood bonded by buckets, blazes and beer. All professions were represented - teachers, bankers, merchants, lawyers and saloonkeepers. The latter were important because the early firefighting companies functioned mostly as social clubs, where members met frequently for libations and levity to build necessary esprit de corps.

The city, however, did not furnish horses to pull the water wagons and pumps. The firefighters themselves pulled, which proved nearly impossible when heavy rains turned the streets into gummy mud. Early newspapers were rife with stories of homes burning to the ground before the fire crews could unstick themselves.

Today, Wallace commands about 90 employees working in seven stations around the city who respond to more than 10,000 fire and emergency calls each year. Equipment includes seven paramedical engine companies, ladder truck, hazardous materials vehicle, booster truck and command vehicle. Temple Fire and Rescue also provides a first responder emergency medical system with paramedics on all engine companies.