The fire at Amsterdam's old city hall, Holland, 7 July 1652

The fire at Amsterdam's old city hall, Holland, 7 July 1652. Engraving by Jan van der Heiden, first published 1690. The old fire engine is being used with rows of people ferrying buckets to the fire (between A and B). As a comparison, the new engine is shown on the right (between B and C). The city hall was burnt to the ground. From 'Beschryving der nieuwlyks uitgevonden en geotrojeerde slang-brand-spuiten en haare wyze van brand-blussen' ('Fire engines with hoses and methods of fighting fires') by van der Heiden and his son Jan, (Amsterdam, 1735). Father and son were designers and manufacturers of Europe's best fire fighting equipment and Fire-Masters General of Amsterdam. The book is the most important source of technical information for firefighting in the 17th and 18th century. ©SSPL/Science Museum