
A Brief History of Fire Hose - Rawhide Fire Hose
A two-cylinder steam fire engine, late 1800s in Aurora, IN. In 1821, James Boyd patented rubber lined, woven jacketed fire hose. In those early days of modern fire hose the jackets were made from spun cotton. Akron Ohio’s own Charles Goodyear discovered the vulcanization process, and applied that to rubber hose, reinforced with cotton ply.