We created the MALTESE CROSS because this cross dates back in firefighter's history to when the Knights of St. John fought the Saracens for possession of the Holy Land.  As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, they were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha, and when they became saturated with the highly flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled flaming torches into their midst.  Hundreds of knights were burned alive; others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths - and these men became our first firefighters, and the first of a long list of courageous firemen.  These firefighter's heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each fireman with a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firefighters wear today.  Since the Knights of St. John lived almost four centuries on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross has come to be known as the Maltese Cross. It is a symbol of protection, and shows that the firefighter who wears it is willing to lay down his life to save a life, just as the firemen of the crusades did for their fellow man so many years ago.  Firefighters wear the Maltese Cross as a badge of honor, signifying that they work in courage, a ladder's rung away from death.

The FIREFIGHTER'S SCRAMBLE dates back to the Dark Ages and Crusades.  During a battle to protect their villages, the defenders poured oil down the walls of the castle and lit the oil.  The firefighter's scramble was made up of the tools used by the offense to scale the walls.  It was made up of a ladder, rope, one or two pike poles, and the bugle, all superimposed on a shield.  This fireman's scramble was not worn on a uniform, but was carried on banners or flags to designate particular fire squads or fire brigades.  Over the years, the firefighter's scramble has changed to include fireman helmets, axes, and even fire hydrants.

The STAR OF LIFE was designed with six bars representing the six distinct phases of an EMS response: detection, reporting, response, on scene care, care of transit and transfer to definitive care.  Some believe that the snake and staff in the center of the symbol portrays the staff of Aesculapius who, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Apollo and the mortal maiden Coronis.  Apollo was told to instruct his son in the ways of medicine and healing.  Aesculapius became an excellent healer of the sick offering cures and remedies.  Zeus, the God of Gods, felt that Aesculapius' powers were beyond the powers of mortal men and killed him where he stood with a bolt of lightening.  After Aesculapius' death, he was worshipped and thought to be a God of healing.  Another reason for using the serpent and staff as an EMS symbol comes from the Bible in the book of Numbers 21:8-9. "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.'  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived".