# firefighters emblem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639 "2001-05-27T02:46:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![acathyb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@acathyb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acathyb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639/1 "2001-05-27T02:46:24Z")
Can someone tell me what the firefighters emblem is called? ---
**Author:** ![mojo\_filter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mojo\_filter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojo_filter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639/2 "2001-05-27T02:52:14Z")
If you are talking about their badge, it is a shield. If not,please be more specific. 😉 …and welcome to Straight Dope! ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639/3 "2001-05-27T02:53:41Z")
It is a Malteese (sp?) Cross. Knights from Malta (Mediterranrean Island) were defengding a castle against an enemy. The enemy was using catapult launched fire-bombs. They put out fires. So do firefighters. Ergo… Just to qualify everything, the entire post is probably bullshit after the first sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639/4 "2001-05-27T02:54:48Z")
[The Maltese Cross](http://www.swanton.net/pages/maltese.html) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefighters-emblem/66639/5 "2001-05-27T03:57:28Z")
There are two or three (or four) dozen fire departments on the web that have the same story, nearly word for word, to explain a relationship between the firefighter badge and the Maltese cross. A very eleborate page is put up by San Diego Public Safety. I tend to agree with **threemae** that it sounds made up. For one thing, the cross on the firefighter badge is _not_ a Maltese cross. Looking at the crosses in the San Diego history article and comparing them to actual firefighting badges, you will see that there are a number of significant differences. Oddly, the sites located in Canada _do_ have a Maltese cross for an emblem. I suppose that it is possible that there is some truth connecting firefighters and the Knights of St. John, but that the badge in the United States underwent a redesign at some point.