Why are firemen called "jakes"?

[ralph124c]

Just wondering…what is the origin of this term-is it short for “jacob’s Ladder” (from the Bible?

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Dunno about firemen, but urbandictionary.com says:

cops, narcs, fbi or anyone that can arrest.

Can be used in both singular and plural forms in order to describe the police

Police, cops, 5.0, fuzz. Often used by MC’s.

urban slang for a federal agent

street slang for pigs , feds,or any other kind of ilumminati driven snakes.
Derived from the bull shit T.V show about Dumb pigs entitled: “JAKE and The Fat Man”

That last guess is probably urban mythology.

Where did you see it applied to firemen?

[Squink]

The always definitive Urban Dictionary sez:

While it is now a widely accepted term in the fire service, it is almost exclusively used in New England…
The term “Jake” is most probably derived from the term “J-Key”. The first street-corner fire alarm box system was invented and constructed in the city of Boston, and was based on a telegraph system, novel in its day. Inside each box…

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Darn you, hidden UrbanDictionary page 2 link!