Firefighters have not always had the level of safety of today’s turnout gear. Historically, most firefighters fought fires from the outside and rarely entered the burning structure. Initially, firefighter's clothing was more for warmth and dryness than for protection from fire. In the early 1800’s felt caps were worn more for decoration than functional use and provided the firefighter with little to no head protection. In 1830, Henry Gratacap, a volunteer firefighter in New York City, invented the earliest version of the modern firefighter helmet. The style of helmet provided functional use to the firefighter as well as protection. The helmet had a shield with a company name and number mounted to the front and had sections on the dome for additional