St Florian
Patron Saint of Firefighters
Saint Florian, the patron saint of
firefighters, was an officer in the Roman army during the third century. Saint
Florian had converted to Christianity but kept his new faith a secret to avoid
persecution. When ordered to execute a group of Christians during the
persecutions of Diocletian, Saint Florian proffessed his faith and refused to
follow the order. He then had a stone tied around his neck and he was thrown
into a river where he drowned.
Florian is said to have once stopped an entire town from burning by throwing a
single bucket of water onto the fire. Saint Florian is the patron saint of
firefighters, chimney sweeps, barrel-makers, soap boilers, harvests, Austria,
Poland and others.