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.