Fire Service Maltese Cross Meaning

The story is that these knights had a cross on their tunics and that the saracens used fire as a weapon against them.

Fire service maltese cross meaning. Viewed 1020 times the insignia of the fire service is the cross pattee nowy otherwise known as the maltese cross. Although chiefly associated with the knights hospitaller and by extension with the island of malta it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period notably the o. The maltese cross like we ve established symbolized a special breed. The maltese cross is the very familiar red center circle with four shapes emanating from the center.

Fast forward to today the time honored maltese cross is being worn by the men and women of the fire service as a badge of honor on their uniforms all across the country. While the symbolism of these eight knightly virtues hasn t changed over the years their working has. The maltese cross has 8 points. It is often seen painted on fire trucks on the clothing of firefighters depicted on firefighters badges and is quite often the chosen design of firefighter tattoos.

And some other countries is based upon the cross worn on the tunics of the knights hospitallers of jerusalem aka the knights of malta. The cross represents the fire service ideals of saving lives and extinguishing fires. The maltese cross is a badge of honor signifying that he works in courage a ladders rung away from death. Many people ask us what the connection is between the fire service and that maltese cross.

These knights bore the cross a religious symbol on their uniforms. What does the maltese cross represent. All of this is true. One can easily find a hundred web sites that will tell you that the symbol of the fire service comes from the knights of malta and their battles with ottoman pirates or the saracens.

During the crusades the knights battled. It means that the fire fighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their. The maltese cross is our symbol of protection. The maltese cross is known around the world as a symbol of the fire service.

Maltese cross one can easily find web sites that will tell you that the current emblem of the fire service in the u s. However that does not mean that it wasn t. It means that the firefighter that wears it is willing to protect and lay down his own life for the safety of his brother just as the crusaders did centuries ago. The maltese cross is a cross symbol consisting of four v or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles two tips pointing outward symmetrically.

There are eight points on the maltese cross each point symbolizing one the beatitudes given by jesus christ. The maltese cross has origins dating back to the crusades and the knights hospitaller. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight pointed crosses in the 16th century.