Staying True to Our Namesake
As Florians ourselves, we wanted to share some interesting history about the patron saint Florian who shares our last name. Although many people may have not heard of him, his legacy is still very visible in certain industries today.
Saint Florian was born in 250 A.D. to a Christian family in Ancient Rome, present day Austria. When he became of age he joined the Roman army, rising through the ranks to commander. He was in control of the imperial army in the province of Noricum, an Ancient Roman province that covered parts of modern-day Austria and Slovenia. During his time as a solider he was tasked with creating a firefighting brigade. He organized some of the best soldiers he had and trained them to create one of Rome’s first groups of firefighters.
The Roman emperor at the time, Diocletian, was very strict in enforcing that all people living under Roman rule must practice the Roman Religion or face punishment up to death. St. Florian didn’t force the people of his province to follow this rule. He himself was a Christian along with many others under his rule. This display of public disobedience upset Diocletian. When attempts made to change Florian’s ways were unsuccessful, Roman soldiers were sent to dispose of him. Unironically, he was supposed to be burned at the stake. But as he stood on the pyre he taunted the soldiers to light the fire, saying that he would climb the flames to heaven. This unnerved the soldiers, who ended up using a different method to bring Florian to his ultimate demise.
From then on, St. Florian earned his namesake and was referred to as the patron saint of firefighters, chimney sweeps, brewers, and soap makers. His cross is still a prominent image today. Many firefighters and rescue teams use the symbol as their own and as homage to the patron saint. The day of his death, May 4th, has even become known as international firefighter’s day.
We can’t confidently say we are descendants of St. Florian, but we do stay true to his namesake. We may not be going into burning homes or buildings to put out fires, but we are preventing them. Uncleaned chimneys are one of the leading causes of home heating fires and it’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen in your home. Call us today and we will protect your family as we have for hundreds of others and as St. Florian would have done many years ago.