Maltese Cross Meaning Firefighter

While the firefighter cross s shape most closely resembles the st florian cross it clearly also looks a lot like the maltese cross.

Maltese cross meaning firefighter. The cross represents the fire service ideals of saving lives and extinguishing fires. The badge of a fire fighter is the maltese cross. The maltese cross formally adopted by the knights hospitallers of st. 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.

When a courageous band of crusaders known as. Its eight points denote the eight obligations or aspirations of the knights namely to live in truth have faith repent one s sins give proof of humility love justice. This is the story that this symbol of chivalry has to tell and bring to. If you take a look at almost any fire apparatus today you re likely to see the maltese cross.

John of jerusalem knights hospitallers a charitable non military organization. Viewed 1019 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 order of st. When a band of crusaders known as the knights of st.

Most fire apparatus and many shirts uniforms and badges worn by firefighters bear the shape of the eight pointed maltese cross with its familiar red circle and four sides. It s even believed the more modern. John now the. In fact while the maltese and st florian crosses are different they have a lot of similarities in meaning.

While it s not really there for aesthetic appeal this emblem has a very rich history and it symbolized an elite group of people that have dedicated their lives to serve their everyone in need. Today firefighters across the country wear the time honored maltese cross on their uniform and apparatus. The maltese cross firefighters. The fire service borrows the emblem of the cross from the knights of st.

The maltese cross is a symbol of protection and a badge of honor. The history of the maltese cross by mica calfee. 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. John fought the saracens for the right to posses the holy land they encountered a new weapon that was previously unknown to the european warriors that preceded them.

Tom kiurski is a lieutenant a paramedic and the director of fire safety education for. John in 1126 stylistically owes its origins to the crosses used in the crusades when it was identified as the symbol of the christian warrior. It is often referred to as the maltese cross or st florian cross.