In 1929 a fire broke out on Christmas Eve in the White House during a party for staff and their children.   As flames licked the walls of West Wing offices, 130 firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze. The next year, President Herbert Hoover sent toy fire trucks to some of his young guests.

The 2016  Official White House Christmas Ornament was a replica of the many “pumpers”that worked furiously from hydrants up to five blocks away from the White House to supply the water necessary to combat the flames.

Photo by the White House Historical Society