On May 22, 2024, for the first time, the new date of the historic foundation of the Sapadores de Braga Fire Company (CBSB) was celebrated, a ceremony to which the Lab2PT team that carried out the investigation was invited.
The traditionally agreed date for the founding of the CBSB was June 8, 1799, according to a Provision by Prince Regent D. João, an interpretation that did not consider a set of documentary evidence from the Municipal Government and the Bomb Company prior to 1799.

Following a request addressed by the CBSB Commander to the ICS History Department, a work team led by Francisco Mendes was created which, in addition to Deputy Chiefs Ricardo Fernandes and Nuno Sousa, authors of an initial investigation, also included Cristina Braga, Flávia Oliveira and Jorge Ribeiro.
The investigation carried out allowed the CBSB’s founding date to be pushed back by 33 years, based on a city council ruling of May 22, 1766, which proves the founding of the first Bomb Company. This date is extremely relevant, as it makes the CBSB the third oldest in the country and one of the twenty oldest in the world.

 

Coordination: Francisco Azevedo Mendes (ICS/ Lab2PT, UMinho)
Participants: Cristina Braga (Era Arqueologia), Flávia Oliveira (ICS/ Lab2PT, UMinho), Jorge Ribeiro (ICS/ Lab2PT, UMinho), Nuno Sousa (Batalhão de Sapadores Bombeiros de Vila Nova de Gaia, Subchefe) e Ricardo Fernandes (Companhia de Bombeiros Sapadores de Braga, Subchefe)

 

 

Figure 1. Image of the ceremony (©authors)
Figure 2. The ceremony was presided by Altino Bessa, Civil Protection councilor, and Nuno Osório, CBSB commander (©authors).