The badge of a fireman is the Maltese Cross. 
This Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection and a 
badge of honor. Its story is hundreds of years old. 

When a courageous band of crusaders known as the 
Knights of St. John, fought the Saracens for 
possession of the holy land, they encountered a 
new weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a 
simple, but a horrible device of war, it wrought 
excruciating pain and agonizing death upon the brave 
fighters for the cross. The Saracen's weapon was fire. 

As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the 
city, they were struck by glass bombs containing 
naphtha. When they became saturated with the highly 
flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch 
into their midst. Hundreds of the knights were burned 
alive; others risked their lives to save their 
brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths. 

Thus, these men became our first firemen and 
the first of a long list of courageous firefighters. 
Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders 
who awarded each here a badge of honor - a cross similar 
to the one firemen wear today. Since the Knights of 
St. John lived for close to four centuries on a little 
island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross 
came to be known as the Maltese Cross. 

The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means 
that the fireman who wears this cross is willing to lay 
down his life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed 
their lives for their fellow man so many years ago. The 
Maltese Cross is a fireman's badge of honor, signifying 
that he works in courage - a ladder rung away from death. 

                 -anonymous