Quote from http://japaninc.typepad.com/terries_take/ General Edition Sunday, 
April 24, 2005 Issue No. 324

"
Firefighting in Tokyo is a time honored (although not
necessarily honorable) profession. Back 200 to 300 years
ago, most of the houses were made of straw and paper and
an official document from 1738 says that there were 11,000
registered Hikeshi (fire fighters). Increasing population
meant even greater demand for their services, and by 1850
there were 24,000. The way they fought fires was to tear
down nearby houses to isolate the blaze, then to douse the
flames -- so these guys were pretty tough. Apparently they
were pretty rough too, and often picked fights with the
local Samurai...! You can read more about them at
http://www.artelino.com/articles/edo_firemen.asp.
"

The linked article is funny too.


Sryn