The Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Honolulu. Founded on December 27, 1850, by Kamehameha III and Alexander Cartwright, the Honolulu Fire Department serves and protects the entire island of O'ahu, covering over of territory, home to more than 880,000 residents and over 4 million annual visitors. The HFD is one of just a handful of fire departments in the nation that is Nationally accredited. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) confers Accredited Agency status for a period of five years. History In the early 1800s, with an influx of missionaries, whalers, and businessmen to Hawai'i, Honolulu grew rapidly with western-style wooden buildings, which were highly combustible. Interior lighting in that period consisted of all flame-emitting equipment (candles, lamps, and lanterns); therefore fires became common in homes and businesses. On October 24, 1850, a public assembly raised the concern of the people to have adequate fire protection; and an outcome of this meeting was the formation of Honolulu's first Volunteer Fire Brigade, on November 6, 1850. The HFD holds the distinction of being the first fire department in all of the Hawaiian Islands. Establishment of the HFD On December 27, 1850, an ordinance issued by Kamehameha III established the Honolulu Fire Department. On February 3, 1851, Oahu Governor Kekuanaoa appointed Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. to be Chief Engineer of the Fire Department of the City of Honolulu, making him the first Fire Engineer of the newly formed department. The ordinance was enacted into law by the Hawaiian Legislature of 1851 (S.S. 1851, pp. 5-ll), becoming effective on May 8, 1851, after it was signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, William L. Lee, and King Kamehameha. The HFD is also the only fire department in the United States that was established by the order of the King of a Monarchy; and the department was continued by a Provisional Government, then a Republic, then a Territory, a County and lastly by a City and County Government. Honolulu, which was the Capital of the Territory of Hawaii, is believed to be the only fire department in the world that has had kings serve as active members with King Kamehameha III, who reigned during the 1850s and King David Kalakaua, during the 1880s working alongside volunteers.