In the middle of the 19th century, the Volunteer Firefighting Society of the city was formed at 12, Gorodskoy Val, with its public plaza situated on the corner. Almost immediately after its formation, the society built a fire station on the other side of the plaza. For Minsk at that time, frequent fires were a grave reality. Often entire streets and city blocks burned down due to minor mishaps.The city's population at the time was majority Jewish; therefore, they were most plagued by fires. In addition, the firefighters were also primarily Jewish. Therefore, the Jewish community paid for the fire brigade building’s construction.The Minsk Fire Station was opened on January 21, 1885, with a six-horse stable for the Fire Society beside it. Jewish funds and labor erected both the buildings of the fire station and the stables. The fire society banded with the community to form volunteer fire brigades.The building of the fire station has survived intact unscathed, currently housing the Museum of Firefighting, which introduces visitors to the local history of firefighting, traditions, firefighting heroes, as well as firefighting equipment, rare photographs, archival documents telling of the largest fires in the history of Belarus.