Surveyed and drawn for the Fire Underwriters' Association of South Australia. Detailed plans giving street names, names of occupiers and building usage. Lithographs, some colour, with annotations in red ink

Fire insurance plans are large-scale town maps which grew out of the need for fire insurance underwriters to know the physical characteristics of a building which was being insured. These maps detail with colour and symbols, the nature of the outside and inside construction of buildings: materials used in the building (whether it is timber, brick or stone or iron), the location of passages, fire walls, sky-lights, windows and other openings in walls, height and occupancy or use of individual buildings or groups of buildings. Fire hydrants are also indicated on the maps. The maps show not only the internal hazards of the buildings but also their position relative to adjoining buildings, which may contain further risks to the insured structure. As Ristow writes 'the object of the maps is to show at a glance the character of any building ... without having to make a special examination.'

The maps are bound in large volumes and are periodically updated. At the front of the volume is a key plan which identifies the locality (usually a city block) within the wider area. A key is also provided for the abbreviations and symbols. Sometimes, but not in the case of this series of maps, an overlay is also used which provides additional information.

Fire insurance maps probably originated in London in the late 18th century with Thomas Leverton generally credited with producing the first insurance maps for the Phoenix Assurance Company Ltd. Between 1792-99 Richard Horwood produced a map of London at the scale of 26 inches to the mile: it identified by street number every house and building that was then standing. In the early years of the fire insurance industry underwriters personally inspected properties under consideration. As business expanded this was neither feasible nor economical. Fire insurance maps made available to all underwrites were a practical solution to the problem.

Fire insurance maps provide the most valuable source of land use information for urban areas. No other map provides the level of detail that is contained within these maps. While the maps were produced specifically with the needs of the insurance companies in mind they also provide a wealth of information for other users whether it is for architectural history or economic and cultural issues. When house numbers are provided they are also of use to genealogists.

Wood, David William Building construction, plan drawing and surveying in relation to fire insurance London: Pitman, 1928

British Library The city in maps : urban mapping to 1900 / James Elliot London: British Library, 1987

An introduction to British Fire Insurance Plans by Gwyn Rowley in The Map Collector no. 29 December 1984 pp. 14-19

United States fire insurance and underwriters maps: 1852-1968 by Walter W Ristow in Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress vol. 25 no. 3 July 1968 pp. 194-218

State Library of Victoria: Fire insurance plans

British Library: Fire Insurance and Shoppiing Centre plans

University of Toronto: Fire insurance plans and atlases