Life of an American Fireman

Life of an American Fireman is a short, silent film Edwin S. Porter made for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It was shot late in 1902 and distributed early in 1903. One of the earliest American narrative films, it depicts the rescue of a woman and child from a burning building. It bears notable similarities to the 1901 English short film Fire, directed by James Williamson.

This particular construction of time and space was not invented by Porter, but he did maximize its use and further develop it in his more famous film of 1903, The Great Train Robbery.Charles Musser, a film scholar, points out that this film represents the social role of firefighters was changing at the time. ........

Source: Wikipedia