Leather Helmets
Which Will You Wear?

Sometime between 1821 and 1836 Henry T. Gratacap developed and created a leather helmet – the first to use a design composed of eight segments or “combs” – that quickly gained popularity with New York City firemen and adopted by FDNY in the late 1800’s. The Cairns & Brother (now Cairns Helmets), worked with Gratacap until his retirement, and has pioneered firefighter helmet technology ever since.