who should be properly instructed and drilled, to take charge of it,
and to guide the people who work at the levers.
The person having the principal charge of the engines should
frequently turn over in his mind what might be the best plan, in such
and such circumstances, supposing a fire to take place. By frequently
ruminating on the subject, he will find himself, when suddenly turned
out of bed at night, much more fit for his task than if he had never
considered the matter at all. Indeed he will frequently be surprised,
when examining the premises afterwards (_which he ought always to do,
and mark any mistakes he may have committed_), that he should have
adopted the very best mode of extinguishing the fire, amid the noise,
confusion, and the innumerable advices showered down on him, by all
those who consider themselves qualified or entitled to give advice in
such matters; a number, by the way, which sometimes includes no
inconsiderable portion of the spectators. He should also make himself
well acquainted with the different parts of the town in which he may
be appointed to act, and notice the declivities of the different
streets, &c. He will find this knowledge of great advantage.
Any buildings, supposed to be particularly dangerous, should be
carefully examined, and all the different places where supplies of
water can be obtained for them noticed.
A knowledge of the locality thus obtained will be found of great
advantage in case of a fire breaking out. Indeed all firemen,
especially those having the charge of engines, should be instructed
carefully to examine and make themselves acquainted with the
localities of their neighbourhood or district. Such knowledge will
often prove valuable in emergencies; the proprietors or tenants of the
property on fire being sometimes in such a state of alarm, that no
distinct intelligence can be got from them.
When an engine is brought to a fire, it ought to be placed as nearly
as possible in a straight line between the supply of water and the
premises on fire; taking care, however, to keep at such a distance
from the latter that the men who work the pumps may be in no danger
from being scorched by the heat, or of being annoyed by the falling of
water or burning materials. Running the engine close upon the fire
serves no good purpose, except to shorten the quantity of hose that
would otherwise be required. The addition of twenty or thirty feet of
hose makes very little difference in the working of the engine, and,
when compared with the disadvantage of the men becoming unsteady from
the idea of personal danger, is not even to be named. Indeed, if the
engine be brought too near the fire, there is danger of the men
quitting the levers altogether. I may also add that, both for the
safety of the hose and the convenience of the inhabitants, the engine
should be kept out of the way of people removing furniture.
When the hose is attached and the engine filled with water, the man
who holds the branch-pipe, accompanied by another, should get so near
the fire, inside the house, _that the water from the branch may strike
the burning materials_. If he cannot accomplish this standing, he must
get down on his hands and knees and creep forward, those behind
handing up the hose. A stratum of fresh air is almost always to be
depended on from six to twelve inches from the floor, so that if the
air be not respirable to a person standing upright, he should
instantly get down. I have often observed this fact, which indeed is
well known; but I once saw an example of it which appeared to me to be
so striking, that I shall here relate it. A fire had broken out in the
third floor of a house, and when I reached the top of the stair, the
smoke was rolling in thick heavy masses, which prevented me from
seeing six inches before me. I immediately got down on the floor;
above which, for a space of about eight inches the air seemed to be
remarkably clear and bright. I could distinctly see the feet of the
tables and other furniture in the apartment; the flames in this space
burning as vivid and distinct as the flame of a candle, while all
above the smoke was so thick that the eye could not penetrate it. The
fire had already burst through three out of five windows in the
apartment, yet, when lying flat on the floor, no inconvenience was
felt except from the heat.
When the fire has broken through a floor, the supply of air along that
floor is not to be depended on--the fire drawing the principal supply
of air from the apartments below.
When the two first firemen have gained a favourable position, they
should keep it as long as they are able; and when they feel exhausted,
the men behind them should take their place.
The great point to which everything ought to be made subservient is,
_that the water on its discharge from the branch-pipe should actually
strike the burning materials_. This cannot be too often or too
anxiously inculcated on every one connected with a fire-engine
establishment. Every other method not having this for its grand
object, will, in nine cases out of ten, utterly fail; and upon the
degree of attention paid to this point, depends almost entirely the
question as to the amount of damage the fire will occasion.
When approaching a fire, it should always be done by the door, if
possible. When this is attended to, it is much easier to shift the
hose from one apartment to another; and the current of fresh air,
entering by the door and proceeding along the passages, makes
respiration easier and safer than elsewhere.
When entrance by the door is impracticable, and access is to be gained
by a window, the flames frequently burst through in such a manner as
to render advance in the first instance impossible. In that case, the
branch should be pointed against the window, nearly in a perpendicular
direction; the water striking the lintel, and falling all round inside
the window, will soon extinguish the fire at that point sufficiently
to render an entrance practicable.
The old plan of standing with the branch pipe in the street, and
throwing the water into the windows is a very random way of going to
work; and for my own part, although I have seen it repeatedly tried, I
never saw it attended with success. Indeed it is hardly to be expected
that water, thrown from the street into a room three or four storeys
high, can have any impression on closets, presses, or passages,
divided probably with brick partitions in the centre of the house. The
circumstance of having engines at work on both sides of the house does
not alter the case. The fire very often burns up through the centre,
and frequently, when the space between the windows is large, along the
front or back wall, till it arrives at the roof, which the water
cannot touch on account of the slates or tiles. On the other hand,
when the firemen enter the house, the fire is almost wholly under
their command. And when it happens that there is any corner which the
water cannot directly strike, the fire in it may often be extinguished
by throwing the water against an opposite wall or partition, and
trusting to the recoil to throw it to the point required.
When the water is thrown from the street, it is impossible to say
whether it touches the parts on fire or not. No one can tell anything
about it, except when the flame appears at the windows.
On going with the branch inside the house, besides the advantage of
the water rushing directly from the hose upon the fire, there is a
great saving in the article of water itself. The whole that is thrown
by the engine is applied to the right purpose. No part of it is lost;
that which does not strike the burning materials falls within the
house; and, by soaking those parts on which it falls, prevents their
burning so rapidly when the flames approach them.
If, on entering an apartment, it be found that the flames cover a
considerable space, it is of advantage, in some instances, to place
the point of the thumb in contact with the water at the nozzle of the
branch. By this means the water may be spread to cover any space under
twenty or thirty feet, according to the pressure applied.
While speaking of the mode of entering houses on fire, I may mention
that I have tried several inventions for the purpose of elevating the
branch pipe and hose to the level of a second or third story window.
But these, although exceedingly ingenious, appear to me to rest on a
principle entirely wrong; I mean that of throwing water on the fire
from the outside of the building.
Independent altogether of a mistaken principle of usefulness, one
insuperable objection to all these machines, is the difficulty of
conveying them with the necessary celerity, and the impossibility of
packing them on the engine in such a manner that it may be worked
without their being taken off, as it seems to me _that every
description of apparatus which cannot be conveyed along with the
engine, is likely to be left behind when most wanted_. It is notorious
that parish fire-ladders are, for this reason, seldom or never made
use of.
Many people object to going inside a building on fire on account of
the danger. It ought never to be forgotten, however, that the danger
increases with the delay; and that although at first there may be no
danger, if the opportunity is not promptly seized, it may become very
considerable.
Several of the firemen have at different times fainted, or become
stupefied, from the want of fresh air; but as no one is ever allowed
to enter singly, they have been, in all cases, immediately observed by
their comrades, and relieved.
Another objection has been raised in the alleged difficulty of
persuading men to risk their lives in this manner for the small
consideration which is allowed them. The truth is, that any
persuasions I have had occasion to use, have been generally on the
other side.
To hold the branch is considered the post of honour; and when two
engines are working together, I have sometimes difficulty in
preventing the men from pressing forward farther than is absolutely
necessary. This forwardness is not the result of pecuniary reward for
the increase of risk, but a spirit of emulation is at work, and the
man entrusted with this duty, if found drawing back, would be
completely disgraced.
A retreat should in all cases be kept open, to provide against any
accident that may occur; and as this may be done in almost all cases
by means so easy and simple, there can be no excuse for its omission.
At the same time no one but an expert fireman should be permitted to
enter where there is personal danger.
The danger to which firemen are most exposed is catching cold, from
their being so frequently drenched with water, and from their exposure
to the sudden alternations of heat and cold. A man is turned out of
bed at midnight, and in a few minutes after quitting it he is exposed
to the sharp air, perhaps, of a frosty winter night; running to the
fire as fast as he can, he is, from the exercise, joined to the
oppressive heat inside the place on fire, in a few minutes in a state
of the most profuse perspiration; and, while in this state, he is
almost certain to be soaked with cold water. The smoke is sometimes so
thick, that he comes under the range of the branch of the engine
without being aware of it till the water strikes him. If he escape
this chance, the water rushing on some other object, recoils on him,
and produces the same effect; and if the fire be in the roof of the
apartment, he must lie down on his back on the floor, and in this
manner gets completely steeped.
A bath of this sort is neither very safe nor pleasant; and the only
preventive of injury to the health is to keep the men in constant
motion. When they are allowed to stand still or sit down, the danger
is considerable. When the fire is extinguished, or in two or three
hours after its commencement, I make it a rule to give every man a
dram of spirits. If it be necessary to leave an engine on the spot,
those of the men who are to remain are sent home to change their
clothes.
THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE.
The London Fire Brigade now (January, 1861) consists of one
superintendent, four foremen, each being appointed to a district
consisting of a fourth part of London, which he never leaves except on
some very pressing emergency, and who, in the absence of the
superintendent, has the sole command of all engines, or firemen,
within, or who may come within, his district; twelve engineers, ten
sub-engineers, forty-seven senior firemen, and forty-three junior
firemen: in all, one hundred and seventeen individuals. In addition,
there are fifteen drivers and thirty-seven horses, all living at the
several stations, and ready when required. There is also a
supplementary force of four extra firemen, four drivers, and eight
horses living at the stations, pursuing their usual avocations, and
only paid by the Committee when required. The mechanical appliances
consist of twenty-seven large engines drawn by horses, eight small
engines drawn by hand, two floating-engines worked by steam, one of
forty-horse power, and the other of eighty-horse power, one land steam
fire-engine, and twenty-eight hand-pumps, one of the latter being
carried on each engine. When an engine is sent to a fire, only four
firemen and one driver accompany it. The levers are worked by the
by-standers, who are paid one shilling for the first hour, and
sixpence for each succeeding hour, besides refreshments. Upwards of
six hundred assistants have been thus employed at one time. The
principal protection of London against fire is entirely voluntary on
the part of the insurance companies, to whom the above establishment
belongs; there being no law in any shape whatever to control or
sustain the brigade; and with the exception of some fifteen or twenty,
the parish-engines are comparatively useless at a serious fire. It
must not be omitted, that the greatest possible assistance is given to
the firemen by the police, of whom there are about 7000, in keeping
back the crowd, &c. The fire-offices look upon the whole as a matter
of private business, so that the brigade is proportioned quite as must
to the amount which the offices think it prudent to spend as to the
size of the place. Paris, which is not half the size of London, and
the buildings of which are much more substantial, has upwards of 800
firemen. It appears to me that any success which the brigade may have
attained depends, in a great measure, on the liberal pay given, by
which the best men for the purpose can be obtained, the favourable
view in which the brigade is regarded by the public, and the willing
and able assistance given by a numerous and perhaps the best police in
existence.
The firemen in London being constantly employed on weekly wages, give
their whole time to their employers, and are much more under command
than where men are only occasionally employed. The wages and treatment
being liberal, although the discipline is severe, there are generally
a considerable number of candidates for each vacancy. Thus good men
are obtained, seamen being preferred, as they are taught to obey
orders, and the night and day watches and the uncertainty of the
occupation are more similar to their former habits, than to those of
other men of the same rank in life. The large number of fires is,
however, the principal cause of any advantage the London firemen may
possess over those of smaller places; and it is hardly fair to compare
firemen who have only an opportunity of attending one or two fires in
a week, to those who attend nearly three fires a day.
The firemen are drilled first daily, and then two or three times a
week, for some months; and this, with an average of three calls a day,
soon makes them acquainted with the routine of their business; but it
takes years of constant work to make a thoroughly good fireman.
The management of the London Fire Brigade is confided to a Committee,
consisting of one of the directors or secretaries from each of the
fire-offices in London.
The superintendent has the command of the whole force.
The town is divided into four districts, in each of which there are
stationed a sufficient number of engines, under the charge of a
foreman, with engines and firemen under him.
The districts are as follows:--
NORTH SIDE OF RIVER.
District A. From the eastward to Paul's Chain, St. Paul's
Churchyard, Aldersgate-street, and Goswell-street-road.
B. From St. Paul's, &c., to Tottenham-court-road,
Crown-street, and St. Martin's-lane.
C. From Tottenham-court-road, &c., westward.
D. South side of River.
The men are clothed uniformly; are distinguished by numbers
corresponding with their names in the books; and regularly exercised
in the use of their engines, and in such other duties as the Committee
or Superintendent may direct.
The following general regulations do not contain rules of conduct
applicable to every variety of circumstance that may occur to
individuals in the performance of their duty, as something must always
be left for the exercise of intelligence and discretion; and,
according to the degree in which these qualities in members of the
Establishment are combined with zeal and activity, they become
entitled to future promotion and reward.
It is strongly impressed upon the minds of all persons serving in the
Establishment, that one of the greatest advantages which the present
system possesses above that which it superseded, is derived from the
embodying the whole force under one responsible officer. It is,
therefore, incumbent upon the men to render prompt and cheerful
obedience to the commands of their superiors; to execute their duties
as steadily and quietly as possible; to be careful not to annoy the
inhabitants of houses they may be called upon to enter, and to treat
all persons with civility; to take care to preserve presence of mind
and good temper, and not to allow themselves to be distracted from
their duty by the advice or directions of any persons but their own
officers, and to observe the strictest sobriety and general regularity
of behaviour.
As every man wears the uniform of the Establishment, which is marked
with a number corresponding with his name in the books, he must
constantly bear in mind that misconduct will not only reflect
discredit upon the Establishment, but be easily brought home to
himself and subject him to proportional punishment.
The men are particularly cautioned not to take spirituous liquors from
any individual without special permission of the superintendent, or,
in his absence, of the foreman of the district; and as intoxication
upon the alarming occasion of fires is not only disreputable to the
Establishment, but in the highest degree dangerous, by rendering the
men unfit for duty, every appearance of it is most rigidly marked, and
the foremen, engineers, and sub-engineers report immediately, for the
purpose of being laid before the Committee, every instance of
insubordination or intoxication, and the men are accordingly apprised
that the regulations regarding the above-mentioned faults will be most
strictly enforced.
All the men in the Establishment are liable to be punished by fine,
suspension, reduction, or dismissal, for disobeying or neglecting any
of these regulations, or for any other misconduct; and the disposal of
the fines so collected is at the discretion of the Committee.
The following are the conditions upon which each man is admitted into
the Establishment:--
He devotes his whole time to the service.
He serves and resides wherever he is appointed.
He must promptly obey all orders which he may receive from
those placed in authority over him.
The age of admission does not exceed twenty-five, nor is
under eighteen.
He conforms himself to all regulations which may be made
from time to time.
He does not upon any occasion, or under any pretence
whatever, take money from any person, without the express
permission of the Committee.
He appears at all times in the dress of the Establishment.
If lodgings be found for him, a deduction of one shilling
per week is made from his pay, if unmarried; if married, and
if lodgings be found for him, an agreement in each
particular case will be made.
He receives his pay weekly on such day as shall be
appointed.
The pay of a Junior Fireman is 3_s._ per day, or 21_s._ a
week.
The pay of a Senior Fireman, 3_s._ 6_d._ a day, or 24_s._
6_d._ a week.
The pay of a Sub-Engineer is 26_s._ a week.
The pay of an Engineer, 4_s._ a day, or 28_s._ a week.
The Foremen are paid by annual salaries.
Each man contributes towards a Superannuation Fund,
according to a scale determined by the Committee.
Each man receives annually--
One short frock coat, marked with a number answering to his name
in the books.
A black neckcloth.
Two pairs of cloth trousers.
One cloth cap.
Four pairs of boots in three years, and
Once in three years he receives--
One great coat.
He does not quit the service without giving fourteen days'
previous notice; if he quits without such notice, or is
dismissed, the whole of his pay then due is forfeited.
Every man who is dismissed from the Establishment, or who
resigns his situation, delivers up, before he quits the
service, every article of dress and appointment which may
have been supplied to him; if any of such articles have
been, in the opinion of the superintendent, improperly used
or damaged, the man makes good the damage or supplies a new
article.
Every man in the service is liable to immediate dismissal
for unfitness, negligence, or misconduct. The Committee, if
they see fit, may dismiss a man without assigning any
reason.
No fireman must allow to be used by any other person, nor
use himself, except while he belongs to the Establishment,
the button and badge given with his clothes.
In the event of sickness rendering any man incapable of
performing his duties, the Committee reserves to itself the
power of making a deduction from his weekly pay.
Each man, on his admission, gives to the Committee, if
required, a letter of guarantee from some respectable
person, to an amount not exceeding 50_l._, as security.
OUTLINE OF GENERAL DUTY.
One-third of the men are constantly on duty at the different
engine-houses, night and day; and the whole are liable to be called up
for attendance at fires, or for any other duty. In general, it is
arranged as follows, viz.:--
If a fire happen in District A, the whole of the men and engines of
that district immediately repair to the spot; two-thirds of the men,
and one of the engines, from each of the districts B and D, also go to
the fire; and one-third of the men from the district C.
If the fire happen in B, the whole of the men and engines in that
district immediately repair to the fire; one engine from A, another
from C, two-thirds of the men from A and C, and one-third of the men
from D.
If the fire happen in C, the whole of the men and engines in that
district, one engine and two-thirds of the men from the district B,
and one-third of the men from A and D, go to the fire.
If the fire happen in D, the whole of the men and engines in that
district, with one engine and two-thirds of the men from the district
A, and one-third of the men from B and C, shall go to the fire.
If a fire happen on the boundary of a district, and it is doubtful in
which district it has occurred, the whole of the engines and men of
the two adjoining districts instantly proceed to the spot, and
one-third of the men of the two remaining districts.
In case of emergency, the superintendent calls in such additional
force as he may require.
The engines are not taken to alarms of chimneys on fire, unless the
circumstances of the case should, in the opinion of the
superintendent, foreman, or engineer, require a deviation from this
regulation.
When any of the men from another district come to assist at a fire, if
the engine to which they are attached is not in attendance, they
instantly go to the foreman's engine of the district to which they
come.
The engines are conveyed to fires at not less than seven miles per
hour, and the men who do not accompany the engines go at not less than
four miles per hour.
Any engineer or fireman who, when at a fire, is absent from an engine
or a branch pipe, without orders from the superintendent or foreman,
is liable to a fine.