interfered with, nor their supplies of water diverted from them by
those coming afterwards, unless by a distinct order from the
superintendent, or, in his absence, from the chief magistrate on the
spot. The same rule will apply to each succeeding engine which takes
up a station.
The men must be careful not to allow their attention to be distracted
from their duty by listening to directions from any persons _except
their own officers_; and they will refer every one who applies to them
for aid to the superintendent, or to the chief magistrate present at
the time.
All the firemen must be particularly careful to let the policemen on
their respective stations know where they live, and take notice when
the policeman is changed, that they may give the new one the requisite
information.
The men are particularly cautioned not to take spirituous liquors from
any individual without the special permission of the captain of their
engine, who will see that every proper and necessary refreshment be
afforded to them; and as intoxication upon such alarming occasions is
not merely disreputable to the corps, but in the highest degree
dangerous, by rendering the men unfit for their duty, every appearance
of it will be most rigidly marked; and any man who may be discovered
in that state shall not only forfeit his whole allowances for the
turn-out and duty performed, but will be forthwith dismissed from the
corps.
All concerned are strictly enjoined to preserve their presence of
mind, not to lose temper, and upon no occasion whatsoever to give
offence to the inhabitants by making use of uncivil language or
behaving rudely.
*** Every one belonging to the establishment will be furnished with a
printed copy of these Regulations, which they are enjoined carefully
to preserve and _read over at least once every week_.
MEANS OF ESCAPE FROM FIRE.
[The following was written in the year 1830, and does not refer to
Public Fire-Escapes other than those that can be carried with a
Fire-Engine.--EDITOR.]
When the lower floors of a house are on fire, and the stairs or other
ordinary means of retreat destroyed, the simplest and easiest mode of
removing the inhabitants from the upper floors, is by a ladder placed
against the wall. In order to be able at all times to carry this plan
into effect, the person having charge of the engines should (as far as
possible) inform himself where long ladders are to be had, and how
they can most easily be removed.
But if a ladder of sufficient length is not to be procured, or is at
too great a distance to render it safe to wait for it, recourse must
immediately be had to other means.
If it happens that the windows above are all inaccessible, on account
of the flames bursting through those below, the firemen should
immediately get on the roof (by means of the adjoining houses,) and
descend by the hatch. The hatch, however, being sometimes directly
above the stair, is in that case very soon affected by the fire and
smoke. If, on approaching, it is found to be so much so as to render
an entrance in that way impracticable, the firemen should instantly
break through the roof, and, descending into the upper floors,
extricate those within. If it should happen, however, that the persons
in danger are not in the upper floor, and cannot reach it in
consequence of the stair being on fire, the firemen should continue
breaking through floor after floor till they reach them. In so
desperate a case as this the shorter process may probably be to break
through the party-wall between the house on fire and that adjoining,
when there is one; and when there is no house immediately contiguous,
through the gable, taking care in either case to break through at the
back of a closet, press, chimney, or other recess, where the wall is
thinnest. If an opening has been made from the adjoining house, it
should immediately (after having served the purpose for which it was
made) be built up with brick or stone, to prevent the fire spreading.
All these operations should be performed by slaters, masons, or
house-carpenters, who, being better acquainted with such work, are
likely to execute it in a shorter time than others--time, in such a
case, being everything, as a few minutes lost may cost the lives of
the whole party. It is not impossible, however, that circumstances may
occur to render all or either of these plans impracticable; in that
case, one or two of the lower windows must be darkened, and by this
means access gained to the upper ones. The plan recommended by the
Parisian firemen is, for a man to wrap himself up in a wet blanket,
and thus pass swiftly through the flames. But this effort is only to
be attempted when the flames from a single door are to be passed; in
any other case the stair will most likely be in flames, and
impassable.
A simple means of escape from fire is to have an iron ring fastened to
the window sill, and inside of the room a cradle, with a coil of rope
attached to it. The rope is put through the ring, and the person
wishing to escape gets into the cradle, and lowers himself down by
passing the rope through his hands. The great objection to this plan,
which is certainly very simple, is the difficulty, or rather
impossibility, of persuading people to provide themselves with the
necessary materials. Many men, too, are incapable of the exertion upon
which the whole plan depends; and if men in a state of terror are
unfit for such a task, what is to become of women and children?
Any fire-escape, to be generally useful, must, in the first place, be
capable of being carried about without encumbering the fire-engine;
and, in the next place, must be of instant and simple application. The
means which appear to me to possess these qualifications in the
highest degree, is a combination of the cradle plan, with Captain
Manby's admirable invention for saving shipwrecked seamen.
The apparatus necessary for this fire-escape is a chain-ladder eighty
feet long, a single chain or rope of the same length as the ladder, a
canvas bag, a strong steel cross-bow, and a fine cord of the very best
workmanship and materials, 130 feet long, with a lead bullet of
three-ounce weight attached to one end, and carefully wound upon a
wooden cone seven inches high and seven inches broad at the base,
turned with a spiral groove, to prevent the cord slipping when wound
upon it, also a small pulley with a claw attached to it, and a cord
reeved through it of sufficient strength to bear the weight of the
ladder.
In order to prevent the sides of the ladder from collapsing, the steps
are made of copper or iron tube, fastened by a piece of cord passed
through the tube and into the links of the chain, till the tube is
filled. The steps thus fastened are tied to the chain with
copper-wire, so that, in the event of the cord being destroyed, the
steps will be retained in their places by the wire. The ladder is
provided with two large hooks at one end, for the purpose of fixing it
to a roof, window-sill, &c. The bag is of canvas, three feet wide and
four feet deep, with cords sewed round the bottom, and meeting at the
top, where they are turned over an iron thimble at each side of the
mouth of the bag. The steel cross-bow is of the ordinary description,
of sufficient strength to throw the lead bullet with the cord
attached, 120 feet high.
When the house from which the persons in danger are to be extricated
is so situated that the firemen can get to the roof by passing along
the tops of the adjoining houses, they will carry up the chain-ladder
with them, and drop it over the window where the inmates show
themselves, fastening the hooks at the same time securely in the roof.
The firemen will descend by the ladder into the window, and putting
the persons to be removed into the bag, lower them down into the
street by the single chain. If the flames are issuing from the windows
below, the bag, when filled, is easily drawn aside into the window of
the adjoining house, by means of a guy or guide-rope.
If the house on fire stands by itself, or if access cannot be had to
the roof by means of the adjoining houses, the lead bullet, with the
cord attached, is thrown over the house by means of the cross-bow; to
this cord a stronger one is attached, and drawn over the house by
means of the former; a single chain is then attached, and drawn over
in like manner; and to this last is attached the chain-ladder, which,
on being raised to the roof, the firemen ascend, and proceed as before
directed.
If the house be so high that the cord cannot be thrown over far enough
to be taken hold of by those on the opposite side, then the persons to
be extricated must take hold of the cord, as it hangs past the window
at which they may have placed themselves. By means of it they draw up
the small pulley, and hook it on the window-sill. The chain-ladder is
then made fast to the end of the cord, and drawn up by those below.
When the end of the chain-ladder comes in front of the window, the
persons inside fasten the hooks of the ladder on its sill, or to the
post of a bed, the bars of a grate, or anything likely to afford a
sufficient hold. After having ascertained that the ladder is properly
fixed, the firemen will ascend and proceed as in the former cases.
I must here remark, that before this plan can be properly put in
execution, the firemen must be regularly trained to the exercise. When
the firemen here are practised with the fire-escape, the man ascending
or descending has a strong belt round his middle, to which another
chain is fastened, and held by a man stationed at the window for that
purpose; if any accident, therefore, were to occur with the
chain-ladder, the man cannot fall to the ground, but would be swung by
the chain attached to the belt round his body. The men are also
frequently practised in ascending and descending by single chains. The
firemen here are very fond of the above exercise; the bagging each
other seems to amuse them exceedingly.[I]
The last resort, in desperate cases, is to leap from the window. When
this is to be attempted, mattresses, beds, straw, or other soft
substances, should be collected under the window; a piece of carpet or
other strong cloth should be held up by ten or twelve stout men. The
person in the window may then leap, as nearly as possible, into the
centre of the cloth, and if he has sufficient resolution to take a
fair leap, he may escape with comparatively little injury.[J]
FIRE-ENGINES.
In the application of manual power to the working of fire-engines, the
principal object is, to apply the greatest aggregate power to the
lightest and smallest machine; that is, suppose two engines of the
same size and weight, the one with space for 20 men to work throws 60
gallons per minute; and the other, with space for 30 men, throws 80
gallons in the same time; the latter will be the most useful engine,
although each man is not able to do so much work as at the former.
The reciprocating motion is generally preferred to the rotary for
fire-engines. Independent of its being the most advantageous movement,
a greater number of men can be employed at an engine of the same size
and weight; there is less liability to accident with people
unacquainted with the work, and such as are quite ignorant of either
mode of working, work more freely at the reciprocating than the rotary
motion. To these reasons may be added, the greater simplicity of the
machinery.
Various sizes of engines, of different degrees of strength and weight,
have been tried, and it is found that a fire-engine with two cylinders
of 7 inches diameter, and a stroke of 8 inches, can be made
sufficiently strong at 17-1/2 cwt. If 4 cwt. be added for the hose and
tools, it will be found quite as heavy as two fast horses can manage,
for a distance under six miles, with five firemen and a driver.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. Fire-Engine used by the London Fire Brigade.
Longitudinal section,--with the Levers turned up for travelling.]
This size of engine has been adopted by the Board of Admiralty and the
Board of Ordnance, and its use is becoming very general.
When engines are made larger, it is seldom that the proper proportions
are preserved, and they are generally worked with difficulty, and soon
fatigue the men at the levers.
[Illustration: FIG. 2. Transverse section.]
When an engine is large, it not only requires a considerable number of
men to work it, but it is not easily supplied with water; and, above
all, _it cannot be moved about with that celerity on which, in a
fire-engine establishment, everything depends_. When the engine is
brought into actual operation, the effect to be produced depends less
on the quantity of water thrown than upon its being made actually to
strike the burning materials, the force with which it does so, and the
steadiness with which the engine is worked. If the water be steadily
directed upon the burning materials, the effect even of a small
quantity is astonishing.
When a large engine is required in London, two with 7-inches cylinders
are worked together by means of a connecting screw, thus making a jet
very nearly equal (as 98 to 100) to that of an engine with cylinders
10 inches diameter.
It is also an advantage not unworthy of consideration, that two 7-inch
engines may be had nearly for the price of one 10-inch one; so that if
one happens to be rendered unserviceable the other may still be
available.
The usual rate of working an engine of the size described is 40
strokes of each cylinder per minute; this gives 88 gallons. The number
of men required to keep steadily at work for three or four hours is
26; upwards of 30 men are sometimes put on when a great length of hose
is necessary. The lever is in the proportion of 4-1/4 to 1. With 40
feet of leather hose and a 7/8 inch jet, the pressure is 30 lb. on the
square inch; this gives 10.4 lbs. to each man to move a distance of
226 feet in one minute. The friction increases the labour 2-1/2 per
cent. for every additional 40 feet of hose, which shows the necessity
of having the engine, and of course the supply of water, as close to
the fire as is consistent with the safety of the men at the levers.
In order that the reader may have a distinct idea of such a
fire-engine, I shall here endeavour to give a description, chiefly
taken from those made by W. J. Tilley,[K] fire-engine maker, London.
The engravings (figs. 1 and 2) represent a fire-engine of 7-inch
barrels and 8-inch stroke.[L] The cistern marked A is made of mahogany
or oak. The upper work, B, and side-boxes or pockets, C, are of Baltic
fir. The sole, D, upon which the barrels stand, and which also
contains the valves, is of cast-iron, with covers of the same
material, which are screwed down, and the joints made good with
leather or india-rubber. The pieces E, at each end of the cast-iron
sole D, are of cast brass, and screwed to the cast-iron sole D, with a
joint the same as above. In one of these pieces is the screwed
suction-cap F, and to the other is attached the air-vessel G, made of
sheet-copper, and attached to the piece E by a screw. The exit-pipe H
is attached to the under side of the casting E by a swivel. The valves
at I are of brass, ground so as to be completely water-tight. The
barrels K are of cast brass. The engine is set on four grasshopper
springs M. The shafts or handles O, of the levers P, are of lancewood.
The box S, under the driving seat, is used for keeping wrenches, cord,
&c.; in the fore part of the cistern A, and the box B above the
cistern, the hose is kept; the branch and suction-pipes are carried in
the side-boxes or pockets C; the rest of the tools and materials are
kept along with the above-mentioned articles, in such situations as
not to interfere with the working of the engine.
The cistern is made of oak or mahogany, for strength and durability;
but, for the sake of lightness, the upper work and side-boxes are made
of Baltic fir, strength in them being of less importance.
As the valve cannot be made without a rise for the lid to strike
against, there is a small step at each of the valves, and the sole is
carried through as high as this step, to admit of the water running
off when the engine is done working. If constructed in a different
manner, the water will lodge in the bottom, and produce much
inconvenience in situations where the engine is exposed to frost.
The valve-covers are of cast-iron, fastened down with copper screws, a
piece of leather or india-rubber being placed between them and the
upper edges of the sole.
The pieces at each end of the sole are of cast-brass, instead of
sheet-copper, with soft-solder joints, which are very apt to give way.
The screwed suction cap with iron handle admits the water in two
different directions, according as it is open or closed: the one to
supply the engine when water is drawn from the cistern, the other for
drawing water through the suction-pipe.
The valves are brass plates, truly ground to fit the circular brass
orifice on which they fall. The brass being well ground, no leather is
used for the purpose of making them tight. The longer they are used
the better they fit, and by having no leather about them they are less
liable to the adhesion of small stones or gravel. The whole valve is
put together and then keyed into a groove in the sides and bottom of
the sole, left for that purpose.
The barrels are of cast-brass, with a piston made of two circular
pieces of the same metal, each put into a strong leather cup, and
bolted to the other. The bottoms of the cups being together, when the
piston becomes loose in the barrels, and there is not sufficient time
to replace the cups by new ones, they are easily tightened by putting
a layer of hemp round the piston between the leather and the brass.
This operation, however, requires to be carefully performed; for if
more hemp is put into one part than another it is apt to injure the
barrels. The barrels are fixed to the cast-iron sole by copper screws,
a little red lead being placed between the bottom flange of the barrel
and the sole.
When the engine is likely to be dragged over rough roads or causeways,
it is of importance to have it set on springs, to prevent the jolting
from affecting the working part of the engine, everything depending on
that being right.
The engines used in Paris are mounted on two wheels, the carriage and
the engine being separate, the latter being dismounted from the former
before it can be used. In Paris, where the engines are managed by a
corps of regularly-trained firemen, this may answer well enough; but
if hastily or carelessly dismounted by unskilful persons, the engine
may be seriously damaged. It is also worthy of remark, that the proper
quantity of hose, tools, &c., can be more easily attached to and
carried on a four-wheeled engine.
In order that the men may work more easily at the handles, and suffer
less fatigue, the engine is not higher than to enable them to have the
levers easily under their command. The shafts of the levers are of
lancewood, being best calculated to bear the strain to which they are
exposed when the engine is at work, and they are made to fold up at
each end for convenience in travelling.
The air-vessel should be placed clear of any other part of the engine,
excepting only the point where it is attached.
The fore-carriage of the engine is fitted with a pole, and is made to
suit the harness of coach-horses, these being, in large towns, more
easily procured than other draught cattle; this can be altered,
however, to suit such harness as can most readily be obtained. Where
horses are seldom used to move the engines, a drag-handle is attached,
by which one or two men are able easily to direct the progress of the
engine.
Two drag-ropes, each twenty-five feet long, of three-inch rope, with
ten loops to each, are attached, one to each end of the splinter-bar,
by means of which the engines are dragged; and to prevent the loops
collapsing on the hand, they are partly lined with sheet-copper.
The whole of the brass work of an engine should be of the best
gun-metal, composed of copper and tin only. Yellow brass should never
be used; even at first it is far inferior to gun-metal, and after
being used for some time it gets brittle. The whole of the materials
used in the construction of a fire-engine should be of the best
description.
In London for some years past a hand-pump has been carried with each
engine. They have been found of the greatest service in keeping doors,
windows, &c., cool. They throw from six to eight gallons per minute,
to a height of from thirty to forty feet, and can be used in any
position. The idea of the hand-pumps I took from the old-fashioned
squirt, or "hand-engine."
When fire-engines are unserviceable it arises more frequently from
want of care in keeping in order than from any damage they may have
received in actual service or by the wearing out of the materials; so
it is quite plain that this important part of the duty has not
generally had that degree of attention paid to it which it deserves.
Although an engine were to be absolutely perfect in its construction,
if carelessly thrown aside after being brought home from a fire, and
allowed to remain in that state till the next occasion, it would be in
vain (especially in small towns, where alarms are rare) to expect to
find it in a serviceable condition; some of the parts must have grown
stiff, and if brought into action in this state something is likely to
give way.
When an engine is brought back from a fire, it ought to be immediately
washed, the cistern cleaned out, the barrels and journals cleaned and
fresh oil put on them, the wheels greased, and every part of the
engine carefully cleaned and examined, and if any repairs are needed
they should be executed immediately. When all this has been attended
to clean hose should be put in, and the engine is again fit for
immediate service. Besides this cleaning and examination after use,
the engine ought to be examined and the brass part cleaned once a
week, and worked with water once a month whether it has been used or
not.
In addition to the keeping of the engine always in an effective state,
this attention has the advantage of reminding the men of their duty,
and making them familiar with every part of the mechanism of the
engine; thus teaching them effectually how the engines ought to be
protected when at work, by enabling them to discover those parts most
liable to be damaged, and to which part damage is the most dangerous.
It is more troublesome generally to get the engines well kept when
there are no fires, than when there are many. But the only effectual
method of inducing the men to keep them in good order, in addition to
the moral stimulants of censure and applause, is to fine those who
have the charge of them for the slightest neglect.
When the engine has been properly placed, before beginning to work the
fore-carriage should be locked. This is done by putting an iron pin
through a piece of wood attached to the cistern, into the
fore-carriage. This prevents the wheels from turning round, and coming
under the shafts, by which the latter might be damaged, and the hands
of the men at work injured.
Small stones, gravel, and other obstructions, sometimes find their way
into the nozzle of the branch-pipe, from having dropped into the hose
before being attached, or having been drawn through the suction-pipe
or from the cistern. Whenever the engine is found to work stiffly, it
should be stopped and examined, otherwise the pressure may burst the
hose, or damage some part of the engine. If anything impedes the
action of the valves the pistons must be drawn, and if a person's hand
be then introduced they may easily be cleared--constant care and
attention to all the minutiae of the engine and apparatus being
absolutely indispensable, if effective service be expected from them.
Considerable attention ought to be paid to the selecting a proper
situation for an engine-house. Generally speaking, it ought to be
central, and on the highest ground of the district it is meant to
protect, and care should be taken to observe when any of the streets
leading from it are impassable.