adjoining to a police watch-house, it may be considered nearly
perfect, in so far as regards situation. These advantages being all
attained, the engine can be conveyed to any particular spot by a
comparatively small number of men, while the vicinity of a police
watch-house affords a facility of communicating the alarm of fire to
the firemen not to be obtained otherwise. When the engine-house is
placed in a low situation the men who first arrive must wait till the
others come forward to assist them to drag the engine up the ascent,
and many minutes must thus be lost at a time when moments are
important.
After choosing a proper situation for the engine-house, the next care
should be directed towards having it properly ventilated, as nothing
contributes more to the proper keeping of the engines and hose than
fresh and dry air. For this purpose a stove should be fitted up, by
which the temperature may be kept equal. When engines are exposed to
violent alternations of heat and cold, they will be found to operate
very considerably on the account for repairs, besides occasioning the
danger of the engine being frozen and unserviceable when wanted.
There ought to be at least half a dozen keys for each engine-house,
which should be kept by the firemen, watchmen, and those connected
with the establishment, that the necessity of breaking open the door
may not occur.
DESCRIPTION OF TOOLS WITH WHICH EACH ENGINE IS PROVIDED.
Having considered the sort of fire-engine which is best adapted for
general purposes, I shall now notice the different articles which, in
London, are always attached to, and accompany, each engine of this
kind:--
7 coils of hose, 40 feet each.
4 bundles of sheepskin and lay-cord.
4 lengths of suction-pipe, each between 6 and 7 feet long.
2 branch pipes.
3 jet pipes or nozzles and an elbow for jet.
3 wrenches for coupling-joints.
2 lamps.
2 lengths of scaling ladder.
1 fire-hook.
60 feet of patent line, and 20 feet of trace line.
1 mattock.
1 shovel.
1 hatchet or pole-axe.
1 saw.
1 iron crow-bar.
1 portable cistern.
1 flat suction strainer.
1 standcock, and hook for street plugs.
1 screw wrench.
1 canvas sheet with 10 or 12 rope handles round its edges.
9 canvas buckets.
1 hand-pump with 10 feet of hose and jet pipe.
Of these articles I shall endeavour to give a description as they
stand in the above list.
The article of hose being first in order, as well as importance,
merits particular attention.
The sort used is leather, made with copper rivets, and is by far the
most serviceable and durable hose that I have yet seen.
Manufacturers of this article, however, for a very obvious reason, are
not always careful to select that part of the hide which, being
firmest, is best adapted for the purpose. Indeed, I have known several
instances wherein nearly the whole hide has been cut up and made into
hose, without any selection whatever. The effect of this is very
prejudicial. The loose parts of the hide soon stretch and weaken, and
while, by stretching, the diameter of the pipe is increased, the
pressure of the water, in consequence, becomes greater on that than on
any other part of the hose, which is thereby rendered more liable to
give way at such places.
Hose are frequently made narrow in the middle, and, in order to fit
the coupling-joints, wide at the extremities--a practice which lessens
their capability of conveying a given quantity of water, in proportion
to the difference of the area of the section of the diameters at the
extremity and the middle part.
In order to make them fit the coupling-joints, when carelessly widened
too much, I have frequently seen them stuffed up with brown paper, and
in that case they almost invariably give way, the folds of the paper
destroying the hold which the leather would otherwise have of the
ridges made on the ends of the coupling-joints.
In order to avoid all these faults and defects, the riveted hose used
are made in the following manner:--
The leather is nine and five-eighths inches broad (that being the
breadth required for coupling-joints of two and a half inches diameter
of clear water-way), and levelled to the proper uniform thickness. The
leather used is taken from hides of the very best description,
perfectly free from flesh-cuts, warble-holes, or any other blemish,
and stuffed as high as possible.[M] Not more than four breadths are
taken from each hide, and none of the soft parts about the neck,
shoulders, or belly are used. No piece of leather is less than four
feet long.
The leather is gauged to the exact breadth, and holes punched in it
for the rivets. In the operation of punching, great care must be taken
to make the holes on each side of the leather exactly opposite to each
other. If this precaution be not attended to, the seam when riveted
takes a spiral direction on the hose, which the heads of the rivets
are very apt to cut at the folds. Care must also be taken that the
leather is equally stretched on both sides, otherwise the number of
holes on the opposite sides may be unequal. The ends are then cut at
an angle of thirty-seven degrees; if cut at a greater angle, the
cross-joint will be too short, and if at a smaller, the leather will
be wasted. This must, however, be regulated in some degree by the
number of holes in the cross-joint, as the angle must be altered a
little if the holes at that part do not fit exactly with the holes
along the side.
The different pieces of leather necessary to form one length, or forty
feet of hose, are riveted together by the ends.
Straps of leather, three inches broad, are then riveted across the
pipe, ten feet apart, to form loops for the purpose of handing or
making fast the hose when full of water. The leather is then laid
along a bench, and a bar of iron, from eight to ten feet long, three
inches broad, and one inch thick, with the corners rounded off, is
laid above it. The rivets are next put into the holes on one side of
the leather, along the whole length of the iron bar. The holes on the
other side are then brought over them, and the washers put on the
points of the rivets, and struck down with a hollow punch. The points
of the rivets are then riveted down over the washers, and finished
with a setting punch. The bar of iron is drawn along, and the same
operation repeated till the length of the hose be finished.
The rivets and washers should be made of the best wrought copper, and
must be well tinned before being used.
Some objections have been made to riveted hose on account of the
alleged difficulty of repairing them; but this is not so serious a
matter as may at first view appear. Indeed, they very seldom require
any repairs, and when they do, the process is not difficult. If any of
the rivets be damaged, as many must be taken out as will make room for
the free admission of the hand. A small flat mandrel being introduced
into the hose, the new rivets are put into the leather, and riveted up
the same as new pipe; the mandrel is then shaken out at the end.
If the leather be damaged, it may be repaired either by cutting out
the piece, and making a new joint, or by riveting a piece of leather
upon the hole.
The manner of attaching the hose to the coupling-joint is also a
matter of very considerable importance. If a joint come off when the
engine is in operation, a whole length of hose is rendered useless for
the time, and a considerable delay incurred in getting it detached,
and another substituted.
To prevent this, the hose ought to fit as tightly as possible to the
coupling-joint, without any packing. In riveted hose, a piece of
leather, thinned down to the proper size, should be put on to make up
the void which the thick edge of the leather next the rivet
necessarily leaves; the hose should then be tied to the coupling-joint
as firmly as possible with the best annealed copper wire, No. 16
gauge.
When the hose are completely finished in this manner they are proved
by a proving-pump, and if they stand a pressure of two hundred feet of
water they are considered fit for service. I may also add, that when
any piece of hose has been under repair it is proved in the same
manner before it is deemed trustworthy.
The proving of the hose is of very considerable importance, and the
method of doing so which I have mentioned is greatly superior to the
old plan of proving them on an engine or fire-cock. By the latter
method, no certain measure can be obtained by which the pressure can
be calculated. In the first place it must depend on the relative
height of the reservoir from whence the water is obtained and that of
the fire-cock where the experiment is made; and as the supply of water
drawn from the pipes by the inhabitants may be different on different
days of the week and even in different hours of the day, it is quite
evident that by this method no certain rule can be formed for the
purpose required, the pressure being affected by the quantity of water
drawn at the time.
The method of proving by an engine is considerably better than this;
but when a proving-pump can be obtained it is infinitely better than
either. One disadvantage of an engine is, that it requires a
considerable number of men; but even the proof, that of throwing the
water to a given height on the gable of a house or other height, is
not always a test of the sufficiency of the hose. As the temperature
is low or high, the wind fresh or light, the degree of pressure on the
hose in throwing the water to the required height will be greater or
less. Indeed, in high winds it is a matter of extreme difficulty to
throw the water to any considerable height.
With an engine of 7-inch barrels and 7-inch stroke, fitted with eighty
feet of 2-3/8-inch hose, I have found from several experiments that
when the water is thrown seventy-five feet high, the pressure on the
hose is equal to one hundred feet. The same engine, with 160 feet of
hose, and the branch-pipe raised fifty feet above the level of the
engine, when the water was thrown fifty-six feet from the branch,
occasioned a pressure equal to 130 feet on the hose. From these
experiments, I am convinced that the pressure will not be equal to 200
feet, except in very extreme cases, or when some obstacle gets into
the jet pipe.
I tried the extreme strength of a piece of riveted hose 4 feet long
and 2-3/8 inches diameter, and found that it did not burst till the
pressure increased to 500 feet; and when it gave way the leather was
fairly torn along the rivet-holes.
Every possible care should be taken to keep the hose soft and pliable,
and to prevent its being affected by mildew. After being used, in
order to dry them equally they should be hung up by the centre, with
the two ends hanging down, until half dry. They should then be taken
down and rubbed over with a composition of bees'-wax, tallow, and
neats-foot oil,[N] and again hung up to allow the grease to sink into
the leather. When the hose appear to be dry they should be a second
time rubbed with the composition, and then coiled up for use. In order
that the hose undergoing the operation of greasing may not be
disturbed or used till in a fit state, it is better to have a double
set, and in this way, while one set is in grease the other is in the
engine ready and fit for service. More time can also be taken for any
repairs which may be necessary, and they will in consequence be more
carefully done, and at fires where a great length of hose is required
the spare set will always be available. When the weather is damp, and
the hose cannot be dried so as to be fit for greasing in two or three
days, a stove should be put into the room in order to facilitate the
process. The greatest care, however, must be taken in the use of
artificial heat. The whole apartment should be kept of one equal
temperature, which ought never to be higher than is requisite to dry
the hose for greasing in about forty hours.
_Coupling-joints._[O]--So much of the efficiency and duration of the
hose depend on the proper form given to the brass coupling-joints,
that I deem it useful to give a detailed description, both of those
generally made use of and of those adopted by the Edinburgh
fire-establishment, and also to point out their various defects and
advantages.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. Old Coupling]
Fig. 3 is the construction commonly made by engine-makers. Its defects
are as follows:--From the form of the furrows and ridges where the
leather is tied it does not hold on well against a force tending to
pull the hose off end-ways; screw-nails are therefore often employed,
as at A, to secure the hose on the brass. The points of these nails
always protrude more or less into the inside of the joint, and
materially impede the current of water. The mouths of the joints are
also turned outwards, and form a shoulder, as at B. The intention of
this is probably to assist in securing the leather in its place, and
to prevent the lapping from slipping. The effects of it are as
follows:--First, from the leather being strained over this projection,
it becomes liable to be cut by every accidental injury, and very soon
cracks and gives way, when a portion must be cut off and a fresh
fixing made; second, the leather being stretched over the projection,
does not fit the other part of the joint, and must be loose or filled
up with pieces of leather, or, as is sometimes done, with brown paper;
third, the irregularity of the calibre of the conduit which this
shoulder occasions diminishes the performance of the engine.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. New Coupling]
Fig. 4 is the coupling-joint adopted in Edinburgh. The furrows at the
tying place are shallow, but their edges present a powerful obstacle
to the slipping of the leather. No screw-nails are employed, nor is
there any shoulder, as at B; there is therefore no impediment to or
variation in the velocity of the current, as the calibres of the
coupling joints and of the hose are so nearly uniform. It will be seen
also that as the lapping projects above the leather this latter can
never be injured by falls or rubbing on the ground.
Another great advantage attending the joints used here is the manner
in which their screws are finished. On examining the figure minutely,
it will be observed that the male-screw ends in a cylinder of the
diameter of the _bottom_ of its thread, consequently of the diameter
of the top of the thread of the female-screw. The effect of this is,
that, when the screws are brought together, the cylindric portion
serves as a guide to the threads, and the most inexperienced person
cannot fail to make them catch fair at the first trial. The advantage
of this in the circumstances attending fires is obvious.
These joints, although requiring three or four turns to close them up,
yet as it is only the ring D which requires to be turned, it can
easily be done with the hand alone without the use of wrenches.
Although, when the whole length of hose has been jointed, it may be as
well to send a man with a pair of wrenches to set the joints firm;
this, however, is by no means absolutely necessary; if the joints are
kept in proper order a man can secure them sufficiently with the hand.
There is also a facility in taking turns out of the hose, which no
other but a swivel joint affords. By slackening a single turn any
twist may be taken out, without undoing the joint or stopping the
engine, while, from the number of turns required to close the joints,
there is no chance of the screw being by any accident undone. In order
to prevent the threads from being easily damaged, they should be of a
pretty large size, not more than five or six to the inch. For the same
reason also the thread should be a little rounded.
As it sometimes happens that the screws are damaged by falling on the
street, or by heavy bodies striking them, whenever the hose have been
used the joints should be tried by a steel gauge-screw, to be kept for
that purpose. This ought to be particularly attended to, as, on
arriving at a fire, it is rather an awkward time to discover that a
joint has been damaged, while the delay thus occasioned may be
attended with very serious consequences.
_Four Bundles of Sheepskin and Lay-cord._--These are simply four or
five stripes of sheepskin, each about three or four inches broad. When
a leak occurs in a length of hose which cannot be easily replaced at
the time, one or more pieces of sheepskin are wrapt tightly over the
leak and tied firmly with a piece of cord. This is but an indifferent
method of mending, but I do not know of any other which can be so
readily applied with the same effect. If another length of hose can be
substituted for the leaky one it is better to do so; but that is not
always at hand, nor does it always happen that time can be spared for
the purpose.
_Four Lengths of Suction-pipe._--These are generally made of leather,
riveted tightly over a spiral worm of hoop-iron, about three-quarters
of an inch broad, a piece of tarred canvas being placed between the
worm and the leather. They are usually made from six to eight feet
long, with a copper strainer screwed on the farther end, to prevent as
much as possible any mud or dirt from getting into the engine with the
water. It is of advantage to carry four lengths of suction-pipe, as
they can be joined to reach the water; if one is damaged the others
will still be serviceable.
The suction-pipes are more troublesome to rivet than the common hose,
and are done in the following manner:--After the joints are fixed on
the spiral worm, and it is covered with the tarred canvas, an iron
mandrel longer than the worm is put through it, the edge being rounded
to the circle of the inside of the worm. The projecting ends of the
mandrel are supported to allow the worm to lie quite clear. One end of
the mandrel has a check, that the brass joint may not prevent the worm
from lying flat on the mandrel. The leather is then put over the worm,
and the rivets being put into one side, a small thin mandrel is laid
over the canvas and the rivets struck down upon it. If the small
mandrel be not used the heads of the rivets are apt to lie unequally
on the worm.
_Three Wrenches for Coupling-joints._--These are for tightening the
coupling-joints, when that cannot be sufficiently done by hand. When
the hose are all put together a man is sent along the whole line with
a pair of wrenches to tighten such of the coupling-joints as require
it. The wrenches are generally made with a hole to fit the knob on the
coupling-joint, and, when used, are placed, one on the nob of the male
and another on the nob of the female-screw, so as to pull them in
opposite directions.
_Two Branch Pipes._--These are taper copper tubes, having a
female-screw at one end to fit the coupling-joints of the hose, and a
male-screw at the other to receive the jet pipes, one is 4 feet long
to use from the outside of a house on fire, the other 12 inches for
inside work.
_Three Jet-pipes_ or nozzles of various sizes made to screw on the end
of the branch pipe.
A great many different shapes of jet have been tried, and that shown
in Fig. 5, I found to answer best when tried with other forms. The old
jet was a continuation in a straight line of the taper of the branch,
from the size of the hose-screw, to the end of the jet-pipe; this had
many inconveniences; the size of the jet could not be increased
without making the jet-pipe nearly parallel. As the branches were
sometimes 7 feet or 8 feet long, in some instances the orifice at the
end of the jet-pipe was larger than that at the end of the branch. The
present form of the jet completely obviates this difficulty, as the
end of the branch is always 1-1/2 inches diameter.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
The curve of the nozzle of the present jet is determined by its own
size; five times one-half of the difference between the jet to be made
and the end of the branch, is set up on each side of the diameter of
the upper end of the branch, a straight line is then drawn across, and
an arc of a circle described on this line, from the extremity of each
end of the diameter of the jet, until it meets the top of the branch;
the jet is then continued parallel, the length of its own diameter;
the metal is continued one-eighth of an inch above this, to allow of a
hollow being turned out to protect the edge: The rule for determining
the size of the jet for inside work is, to "make the diameter of the
jet one-eighth of an inch for every inch in the diameter of the
cylinder, for each 8 inches of stroke." The branch used in this case
is the same size as shown in Fig. 5. When it is necessary to throw the
water to a greater height, or distance, a jet one-seventh less in area
is used, with a branch from 4 feet to 5 feet long.
_Two Lengths of Scaling Ladders._--These are 6-1/2 feet long, and are
fitted with sockets so that any number up to 7 or 8 may be joined
together to form one ladder varying in length according to
circumstances from 6-1/2 to upwards of 40 feet.
_One Fire-hook._--This is similar to a common boat-hook, of such
length as may be most convenient to strap on the handles of the
engine. It is used for pulling down ceilings, and taking out
deafening-boards when the fire happens to be between the ceiling and
the floor above. It is also used when a strong door is to be broken
open. It is placed with the point upon the door, one or two men
bearing upon it, while another striking the door, the whole force of
the blows is made to fall upon the lock or other fastening, which
generally yields without much difficulty.
_Sixty Feet of Patent Line and Twenty Feet of Trace Line._--These are
generally used for hoisting the hose into the windows of the house, in
which there is a fire, the stairs being sometimes so crowded with
people and furniture, that it is difficult to force a passage, and
when the pipe is laid in the stair, it is liable to be damaged by
people treading on it.
_One Mattock and Shovel._--These are useful in damming any running
water or gutter, uncovering drains, &c., from which the engine may be
supplied with water. The mattock should be short and strong, and the
shovel of the sort called diamond-pointed.
_One Hatchet._--The most serviceable hatchet for a fire-engine, is
similar to that used as a felling axe by wood-cutters. The back part
is made large that it may be conveniently used as a hammer.
_One Saw._--This should be a stout cross-cut saw, very widely set. It
is useful in cutting off the communication between one house and
another, which, when water is scarce, is sometimes necessary.
_One Iron Crow-bar._--This should be about two feet long. It is used
in opening doors, breaking through walls, &c.
_One Portable Cistern._[P]--This is made of canvas on a folding iron
frame, and is used in London placed over the street-fire plugs, a hole
is left in the bottom through which the water enters and fills the
cistern, the escape between the canvas and the plug box being
trifling. Two and sometimes three engines are worked by suction-pipe
from one plug in this manner. The portable cistern is also used when
the engine is supplied by suction, from water conveyed in carts or
buckets, and is greatly preferable to any plan of emptying the water
directly into the engine. By this latter method there is always a
considerable waste of water, arising both from the height of the
engine, and the working of the handles; and, in addition to these
objections only one person can pour in water at a time. When the water
is poured into the engine from carts, it must stop working till the
cart is emptied. All these objections, are in a great measure removed
by placing the portable cistern clear of the engine; when used in this
manner there must of course be no hole in the bottom.
_One Flat Suction Strainer_, made to screw on to the suction pipe, to
prevent anything being drawn in that would not pass through the
jet-pipe, and made flat, with no holes in the upper surface, for use
in the portable cistern.
_One Standcock_, with stem to insert direct in the fire-plug, and used
principally with hose to throw a jet for cooling ruins.
_One Canvas Sheet._--This, when stretched out and held securely by
several men, may be jumped into from the window of a house on fire
with comparative safety.
_One Hand-pump_, as described at page 130, and used with the canvas
buckets.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote G: The engines and their crews are distinguished by these
colours.]
[Footnote H: The hose are made up in flat coils, with the male
coupling-screw in the centre, and the female on the outside. When a
length is to be laid out in any direction, it is set on its edge, and
then run out in the required direction,--in this way no turns or
twists can ever occur. When the hose is to be taken up, it is
uncoupled, and then wound up, beginning at the end farthest from the
engine or from the fire-cock (as the case may be): by this method all
the water is pressed out.]