FIREMEN AND THEIR EXPLOITS:
WITH SOME ACCOUNT
_OF THE RISE AND DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE-BRIGADES,
OF VARIOUS APPLIANCES FOR SAVING LIFE
AT FIRES AND EXTINGUISHING
THE FLAMES_.
BY
F. M. HOLMES,
AUTHOR OF "ENGINEERS AND THEIR TRIUMPHS," "MINERS AND
THEIR WORKS UNDERGROUND," ETC.
LONDON:
S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO.,
8 & 9, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1899.
[Illustration: THE NEW HORSED FIRE-ESCAPE,
DESIGNED BY COMMANDER WELLS, CHIEF OFFICER OF THE METROPOLITAN
FIRE-BRIGADE.]
[Illustration]
PREFACE.
The present volume, though complete in itself, forms one of a series
seeking to describe in a popular and non-technical manner the Triumphs
of Engineers. The same style has, therefore, been followed which was
adopted in the preceding volumes. The profession of Engineering has
exercised great influence on the work of Fire Extinguishment, as on some
other things; and the subject is, therefore, not inappropriate to the
series of books of which the volume forms part.
The story of the Fire-Engine begins in Egypt about a hundred and fifty
years before Christ. Hero of Alexandria describes a contrivance called
the "siphon used in conflagrations," and some persons are of opinion
that he was not unacquainted with the use of the air-chest. But it was
not until nearly two thousand years later--that is, about the close of
the seventeenth century--that the air-chamber and the hose seem to have
been brought into anything like general use,--if, indeed, the use can be
called general even then.
Much of the story is involved in obscurity, or it may be there was
little story to tell; but by the year 1726, Newsham had constructed
satisfactory fire-engines in London; and Braithwaite the engineer--who
with Ericsson constructed the "Novelty" to compete with Stephenson's
"Rocket" at the locomotive contest at Rainhill in 1829--built a steam
fire-engine about 1830, though it was not until thirty years, or more,
later that the use of the machine became general.
As to Fire-Brigades, the Insurance Companies, which began to appear
after the Great Fire of 1666, were wont to employ separate staffs of men
to extinguish fires; but by the year 1833, the more important had
united, and the London Fire-Brigade had been formed under the control of
Mr. James Braidwood. Many provincial towns followed the metropolitan
model in forming their brigades.
Together with the development of the Fire-Engine and of efficient
brigades has been the introduction of various other appliances, such as
Fire-Escapes, Chemical Extinctors, Water-Towers, and the great
improvement in the water supply. Nothing is more striking in the history
of conflagrations than the comparison between the dry state of the New
River pipes at the Great Fire of 1666 and the copious flood of five
million gallons poured into the city in a few hours by the same company
to quench the great Cripplegate fire of November, 1897.
But, indeed, the whole realm of Fire Extinguishment is a world of
constant improvement and strain after perfection. To describe something
of these efforts, and trace out the main features of their story, is the
object of the present volume.
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE HORSED FIRE-ESCAPE APPEARS. AN EXCITING SCENE 9
II. THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY. HERO'S "SIPHON."
HOW THE ANCIENTS STROVE TO EXTINGUISH FIRES 17
III. IN MEDIÆVAL DAYS. AN EPOCH-MAKING FIRE 20
IV. THE PEARL-BUTTON MAKER'S CONTRIVANCE.
THE MODERN FIRE-ENGINE 36
V. EXTINGUISHMENT BY COMPANY. THE BEGINNINGS OF
FIRE INSURANCE 47
VI. THE STORY OF JAMES BRAIDWOOD 53
VII. THE THAMES ON FIRE. THE DEATH OF BRAIDWOOD 58
VIII. A PERILOUS SITUATION. CAPTAIN SHAW. IMPROVEMENTS OF THE
METROPOLITAN BOARD AND OF THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 67
IX. A VISIT TO HEADQUARTERS 83
X. HOW RECRUITS ARE TRAINED 98
XI. SOME STORIES OF THE BRIGADE 111
XII. FIRE-ESCAPES AND FIRE-FLOATS 123
XIII. CHEMICAL FIRE-ENGINES. FIRE-PROOFING, OR MUSLIN
THAT WILL NOT FLAME 134
XIV. THE WORK OF THE LONDON SALVAGE CORPS. THE GREAT
CRIPPLEGATE FIRE 144
XV. ACROSS THE WATER 156
[Illustration: OFF TO THE FIRE.]
FIREMEN AND THEIR EXPLOITS.
CHAPTER I.
THE HORSED FIRE-ESCAPE APPEARS. AN EXCITING SCENE.
"Shall we have a quiet night, Jack?"
"Can't say," replied Jack philosophically; "I take it as it comes."
Clang!
Even as he spoke, the electric fire-alarm rang through the silent
station. The men sprang toward the stables, glancing at the bell-tablet
as they ran.
The tablet revealed the name of the street whence the alarm had been
sounded; and at the clang the horses tossed their heads and pawed the
ground, mad to be off. They knew the sound of the alarm as well as the
men themselves.
"Will it be a life-saving job, d'ye think, mate?"
"May be," was Jack's sententious reply; "you never know."
The horses were standing ready harnessed, and were unloosed at once.
They were led to the engine, the traces hooked on, the crew, as the
staff of firemen is called, took their places, and the doors in front of
them were opened smartly by rope and pulley.
"Ready?"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
"Right away!"
In less than two minutes from the ringing of the alarm, the engine was
rushing out of the station, and tearing along London streets with
exciting clatter, the firemen shouting their warning cry, and sparks
flying from the funnel. Soon the engine fire was roaring below, and the
steam was hissing for its work.
How had the firemen obtained a blazing fire and hot steam so soon? When
the engine was waiting in the station, a lighted gas-jet, kept near the
boiler, maintained the water at a high temperature; and while the horses
were being hooked on, a large fusee, called a "steam-match," had been
promptly ignited, and dropped flaming down the funnel. The match fell
through the water-tube boiler to the fuel in the fire-box below; the
draught caused by the rush of the engine through the air helped the
fire; and the water being already so hot, steam pressure soon arose.
"The new escape's close behind!" cried one of the men, as the engine
hurried along.
Something, unusual then, to London streets was rapidly following the
steamer. In the gloom, it looked like a dim spectral ladder projecting
over the horses in front, and several men could be seen sitting on the
carriage conveying it.
"She's a-comin' on pretty fast," exclaimed one of the men; "she travels
as smart as an engine."
Indeed, the new escape was now so near, that it could be seen more
clearly. It was securely mounted on a low car, and its large wheels hung
over the end at the back, not far above the ground. Designed by
Commander Wells, chief officer of the London Fire-Brigade, it was
brought into use in the brigade in July, 1897.
But now it was nearing the fire, and cheers and cries rang loudly from
the excited crowd gathered at the spot.
"Make way for the escape! Hurrah! Hurrah!"
No wonder the crowd were excited. On the second-floor window of a large
building appeared three white, eager faces, framed by the dark sashes,
and crying eagerly for help.
Cheer after cheer rent the air, as the escape drew up opposite, and was
slipped from its car; then, resting on its own wheels, it was pitched
near the burning building, and its ladders run up to the window. The
policemen could scarce keep back the thronging crowd.
Away go the firemen up the rungs of the ladder, and amid continued
cheers, and cries, and great excitement approach the sufferers in their
peril.
"They've got one!" shouts an excited voice.
"Aye, and there's another!" cries a second spectator.
"They're all three saved!" vociferates a third; and loud cheers greet
the firemen's triumph.
It was a smart piece of work; and with the rescued persons thrown over
their shoulders in the efficient manner they are taught at drill, the
firemen carefully descend the ladder one after the other, and amid
shouts and plaudits arrive safely on the ground.
The flames dart out of the building more fiercely than ever, as if in
anger at losing their prey; the glare and heat grow more intense; the
smoke rolls off in dense volumes; the fire is raging furiously.
Engine after engine rushes fast to the spot, the loud, alarming cries of
"Fire-ire! Fire-ire!" echoing shrilly along the lamp-lighted
thoroughfares; fireman after fireman leaps from the arriving engines,
and with their bright brass helmets flashing in the glare are quickly
stationed round the huge conflagration.
The "brigade call" has been telephoned all round London, and from east
and west, and north and south, engines and firemen have hurried to the
spot. Steamers with sparks flying, steam hissing, and whistles
shrieking; manuals with the clatter of their handles; hose-carts with
their lengths of flexible pipes; and tall ladders of fire-escapes,
useful, even when no life is to be saved, as high points of vantage
whence firemen can direct streams of water straight into the raging
fire,--all--all are here. One after another they arrive, until the word
is passed that more than twenty engines and a hundred and twenty firemen
are concentrated on the spot.
Hydrants also are at work. They are appliances, permanently fixed under
the pathway, from which firemen can obtain a powerful pressure of water,
ranging from thirty-five to seventy pounds per square inch. From the
steamers and the hydrants the quantity of water poured on the huge fire
is now immense, and the steam and smoke roll off in immense volumes.
Crash!
"There goes the glass!" cries a fireman; and a few moments later it is
rumoured that one of the brigade has been badly cut in the hands. The
skylight had broken and fallen upon him, showing that it is not only
from heat and smoke that the men are likely to suffer, but also from
falling parts of the burning building.
The huge fire is fought at every possible point. It is prevented from
spreading to surrounding buildings by deluging them with water, and
strenuous efforts are made to quench it at its source. Steadily in the
growing light of day the firemen work on; but the morning had far
advanced before the great conflagration was fully extinguished and the
London Salvage Corps were left in possession of the ruined premises.
"Well, you've had your first big fire, Newall; how d'ye like it?"
"Oh, it's all right, mate; it's pretty hard work, but I don't mind it."
"'Tain't all over yet," said Jack cheerfully; "there's this 'ere hose to
be scrubbed and cleaned, and hung up in the well to dry. I reckon it
will be four or five o'clock before we can turn in."
Jack was right. The wet hose had to be suitably treated to keep it in
good condition, and the engines carefully prepared for the next alarm
that might arise; and when the men turned in to rest, they slept sound
enough.
This story not only illustrates the work of the London Fire-Brigade, but
also points to a notable fact in its history. That fact is the
introduction of the horsed fire-escape. The first rescue in London by
this valuable appliance took place on October 17th, 1898. There were, in
fact, two disastrous fires raging at nearly the same time on that day,
and the new appliance was used at one of these.
Early in the morning, a disastrous fire broke out in Manresa Road,
Chelsea. The conflagration originated in the centre of a large
timber-yard, and spread so rapidly that a very serious fire was soon in
progress. Engines and firemen hurried up from various quarters, until
sixteen steamers, three manuals, and more than a hundred men were on the
spot. The fire was completely surrounded, and the enormous quantity of
water poured upon the blazing wood soon took effect.
But before all the engines had left, news came that a still more serious
fire had broken out in Oxford Street. The extensive premises of Messrs.
E. Tautz & Co., wholesale tailors, were discovered to be in flames, and
the alarm was brought to the fire-stations from various sources.
The Orchard Street fire-alarm rang into Manchester Square station, and
resulted in the horsed escape being turned out; then another fire-alarm
rang into Great Marlborough Street fire-station, and the horsed escape
had hurried from this point also. The appliance was new, and for some
time the men of the brigade had cherished a laudable ambition to be the
first to use the escape in what they call a life-saving job. And it was
only by an untoward chance, or simple fortune of war, that the men of
the Manchester Square station, who were first on the spot, missed the
coveted honour.
When they arrived on the scene, no sign of fire was visible in Oxford
Street itself, and the firemen were pointed to North Row, one of the
boundaries of the burning block behind. They made their way thither,
searching for inmates, but were driven back by the fierce flames.
Meantime, the three persons sleeping on the premises--the foreman, Mr.
Harry Smith, his wife, and their little son, aged six years--had been
endeavouring to escape by the staircase, but had been driven back by the
fire. Mr. Smith had been awakened by the dense smoke filling the room,
and he aroused his wife at once and took the boy in his arms.
Not being able to escape by the staircase, they hurried to the front of
the large block of buildings, shutting the doors after them as they
went. So it happened that they appeared at the second-floor windows
facing Oxford Street just as the horsed escape from Great Marlborough
Street fire-station hurried up. A scene of great excitement followed.
The firemen ran the ladders from the escape to the building, and brought
down all three persons in safety; but Mrs. Smith unfortunately had
suffered a burn on the left leg. It is probable that, but for the
rapidity with which the horsed escapes arrived on the scene, the family
might have suffered much more severely; for the fire was very fierce,
and soon appeared in Oxford Street.
The honour, therefore, of the first rescue by the new horsed escape
rests with the Great Marlborough Street station, though the efforts of
their brave comrades of the Manchester Square station should always be
remembered in connection therewith. Commander Wells appreciated this;
for he telephoned a special message to Superintendent Smith, saying:
"Please let your men understand that I thoroughly appreciate and
approve their action on arrival at the fire this morning, although the
honour of rescue falls by the fortune of war to the second
horse-escape."
The fire proved very disastrous, and a large force was speedily
concentrated. It was eventually subdued; but it was about two o'clock in
the afternoon before the brigade were able to leave, a large warehouse
belonging to Messrs. Peel & Co., boot-makers, being also involved, and
other buildings more or less damaged.
The horsed fire-escape, which was found so useful on this occasion, is
but one among several appliances for saving life and fighting the fire.
These appliances are worked by highly-trained brigades of firemen, whose
efficient organization, well-considered methods, and ingenious apparatus
form one of the remarkable features of the time.
They did not reach their present position in a day. Indeed, a stirring
story of human effort and of high-spirited enterprise lies behind the
well-equipped brigades of the time. Step by step men have won great
victories over difficulty and danger; step by step they have profited by
terrible disasters, which have spurred them on to fresh efforts.
What, then, is this story of the fight against fire? How have the
fire-services of the day reached their present great position?