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+Project Gutenberg's Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction, by James Braidwood
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction
+
+Author: James Braidwood
+
+Release Date: August 27, 2008 [EBook #26440]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIRE PREVENTION AND FIRE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness, Diane Monico, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Jas. Braidwood]
+
+
+
+
+FIRE PREVENTION
+
+AND
+
+FIRE EXTINCTION.
+
+
+BY
+
+JAMES BRAIDWOOD,
+
+FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF THE LONDON FIRE-BRIGADE, AND ASSOCIATE OF
+THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
+
+
+INCLUDING
+
+FIRE-PROOF STRUCTURES, FIRE-PROOF SAFES, PUBLIC FIRE BRIGADES, PRIVATE
+MEANS FOR SUPPRESSING FIRES, FIRE-ENGINES, FIRE ANNIHILATORS,
+PORTABLE FIRE-ESCAPES, WATER SUPPLY
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, MEMOIR, AND PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+LONDON:
+BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET.
+1866.
+
+[_The right of Translation is reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+MEMOIR.
+ PAGE
+
+Introductory, Early Fires, Fire Engines, and Fire Brigades 5
+
+Mr. Braidwood's birth and education 7
+
+Great Fire of Edinburgh, and appointment as head of Brigade 8
+
+Award of Silver Medal of Society of Arts, London; publication
+of work on Fire Engines 11
+
+Formation of London Fire Brigade; appointment as Superintendent 13
+
+Testimonials received upon leaving Edinburgh 14
+
+London residence and routine of duty 16
+
+Valuable services of the Royal Society for the Protection of
+Life from Fire 17
+
+Statistics of Fires; improvement of Fire Engines 18
+
+Introduction of ladders, hose reel, and hand pump 19
+
+Floating Fire Engines, hand worked and steam; Land Steam
+Fire Engine 20
+
+Inspection of Government Dockyards and Public Buildings;
+establishment of a standard hose coupling 21
+
+Admitted an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers;
+award of Telford Medal; endeavours to restrain the erection
+of immoderate-sized warehouses 22
+
+His opinion as to the inadequacy of London Fire Brigade;
+Great Tooley Street Fire 23
+
+Death of Mr. Braidwood 24
+
+Public funeral 25
+
+Public and private character 28
+
+World-wide esteem in which he was held 30
+
+Poem--A True Hero 32
+
+
+FIRE PREVENTION, INCLUDING FIREPROOF STRUCTURES--CAUSES OF FIRES.
+
+
+Inattention in the use of fires and lights 33
+
+Advantages of a legal inquiry into the cause of Fires 37
+
+Improper construction of buildings 37
+
+Acts of Parliament for buildings in London 39
+
+Results of improper construction of warehouses in Liverpool 41
+
+Arrangements for the safety of the audience in theatres 42
+
+Danger from furnaces and close fires 43
+
+Danger from pipes conveying products of combustion 44
+
+Spontaneous ignition; use of gas 45
+
+Incendiarism; monomania 46
+
+
+FIREPROOF STRUCTURES.
+
+
+What is fireproof construction 47
+
+Use of cast and wrought-iron 49
+
+Mr. Fairbairn's experiments 50
+
+Danger to life from use of cast-iron columns 54
+
+Report on warehouses 55
+
+Covering timber with iron 56
+
+Fireproof dwelling-houses 57
+
+Fireproof safes 58
+
+
+FIRE EXTINCTION, INCLUDING FIRE BRIGADES, FIRE
+ENGINES, AND WATER SUPPLY--FIRE BRIGADES.
+
+
+Individual exertions for Fire Extinction 59
+
+Fire Brigades on the Continent of Europe, in England, in America 66
+
+Necessity for the control of arrangements by one individual 67
+
+Proposal for a national system 68
+
+Fire Engines at noblemen's and gentlemen's residences 70
+
+Training and discipline of Firemen 71
+
+General instructions for Firemen, and for the use of Fire Engines 72
+
+Necessity for the water striking the burning materials 74
+
+Inventions for elevating branch pipes considered 76
+
+
+LONDON FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+
+General description of men and engines 79
+
+Division of London into districts 81
+
+General regulations 82
+
+Conditions of entrance into the establishment 83
+
+Outline of general duty 85
+
+Duties of Superintendent 88
+
+ " Foremen 90
+
+ " Engineers 93
+
+ " Sub-Engineers and Firemen 94
+
+
+EDINBURGH FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+
+Description of men selected 96
+
+Mode of communicating with Firemen at a Fire 97
+
+Dress and drill of Firemen 99
+
+Gymnastic exercises 104
+
+General regulations 106
+
+Duties of Police 107
+
+ " Superintendent of Brigade 109
+
+ " Head Enginemen 110
+
+ " Firemen, and High Constables 111
+
+ " Magistrates, and Gas-Light Companies 113
+
+Special regulations for Firemen 114
+
+Means of escape from Fire 118
+
+
+FIRE ENGINES.
+
+
+The application of manual power 123
+
+Engines used by the British Government 124
+
+Description of Brigade Fire Engine 126
+
+Hand Pump; keeping Fire Engines in order 130
+
+Selection of Engine House 132
+
+Apparatus provided with London Brigade Engine 133
+
+Leather hose 134
+
+Hose couplings 140
+
+Suction pipes 143
+
+Jet pipes, proper shape 145
+
+Fire annihilator 149
+
+
+WATER SUPPLY.
+
+
+By pressure, from surface of ground, and by sunk tanks 150
+
+Experiments with jets under a constant pressure 153
+
+Fire plug used in London 155
+
+Canvas cistern and stand-cock used with fire plug 156
+
+Double fire-cock used in the Government Dockyards 158
+
+Double hollow key fire-cock used in the British Museum 159
+
+Supply by Water Companies in London 162
+
+Supplying Fire Engines from fire-cocks, &c. 163
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+Steam Fire Engines, progress in construction 166
+
+Trials before the Jury of the International Exhibition, 1862 168
+
+Trials at the International Competition, London, 1863 173
+
+Steam Fire Engines in use by Metropolitan Brigade, May, 1866 181
+
+Act of Parliament for Metropolitan Fire Brigade 182
+
+Establishment of Metropolitan Fire Brigade 197
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+Portrait of Mr. Braidwood on steel by Jeens,
+from a photograph by Williams Frontispiece.
+
+Longitudinal section of Brigade Fire Engine 124
+
+Transverse section of ditto 125
+
+Old coupling for hose 140
+
+New ditto, ditto 141
+
+Branch and jet pipe 145
+
+Opening in sunk tank for suction pipe 151
+
+Fire plug used in London 155
+
+Fire plug with canvas cistern 156
+
+Fire plug with stand-cock 157
+
+Single fire-cock 158
+
+Double fire-cock used at dockyards 158
+
+Double fire-cock used at British Museum 159
+
+
+
+
+EDITOR'S PREFACE.
+
+
+The appearance at the beginning of last year, in the Annual Report of
+the Institution of Civil Engineers for 1861 and 1862, of a short
+memoir of Mr. Braidwood, suggested the publication of a more extended
+account of the life of the late head of the London Fire Brigade,
+combined with his opinions upon the subject of his profession.
+
+These opinions are comprised in a work on "Fire Engines, and the
+Training of Firemen," published in Edinburgh in 1830; two papers upon
+cognate subjects read before the Institution of Civil Engineers, two
+similar papers read before the Society of Arts, and in a variety of
+reports upon public buildings, warehouses, &c. While regretting the
+great loss that the public has sustained, in being deprived by Mr.
+Braidwood's sudden death of a complete record of his long and varied
+London experience, it has been considered advisable to republish the
+above materials arranged in a systematic form, omitting only such
+parts as the Author's more matured experience rendered desirable, but
+confining the whole to his own words.
+
+LONDON,
+
+ _June, 1866._
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S PREFACE
+
+_To his work "On the Construction of Fire-Engines and Apparatus; the
+Training of Firemen; and the Method of Proceeding in cases of Fire,"
+published in Edinburgh, in 1830._
+
+
+Not having been able to find any work on Fire-Engines in the English
+language, I have been led to publish the following remarks, in the
+hope of inducing others to give further information on the subject.
+
+For the style of the work I make no apology; and as I presume no one
+will read it except for the purpose of gaining information, my aim
+will be obtained if I shall have succeeded in imparting it, or in
+directing the public attention to the advantage which may be derived
+from the systematic training of Firemen.
+
+
+
+
+MEMOIR
+
+OF
+
+JAMES BRAIDWOOD.
+
+
+The history of mankind, from the earliest times, has been one of
+alternate peace and war with fire. The immeasurable value of its
+obedience, and the fearful consequences of its insubordination, have,
+in all ages, made its due subjection one of the most important
+conditions of even human existence itself. As camps and trading
+stations grew into populous cities, the dangers of fire were both
+multiplied and aggravated. Its ravages in the ancient capitals of the
+world are matters of history; and it is established that something
+like organization was extended to the means then employed for
+suppressing conflagrations. Even the fire-engine itself, in a
+practicable, although imperfect form, was described and illustrated by
+a sectional working drawing, by Hero of Alexandria, in a book written
+by him more than one hundred years before the Christian era. In its
+many translations, from the original Greek into Latin and into modern
+tongues, Hero's book, with its remarkable series of drawings, still
+occupies a place in the mechanical literature of our own time. But,
+although the construction of the fire-engine was thus known two
+thousand years ago, we have no actual evidence of its use until within
+the last two centuries; and within the whole compass of English
+history, at least, we know that nothing like discipline and
+organization, in the modern sense of the terms, were introduced into
+the management of fire apparatus until a time quite within the
+recollection of the middle-aged men of our own day. If there be
+anything apparently improbable in this fact, we need only recollect
+that many of the grandest triumphs of human genius, with which we are
+already so familiar, are not yet forty years old. The modern system of
+English fire brigades belongs wholly to the period of railways, steam
+navigation, and electric telegraphs, and it owes nearly all to the
+genius and disciplined heroism of a single individual, James
+Braidwood, who, but little more than four years ago, fell--as nobly
+for himself as sadly for others--at his chosen post of duty. What,
+when he first gave his energies--indeed, his whole heart to it, was
+but the rough and unskilful employment of the fireman, became under
+Mr. Braidwood's command and his infusing spirit of order and
+intelligence, as distinguished from reckless daring, a noble pursuit,
+almost rising in dignity to a profession, and indeed acknowledged as
+such by many, and significantly, although indirectly, by Royalty
+itself.
+
+Until the year 1833, not only the parish engines of the metropolis,
+numbering, as they did, about three hundred, but the engines also of
+the Fire Insurance Companies, were comparatively inefficient and often
+out of order, while they were also under the most diverse, if not
+irresponsible management. There were no really trained firemen, and
+those who controlled and worked the engines were oftener in antagonism
+with each other than acting in concert. The parish engines were in the
+care of the beadles, and in one case a beadle's widow, Mrs. Smith, for
+some years commanded one of the city engines. The energies of each
+band of firemen were commonly reserved for the protection of property
+only in which their own insurance company or parish was immediately
+interested. As a rule, whatever water was thrown upon a burning
+building was dashed against the walls, windows, and roof from the
+outside only, very little if any really reaching the actual seat of
+the fire within. As a consequence, fires, which are now quickly "got
+under," were then left to burn themselves out, the spreading of the
+fire being prevented either by deluging the contiguous buildings with
+water, or by pulling them down altogether.
+
+James Braidwood was born in Edinburgh in the year 1800. His father was
+a well-known upholsterer and builder, who appears to have chosen for
+his son the profession of a surveyor. To this end he was entered at
+the High School, then under the rectorship of Mr. (afterwards
+Professor) Pillans, and here, and subsequently under private masters,
+the youth received a sound education in the branches most appropriate
+to his intended pursuit in life. He was for some time engaged in his
+father's business, and thereby gained an amount of practical
+knowledge, which was of, perhaps, as much service to him in his
+subsequent career as a fireman, as it would have been had he adopted
+the profession originally chosen for him. Young Braidwood was an apt
+student, a fact, perhaps, sufficiently attested afterwards by his
+successful authorship, at the age of thirty, of the only English work
+then extant upon the fire-engine and its proper management. He read
+much, wrote well, was a good draughtsman, and had a sound knowledge of
+mechanics. But whether his powers required wider scope than a
+surveyor's practice could offer, or whether, more than forty years
+ago, and in Edinburgh, the chances of professional success were very
+much less than now, James Braidwood soon turned his mind to what
+became the great work of his life. He was becoming known for activity
+and a high order of personal courage, and there were those in place
+and power who saw in him the other elements of character which go to
+make a successful leader of men. He was soon, and when but
+twenty-three years of age, made the superintendent of the Edinburgh
+fire engines, and he almost as soon began to reform their inefficient
+and vicious system of management. He had held his post but three
+weeks, however, when the series of fires broke forth which still bear
+the name of the Great Fire of Edinburgh. Many of the old and lofty
+houses in the High Street were destroyed, between four and five
+hundred families were made houseless, ten persons were either killed
+outright or fatally injured, and for several days nearly the whole of
+the High Street, if not the larger part of the old town, was
+threatened with destruction. Never were the consequences of want of
+organization more conspicuous. There was no real command, for there
+were none to obey; and while those who might have stopped the flames
+at the outset, wasted their own energies in random efforts, or,
+perhaps, fell to quarrelling among themselves, the fearful devastation
+rolled on. The occasion was sufficient to induce the authorities and
+insurance companies to listen to and profit by Mr. Braidwood's
+recommendations. They consented to bear in common the expenses
+necessary to organize and maintain an efficient brigade. This was soon
+formed of picked men, who, although daily engaged in their former
+ordinary occupations, were regularly inspected, trained, and exercised
+early in one morning of every week. Fires were becoming more and more
+numerous year by year; but the influence of the improved system was
+soon felt. The men were taught to improve to the utmost the first few
+minutes after an alarm was given, and by constant emulation and
+discipline, a spirit of wonderful readiness was cultivated in them.
+They were trained to seek out and follow up the source of a fire
+before it had had time to spread, and to throw the water from the
+engines directly upon it, instead of wastefully, if not injuriously
+about. The result was, that while out of forty-eight fires which
+happened in the first year of the history of the brigade, eleven
+proved total losses, and twelve "considerable" losses, the number of
+total losses decreased rapidly, year by year, while the whole number
+of "calls" was almost as rapidly increasing. Thus in the second year
+of the brigade there were eighty "calls," of which seven were total,
+and eighteen considerable losses. In the next three years, with from
+ninety-four to one hundred and ninety-four "calls" yearly, there was
+but one total loss in each year, and but from nine to eighteen
+"considerable" losses.
+
+Mr. Braidwood was meanwhile improving the fire-escapes, and when new
+engines were added to the force, he procured better workmanship. By
+his personal influence, also, more than by the mere advantage of
+official position, Mr. Braidwood secured the constant co-operation of
+the police in giving the earliest alarms of fire, and in facilitating
+the labours of the firemen when actually on duty. As has just been
+shown, the results of method, applied skill, and of a personal
+devotion cultivated under the high impulse of immediate public
+observation and approval, were soon manifest. To this vast improvement
+the _Edinburgh Mercury_, as representing the opinion of the citizens
+of the Scottish capital, bore public testimony in its issue of August
+14, 1828, when the Fire Brigade of that city had been tested by nearly
+five years of constant trial, and with conspicuous success. Referring
+to the excellent organization of the establishment, it was remarked
+that there were then but few, if any, serious fires in Edinburgh, for
+when a fire broke out--and the alarms were as frequent as ever--it was
+speedily checked. Said the writer:--
+
+ "Not only is the apparatus constructed on the best possible
+ principles, but the whole system of operations has been
+ changed. The public, however, do not see the same bustle, or
+ hear the same noise as formerly; and hence they seem
+ erroneously to conclude that there is nothing done. The fact
+ is, the spectator sees the preparation for action made, but
+ he sees no more. Where the strength of the men and the
+ supply of water used to be wasted, by being thrown against
+ windows, walls, and roofs, the firemen now seek out the spot
+ where the danger lies, and creeping on hands and feet into a
+ chamber full of flame, or smoke, often at the hazard of
+ suffocation, discover the exact seat of danger; and, by
+ bringing the water in contact with it, obtain immediate
+ mastery over the powerful element with which they have to
+ contend. In this daring and dangerous work men have
+ occasionally fainted from heat, or dropped down from want of
+ respiration, in which cases the next person at hand is
+ always ready to assist his companion, and to release him
+ from his service of danger."
+
+In a fire which happened while Mr. Braidwood was at the head of the
+Edinburgh Brigade, he won great admiration by bringing out from the
+burning building a quantity of gunpowder which was known to be stored
+there. He would not ask any of his men to undertake this dangerous
+feat, but, amidst the breathless suspense of thousands of spectators,
+he coolly searched for and safely carried out, first one, and then a
+second, cask of this explosive material. Had the fire reached the
+powder, it was known that the worst consequences of the conflagration
+would have been immensely increased.
+
+The fame of the Edinburgh Brigade rapidly spread throughout the
+kingdom, and it gradually became regarded as a model to which all
+other organizations for the suppression of fires would ultimately be
+made to conform. As a response to constant inquiries from a distance,
+Mr. Braidwood, in 1829, forwarded to the Society of Arts, London, a
+description of his chain-ladder fire-escape. For this invaluable
+apparatus, which had already effected a considerable saving of life,
+the Society's Silver Medal was awarded, and, accompanying the award,
+the Council of the Society extended an invitation to the author to
+"give a complete account of his mode of drilling firemen, and
+combining the use of fire-escapes with the ordinary fire-engine
+service." Responding to this invitation, Mr. Braidwood in the
+following year published his work "On the Construction of Fire-Engines
+and Apparatus, the Training of Firemen, and the Method of Proceeding
+in Cases of Fire." From this work, which may still be regarded as an
+authority, extensive extracts have been made in the subsequent
+chapters of the present volume, and it need not, therefore, be further
+referred to here than to say that it formed a thoroughly original
+account of an original system, and that its illustrations, which were
+especially clear, were drawn by the author's own hand. This work
+attracted much attention from municipal bodies and insurance companies
+throughout the kingdom, and more than one official deputation visited
+Edinburgh to learn from Mr. Braidwood himself the details of a system
+which was already working such important results. In London,
+especially, three West India warehouses had been burnt in the year
+1829, with a loss of 300,000_l._; and with the extending use of gas,
+the increasing frequency of fires, and the conspicuous inefficiency of
+the parish engines, and the want of unity of action among the
+insurance companies, it was felt that what had answered so well in
+Edinburgh would prove still more valuable in the metropolis. The
+general estimation in which Mr. Braidwood's services were then held
+may be considered as expressed in the following, among other
+contemporary reviews of his book:--
+
+ "The Edinburgh Fire-engine Establishment is now all but
+ perfect. A unity of system has been accomplished, and a
+ corps of firemen mustered, who, in point of physical vigour
+ and moral intrepidity, are all entitled to be denominated
+ chosen men. At the head of this band stands Mr. Braidwood,
+ an individual who has on several occasions given abundant
+ evidence of promptitude in extremity, and a noble contempt
+ of personal danger, and whose enthusiasm, in what we may
+ call his profession, could not have been more strikingly
+ exemplified than by his illustrating it in the manner we now
+ see before us. It is the only book we are acquainted with
+ that treats of the systematic training of firemen; and from
+ the perspicuity of its details, it must necessarily become
+ the manual of all such institutions, and ought to find a
+ place in every insurance office in the United Kingdom."
+
+It had been from time to time attempted to bring the fire apparatus of
+the London Insurance Companies under a single management; but it was
+nearly ten years after the establishment of the Edinburgh Fire
+Brigade, and only when Mr. Braidwood himself had been invited to come
+to London, that this was at last effected. As for the parish engines,
+they were wholly neglected under this arrangement, and, indeed, a
+great number of them had been already allowed to fall into disuse, as
+far as could be permitted without incurring the penalties of the
+Statutes of 1774. On the 1st January, 1833, at the instance of Mr.
+Ford, of the Sun Fire-office, eight of the insurance companies formed
+an association of fire-engines and firemen, each company withholding
+its own distinctive name and badges from the united force. This was
+known as the London Fire-engine Establishment. It was supported by the
+companies in common, each in proportion to the premiums received from
+its business in London, a minimum rate being fixed. Each company
+contributing to the support of the establishment nominated one member
+of the committee of management. This association existed for
+thirty-three years, when on the 1st of January, 1866, the Metropolitan
+Board of Works took charge of the fire-engines and the general fire
+establishment of the metropolis. Mr. Braidwood took the command of the
+London Brigade thus formed at the onset. The Edinburgh Fire-engine
+Committee, on accepting his resignation, presented him with a gold
+watch, and a vote of thanks, "for the singularly indefatigable manner
+in which he had discharged the duties of his important office, not
+merely by his extraordinary exertions on occasions of emergency, but
+for the care and attention he had bestowed on the training of the
+firemen, whereby the establishment had been brought to its present
+high state of efficiency." He had previously received from the men
+under him a handsome silver cup, bearing the following
+inscription:--"Presented to Mr. James Braidwood, by the City of
+Edinburgh Firemen, as a token of their admiration of him as their
+leader, and of deep respect for him as a gentleman."
+
+As in Edinburgh, the London Fire Brigade under Mr. Braidwood's
+superintendence became a new force, and in every respect a remarkable
+organization. Where the inefficiency of the old firemen could not at
+once be made to yield to discipline, they were pensioned off; and
+within a short time a select band of active, hardy, and thoroughly
+trained men was formed. In 1834, the second year of Mr. Braidwood's
+superintendence, the Houses of Parliament were burnt; and a most
+destructive fire occurred also at Mile-end. The first-named fire
+created general consternation, and there are many persons who can
+still recollect that also at Mile-end. These great fires stimulated
+Mr. Braidwood to increased exertions, and the result was soon visible
+in the lessened proportion of totally destroyed premises to the whole
+number of fires. The brigade had, of course, no power of prevention,
+and alarms of fire were becoming more numerous than ever. The use of
+friction matches and of gas was increasing enormously; manufactures,
+and the steam-engines and machinery for conducting them, were being
+rapidly multiplied; and with the vast progress making in the
+production of cotton goods, the use of cotton curtains and
+bed-furniture was becoming common in dwellings forming a large
+proportion of the metropolis, but in which, not long before, such
+articles were either regarded as luxuries or were altogether unknown.
+The total number of fires attended by the brigade in the year 1833,
+exclusive of chimneys on fire, was 458, while in 1851 the number had
+risen to 928; and although London had been growing all this time, it
+had not doubled in size to correspond with the increased number of
+fires. But while the total yearly number of fires, since the formation
+of the brigade, has shown a large and hardly interrupted increase, the
+number of cases of total destruction has almost as steadily
+diminished. Thus, "totally destroyed" was reported of 31 fires in the
+year 1833, whereas in 1839 there were but 17 cases, and the average
+for twenty-one years, from 1833 to 1853 inclusive, was but 25-1/2
+yearly, while at the present time, with all the vast growth of London,
+the average, under the continuance of Mr. Braidwood's system, is
+hardly if at all greater.
+
+Mr. Braidwood from the first exhibited excellent judgment in his
+choice of men to serve under him. He chose sailors, as a rule, as
+being accustomed to obedience, and to irregular and prolonged duty,
+while also they were especially hardy and active; and where there was
+especial danger which must be met, he was always ready to lead, and
+his men had soon learned to confide in his quick and sound judgment in
+emergency, knowing that he would never permit them to incur needless
+risk. His own iron constitution, and his habits of constant vigilance,
+served as a high standard and incentive to those about him; and thus
+it was, by selection, discipline, and example, resting upon a
+foundation of even paternal kindness, that the men of the London Fire
+Brigade became conspicuous for their courage, energy, hardihood, and
+unalterable devotion to duty. The brigade, too, was most popular with
+the public, and could always count upon any necessary assistance in
+their labours. The system of rewards given to whoever was the first to
+bring a call of fire, the liberal gratuity to the policeman who first
+reached the burning premises, there preventing undue confusion, and by
+keeping the street-door closed, shutting off a strong draught of air
+from the flames, and the handsome pay to the ready throng of
+strong-armed men who worked the engines, secured every co-operation
+from the public, beyond that naturally springing from a general
+admiration of so brave and well-trained a body of men.
+
+Mr. Braidwood's residence was at the principal station of the
+Fire-engine Establishment in Watling-street. To this station came all
+alarms of fire. He attended in person all calls from leading
+thoroughfares, public buildings, or localities where a serious
+conflagration might be expected. In the night a call was announced to
+him through a speaking-tube reaching to his bedside. The gas in his
+room was always burning, and he would quickly decide, from the known
+locality of the fire, and from the report given, whether he need go
+himself. In any case, his men were awake and quickly away. Rapidity in
+dressing, and in horseing and mounting the engines, was but a detail
+of daily drill. The moment the scene of action was reached, nothing
+was allowed to stand in the way of access to the actual seat of the
+fire, and nothing either in securing a supply of water. The inmates of
+the premises, if any, were quickly got out, and wherever an unhappy
+creature was cut off by the flames, there were always one or more
+firemen ready, if necessary, to brave an apparently certain death in a
+heroic attempt at rescue--an attempt, indeed, which but seldom failed.
+It is but just to say here that the firemen were always nobly
+seconded, if not indeed anticipated, in these attempts by the officers
+and men of the Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire--a
+body which has long rendered priceless services to humanity under most
+appalling circumstances. The men of the Fire Brigade were taught to
+prevent, as much as possible, the access of air to the burning
+materials. What the open door of the ash pit is to the furnace of a
+steam-boiler the open street door is to the house on fire. In both
+cases the door gives vital air to the flames. The men of the Brigade
+were trained to pursue a fire, not yet under full headway, up-stairs
+and down, in at windows and out through the roof, anywhere, so it
+could be reached directly by the water from the engines. They were
+made to regard it as worse than a waste to throw even a gallon of
+water upon a dead wall or upon a surface of slate or plaster, so long
+as by any means the branch pipe could be got to bear upon the seat of
+the fire itself. The statistics of the operations of the London
+Fire-engine Establishment from 1833 to the present time, show with
+what success the system originated and so admirably carried out by Mr
+Braidwood has been pursued. Of the whole number of fires not one in
+fifty now proceeds to the extent of total destruction of the premises.
+
+Previous to the organization of the Fire-engine Establishment there
+were no official annual reports of the fires in the metropolis. No one
+person by himself was indeed in a position to know all of the fires
+that happened, any more than, but for Lloyds', could we know of all
+the wrecks which take place around and upon our coasts. It was
+impossible, under such a state of things, that either the value of
+insurance to the insured or its risk to the insurer could be rightly
+known. The general public could only know that, like fevers and
+certain other classes of disease, fires were always breaking out, but
+no one could know, even approximately, how great or how little was the
+real general risk. When, however, a fire establishment was formed, the
+engines were called to all fires, whether of insured or uninsured
+property. It was not now difficult to tabulate the number and
+localities of fires; but Mr. Braidwood went further, and extended his
+yearly tables to include the various causes of fires, and the
+classification of the premises, whether residences, shops, warehouses,
+manufactories, &c., where they occurred, the subdivision of these
+classes being extended to every variety of occupation and business.
+Even the hours at which the various fires broke out were carefully
+tabulated, and thus the particulars of London fires soon became an
+important branch of statistics, from which the operations of insurance
+have derived increased certainty, with greater economy to the insured.
+
+Although regarding the training and discipline of firemen as of the
+first importance in the organization of a fire brigade, Mr. Braidwood
+gave a large share of attention to the improvement of fire-engines and
+their kindred appliances. While in Edinburgh, where the steepness of
+many of the streets, and the roughness of the pavements in the older
+parts of the town prevented the rapid and easy movement of heavy
+engines, he recommended and adopted a lighter description, but in
+London he recognised the necessity for greater power. Mr. Tilley, then
+a fire-engine maker in the Blackfriars'-road, ably seconded his
+efforts, and at length the distinctive type known as the London Fire
+Brigade Engine was produced, and which, weighing about eighteen cwt.
+when ready for service, would throw eighty-eight gallons of water per
+minute, and, in short trials, as much as 120 gallons in the same time.
+This engine was mounted upon springs, and in strength and ease of
+working presented a marked improvement upon those which had preceded
+it. Its ordinary working complement of men was twenty-eight, and
+larger engines, upon the same general design, have since been made, to
+be worked by from forty-five to sixty men. The steam fire-engine has
+already, to a certain extent, superseded the brigade engine, but the
+latter is still likely, for some time at least, to be preferred for a
+large class of fires, both in London and in the provinces.
+
+Mr. Braidwood at an early date adopted the ordinary military scaling
+ladders to the purposes of his brigade, two being placed on each
+engine, and at his recommendation ladders were also placed on a
+two-wheeled carriage as a convenient fire-escape. He also induced the
+Admiralty, in 1841, to adopt hose-reels in the various dockyards,
+these implements having been previously in successful use in New York.
+In 1848 he was induced, in consequence of the large number of small
+fires to which his engines were called out, to adopt a small hand-pump
+as an auxiliary to the fire-engine. This could be rapidly brought to
+bear, and although worked by but one man, the value of a small
+quantity of water thrown directly upon the seat of a small fire was
+found to be greater than that of perhaps twenty times as much when
+thrown about in the ordinary manner. It was of great importance also
+in warehouses stored with valuable goods, to throw the least necessary
+quantity of water upon a fire. These hand-pumps still form an
+important part of the present apparatus of the brigade, and they have
+been widely adopted elsewhere.
+
+London, unlike Edinburgh, has a vast water-side property, always
+exposed to danger from fire. Almost immediately, therefore, after
+having taken the command of the London Brigade, Mr. Braidwood directed
+his attention to the construction of improved floating fire-engines,
+to be moored in the river, where they would be always available for
+the protection of wharf property. Two were constructed, one being a
+machine of great power, with pumps made to be worked by 120 men. These
+machines proved of great value. In 1852, shortly after the memorable
+fire at Humphrey's warehouses, he persuaded the Fire-engine Committee
+to allow one of these engines to be altered so as to work by steam,
+and in 1855 a large self-propelling floating steam fire-engine was
+made upon a novel construction, and which, having already rendered
+great service at fires on the river side, still ranks as the most
+powerful machine in the service of the brigade. With locomotive
+boilers and large double steam engines, this float can steam nine
+miles an hour, and when in place at a fire it can throw four streams
+of water, each from a jet-pipe of 1-1/2 inch in diameter, to a great
+distance. In the great fire of 1861, this floating engine was worked
+with but little intermission for upwards of a fortnight. In 1860 Mr.
+Braidwood obtained the sanction of the Fire-engine Committee for the
+introduction of a land steam fire-engine, and although he did not live
+to witness the present remarkable development of these machines, he
+was enabled to employ the first one in the brigade with much
+advantage.
+
+We may quote here from a brief but excellent memoir of Mr. Braidwood,
+which appeared in the annual report of the Institution of Civil
+Engineers for 1861:
+
+ "As early as 1841, the Government began to profit by his
+ experience, the Lords of the Admiralty having in that year
+ consulted him on the subject of floating fire-engines for
+ the various dockyards. These were eventually constructed
+ from his designs and under his superintendence. In the
+ following year he inspected all the dockyards, and reported
+ fully on each, with regard to both floating and land
+ fire-engines, the supply of water, the alterations of
+ buildings to prevent spread of fire, and the proper care
+ required in dangerous trades. From this time, although not
+ holding any appointment, he acted as Government consulting
+ engineer on all questions relating to fire prevention and
+ extinction, and he advised from time to time the precautions
+ to be taken for the protection of the royal palaces and
+ various other public buildings. This position enabled him,
+ not without a great deal of opposition, to induce the
+ Government to adopt in all its departments a uniform size of
+ hose-coupling. This is the one which he introduced in
+ Edinburgh, and known as the London Fire Brigade coupling, is
+ now in almost universal use; its application has been found
+ comparatively of as much utility for fire-brigade purposes,
+ as the adoption of the Whitworth gauges of screw-bolts for
+ mechanical engineering.
+
+ "Although so fully occupied, he never refused advice on
+ professional matters to all who sought it. The various dock
+ companies, public institutions, country fire brigades,
+ private firms, &c., benefited largely by his experience. The
+ numerous inquiries from foreign countries and the colonies
+ with regard to the best means of extinguishing fires, also
+ made great inroads on his time. In 1833 he became an
+ Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, to which,
+ in 1844, he contributed a valuable paper 'On the means of
+ rendering large supplies of Water available in case of Fire,
+ &c.,' for which he was awarded a Telford Medal; and in 1849
+ a second paper 'On Fire-Proof Buildings.' In 1856, a paper
+ on 'Fires: the best means of preventing and arresting them;
+ with a few words on Fire-Proof Structures,' was read by him
+ before the Society of Arts.
+
+ "He took great interest in the passing of Acts of Parliament
+ for regulating buildings in the metropolis, was consulted by
+ the framers of these Acts, and used his utmost influence to
+ prevent the endangering a whole neighbourhood by the
+ erection of monster warehouses for private profit. He
+ strongly contended for the principle of dividing buildings
+ by party-walls carried through the roof, and restricting
+ these divisions to a moderate cubic content. Writing to Lord
+ Seymour, Commissioner of Woods and Forests, on the 28th
+ June, 1851, he said 'that no preparations for contending
+ with such fires will give anything like the security that
+ judicious arrangements in the size and construction of
+ buildings will do.' The wise provisions introduced through
+ his instrumentality into these Acts of Parliament were
+ continually being evaded, and clusters of warehouses quickly
+ rose which he saw would, if on fire, defy all his means of
+ extinction. In a letter to Sir W. Molesworth, First
+ Commissioner of Public Works, dated 10th February, 1854, on
+ the subject of a proposed warehouse in Tooley-street, he
+ wrote 'The whole building, if once fairly on fire in one
+ floor, will become such a mass of fire that there is now no
+ power in London capable of extinguishing it, or even of
+ restraining its ravages on every side, and on three sides it
+ will be surrounded by property of immense value.' How
+ literally this was realized, and at what cost, was shown by
+ the great warehouse fire in Tooley-street, on the 22nd June,
+ 1861, at which Mr. Braidwood lost his life."
+
+The great fire at Cotton's Wharf; Tooley-street, broke out on
+Saturday, June 22nd, 1861, and continued to burn for more than a
+fortnight, consuming Scovell's, and other large warehouses, and, in
+all, upwards of two millions' worth of property. The fire is believed
+to have originated in the spontaneous combustion of hemp, of which
+upwards of 1000 tons were consumed, together with 3000 tons of sugar,
+500 tons of saltpetre, nearly 5000 tons of rice, 18,000 bales of
+cotton, 10,000 casks of tallow, 1100 tons of jute, and an immense
+quantity of tea, spices, &c., besides many other descriptions of
+goods. Although discovered in broad daylight, and before the flames
+had made any considerable headway, the want of a ready supply of
+water, and the fact that the iron doors in the division walls between
+the several warehouses had been left open, taken in connexion with the
+extremely combustible nature of the materials, soon rendered hopeless
+all chance of saving the buildings and property. Mr. Braidwood was
+upon the spot very soon after the alarm had been given, and nearly the
+whole available force of the Fire-engine Establishment was summoned at
+his command. He appears to have at once foreseen that the fire would
+be one of no ordinary magnitude, and that the utmost that could be
+done would be to prevent its extending widely over adjoining property.
+The floating fire-engines had been got to bear upon the flames, and
+the men in charge of the branch pipes were, after two hours' work,
+already suffering greatly from the intense heat, when their chief went
+to them to give them a word of encouragement. Several minor
+explosions, as of casks of tallow or of oil, had been heard, but as it
+was understood that the saltpetre stored at the wharf was in buildings
+not yet alight, no alarm was then felt as to the walls falling in. At
+the moment, however, while Mr. Braidwood was discharging this his last
+act of kindness to his men, a loud report was heard, and the lofty
+wall behind him toppled and fell, burying him in the ruins. Those of
+his men who were near him had barely time to escape, and one person at
+his side, not a fireman, was overwhelmed with him. From the moment
+when the wall was seen to fall, it was known that whoever was beneath
+it had been instantly crushed to death. It is needless, and it would,
+indeed, be out of place, to describe here the further progress of the
+fire, which had then but fairly begun, and which was still burning
+more than a fortnight afterwards.
+
+Great as was the general consternation at so terrible a conflagration,
+it is doubtful if the public were not still more impressed by the
+dreadful death of Mr. Braidwood, and by a feeling that his loss was a
+public misfortune. Her Majesty the Queen, with that ready sympathy
+which she has ever shown for crushed or suffering heroism, commanded
+the Earl of Stamford to inquire on the spot, on Monday, whether the
+body had yet been recovered by the firemen, and Her Majesty's
+sympathies were also conveyed to Mrs. Braidwood. It was not, however,
+until the following morning, that after almost constant exertions,
+under the greatest difficulties, the crushed remains were rescued. An
+inquest was necessary, not merely to ascertain what was already well
+known, that death had been instantly caused by accident, but to know
+whether culpable carelessness of any kind had indirectly led to the
+sorrowful event. None, however, appeared. The remains of the fallen
+chief were afterwards borne to his late residence in Watling-street.
+The members of the committee of the London Fire-engine Establishment,
+formed of representatives from all of the twenty-five insurance
+companies of London, had already met to express, by a formal
+resolution, their sincere condolence with Mrs. Braidwood and her
+family. It was known that the funeral would take place on Saturday,
+June 29th, and it was widely felt that a general expression of sorrow
+and respect should be made, in view of the common loss of so valued a
+public servant, as well as for the noble qualities for which he had
+been so long and so well known. On the occasion of the funeral this
+was shown not more by the great length and marked character of the
+_cortege_ itself than by the general suspension of business in the
+leading thoroughfares of the city through which it passed, and by the
+hushed demeanour of the countless multitude who pressed closely upon
+the procession throughout its entire course. Among the thousands who
+sadly led the way to the grave were the London Rifle Brigade, about
+700 strong (and of which Mr. Braidwood's three sons were members), the
+Seventh Tower-Hamlets, and other rifle corps, upwards of 1000
+constables of the metropolitan police force, besides nearly 400
+members of the city police, the superintendents and men of the various
+water companies, the secretary and conductors and the band of the
+Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, a large number of
+private and local fire-brigades, and the members of the London
+Fire-engine Establishment. The pall-bearers were six of Mr.
+Braidwood's engineers and foremen, some of whom were at his side when
+he fell, and who had barely escaped with their own lives. Following
+the chief mourners were the Duke of Sutherland, the Earl of Caithness,
+the Rev. Dr. Cumming, and a large number of relatives and friends of
+the deceased, and the committee of the London Fire-engine
+establishment. The procession was nearly one mile and a-half in
+length, and was about three hours in its progress from Watling-street
+to Abney Park Cemetery, where the solemn service of the dead was
+conducted by the Rev. Dr. Cumming, of whose congregation the deceased
+had long been a member. With the exception of the great bell of St.
+Paul's, which tolls only on the occasion of the death of a member of
+the royal family or of a lord-mayor in office, the bells of all the
+churches in the city were booming slowly through the day, and so
+evident was the general sorrow that it could be truly said that the
+heart of the nation mourned.
+
+On Thursday, July 4th, a public meeting was held at the Mansion House,
+when resolutions were passed for the collection of subscriptions
+towards a memorial to Mr. Braidwood's long and arduous public
+services. This memorial, it was felt, should take the form of a
+permanent provision for his family, for the post of Fire Brigade
+Superintendent had never been a lucrative one. Before, however, the
+collection of subscriptions had extended beyond a few hundred pounds,
+it was made known that the insurance companies had promptly settled
+upon Mrs. Braidwood the full "value"--speaking in an insurable
+sense--of her husband's life. Mr. Braidwood had for many years
+supported two maiden sisters, and the public subscription was applied,
+therefore, to the purchase of small annuities for each of them.
+
+It will be remembered that the London Fire-engine Establishment was
+from the first controlled only by the insurance companies, upon whom
+of course, fell the whole cost of its maintenance. Their interest in
+the suppression of fires, although direct and unmistakeable, was not
+the same as that of the public. Thus, it would be to the public
+advantage that no fires should happen, whereas such a result would be
+fatal to the insurance companies, since no one in that case would
+insure. Although the protection of the Establishment was in practice
+extended alike to both insured and uninsured property, the real object
+for which it was formed and maintained was undoubtedly that of
+protecting insured property only. It was the interest of the companies
+to incur as little expense as would, on the whole, fairly effect this
+purpose, and it was not their interest to effectually protect the
+whole of the metropolis from fire. Thus it was that, with all the
+excellence of the organization and discipline of the Fire-engine
+Establishment, it was greatly inferior in extent to what was requisite
+for the proper security of the first city in the world. Mr. Braidwood
+had long felt this truth, but, acting for a private association, he
+could only go to the extent of the limited resources at his disposal.
+It was, more than anything else, the great fire at Cotton's Wharf that
+first directed public attention to the necessary insufficiency of any
+private establishment for the general suppression of fires, and that
+has led to the legislation under which the Fire-engine Establishment
+was, on the 1st of January last, taken over and extended by the
+Metropolitan Board of Works. London will now, it is hoped, be better
+protected from fire, because of the increased extent of the means of
+protection; but it can hardly be expected that the discipline of the
+brigade will be improved.
+
+Apart from the public value of Mr. Braidwood's career in increasing
+the common security against a common foe, there was much in his
+personal, intellectual, and moral qualities worthy of admiration. He
+was a man of strong and commanding frame, of inexhaustible energy, and
+of enduring vitality. The constitutions of but few men could have
+withstood such long continued wear and tear as fell to his. He braved
+all weathers, all extremes of heat and cold, could sleep or wake at
+will, and could work on long after others would have given way. He was
+always at his post, and in no moment of difficulty or danger did his
+cool judgment or his steady courage forsake him. It was this, together
+with his considerate bearing, and on occasions of special trial his
+almost womanly kindness to his men, that inspired them with unlimited
+confidence in him and in his plans. Beyond this, he was a man of
+superior mind, with strong comprehensive and generalising faculties.
+His various published papers, and a correspondence of which but few
+could know the extent and importance, as well as his ready, clear, and
+exact manner in stating his views before committees and before those
+in authority, who so often consulted him, all attest an order of mind
+which, in a different sphere, would alone have won distinction for its
+possessor. His profession was one in which it happens that almost
+every person thinks himself competent to give advice; yet, without any
+assumption of authority, Mr. Braidwood could make it felt wherever he
+pleased that he was a master in the art of extinguishing fire. But he
+was not on this account the less ready to listen to suggestions, and
+there are numbers who can bear testimony to the patient, honest, and
+appreciative manner in which he considered the many and diverse
+propositions submitted to him as the head of the Fire Brigade of the
+first city in the world. The soundness of his views and opinions is
+sufficiently attested by the success of his practice--a success which,
+but for the Government tax upon fire policies, would have long since
+made fire insurance in London almost the cheapest of all the forms of
+protection of property from danger. The London Brigade was
+insignificant in numbers and tame in display when compared with the
+eight hundred _sapeurs pompiers_ of Paris, with their parade and all
+their accessories of effect--insignificant and tame, too, after the
+glittering apparatus, imposing paraphernalia, and deafening clatter of
+the "Fire Department" of New York; but Mr. Braidwood's chosen men knew
+how to do their duty, and considering the differences in the mode of
+building and of heating, and in the extent of lighting in the three
+great metropoli just named, it is an easy matter, on reference to
+statistics, to prove that none others have done better.
+
+Above all, Mr. Braidwood was a gentleman of deep Christian feeling;
+and those who knew him best had never doubted that, had it been his
+lot to linger long in pain, knowing the end that was to come, his calm
+but unwavering faith in a better future would have sustained him
+through all. Brought up from childhood in the faith of the Scotch
+church, he was a regular attendant upon the ministrations of the Rev.
+Dr. Cumming. In his own quiet way he did much good in the poorer
+districts of London, and he took a special interest in the ragged
+schools of the metropolis. What he was in his own home may be best
+inferred from the crushing force with which his dreadful yet noble
+fate fell upon those who were dearest to him. His family had already
+too much reason to know the dangers which had always attended his
+career. A step-son had fallen, five years before, in nearly the same
+manner, and now lies buried in the same grave. Eleven members, in all,
+of the brigade, had perished in the discharge of their duty during the
+time Mr. Braidwood had commanded it: a fact which, taken with daily
+experience, pointed to other victims to follow. Such consolation,
+then, as a stricken widow and a mourning family could have, next to an
+abiding faith in the goodness of God, was in the recollection of the
+virtues and noble qualities of the husband and father, and in the
+spontaneous sorrow with which a great people testified their sense of
+his worth and of their common loss.
+
+To show the universal as well as national esteem in which Mr.
+Braidwood was held, two extracts are here given from the numerous
+letters of condolence addressed to his bereaved family, from all parts
+of the world. Mr. G. H. Allen, Secretary to the Boston (America) Fire
+Department, writes: "It gives me pleasure to unite with the Board in
+testimony to the extreme kindness of Mr. Braidwood in the conduct of
+our correspondence, whereby we have been greatly benefited and
+received extensive information. Allow me also to extend our sympathy
+to those who have lost one who will ever be remembered as standing at
+the head of the most valued arm of the Government, and one that you
+can hardly expect to be replaced, except by years of experience and
+great natural ability." Mr. T. J. Bown, Superintendent of the Sydney
+(Australia) Fire Brigade, in a letter dated 22nd August 1861, says,
+"On receipt of the sad news, our large fire-bell was tolled, the
+British ensign hoisted half-mast high, and crape attached to the
+firemen's uniform, as a token of respect for one of the noblest and
+most self-denying men that ever lived, who spent and lost his life in
+the service of his fellow-creatures."
+
+
+
+
+A TRUE HERO.
+
+JAMES BRAIDWOOD.--_Died, June 22nd, 1861._
+
+By the Author of
+
+"JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN."
+
+
+ Not at the battle front,--
+ Writ of in story;
+ Not on the blazing wreck,
+ Steering to glory;
+
+ Not while in martyr pangs
+ Soul and flesh sever,
+ Died he--this Hero new--
+ Hero for ever.
+
+ No pomp poetic crown'd,
+ No forms enchained him,
+ No friends applauding watched,
+ No foes arraigned him:
+
+ Death found him there, without
+ Grandeur or beauty,
+ Only an honest man
+ Doing his duty:
+
+ Just a God-fearing man,
+ Simple and lowly,
+ Constant at kirk and hearth,
+ Kindly and holy:
+
+ Death found--and touched him with
+ Finger in flying:--
+ So he rose up complete--
+ Hero undying.
+
+ Now, all mourn for him,
+ Lovingly raise him
+ Up from his life obscure,
+ Chronicle, praise him;
+
+ Tell his last act, done midst
+ Peril appalling,
+ And the last word of cheer
+ From his lips falling;
+
+ Follow in multitudes
+ To his grave's portal;
+ Leave him there, buried
+ In honour immortal.
+
+ So many a Hero walks
+ Daily beside us,
+ Till comes the supreme stroke
+ Sent to divide us.
+
+ Then the Lord calls His own,--
+ Like this man, even,
+ Carried, Elijah-like,
+ Fire-winged, to heaven.
+
+ _Macmillan's Magazine_, Vol. IV., page 294.
+
+
+
+
+FIRE PREVENTION
+
+INCLUDING
+
+FIRE-PROOF STRUCTURES.
+
+
+To prevent fires it is necessary to consider what are the principal
+causes of such calamities. These may be classed under several heads:--
+
+ 1. Inattention in the use of fires and lights.
+
+ 2. Improper construction of buildings, &c.
+
+ 3. Furnaces or close fires for heating buildings, or for
+ mechanical purposes.
+
+ 4. Spontaneous ignition.
+
+ 5. Incendiarism.
+
+As almost all fires arise from inattention in one shape or another, it
+is of the utmost importance that every master of a house or other
+establishment should persevere in rigidly enjoining and enforcing on
+those under him, the necessity of observing the utmost possible care
+in preventing such calamities, which, in nineteen cases out of twenty,
+are the result of remissness or inattention. Indeed, if any one will
+for a moment consider the fearful risk of life and property, which is
+often incurred from a very slight inattention, the necessity of
+vigilance and care will at once be apparent. Immense hazard is
+frequently incurred for the most trifling indulgences, and much
+property is annually destroyed, and valuable lives often lost, because
+a few thoughtless individuals cannot deny themselves the gratification
+of reading in bed with a candle beside them.
+
+Some years ago, upwards of 100,000_l._ were lost, through the partner
+of a large establishment lighting gas with a piece of paper, which he
+threw away, and thus set fire to the premises, although it was a
+strict rule in the place that gas should only be lighted with tapers,
+which were provided for that purpose. In one department of a great
+public institution, it was, and is still, a rule that only covered
+lights should be carried about, and for that purpose four lanterns
+were provided; yet, on inquiry some time back, it was found that only
+one was entire, the other three being broken--one having lost two
+sides and the top; still they were all used as covered lights.
+
+The opportunities for inattention to fires and lights are so various,
+that it is impossible to notice the whole.
+
+One of the prevailing causes of fire is to be traced to persons
+locking their doors, and leaving their houses to the care of children.
+I believe one-half of the children whose deaths are occasioned by
+accident suffer from this cause alone: indeed, almost every week the
+newspapers contain some melancholy confirmation of what I have here
+stated. Intoxication is also a disgraceful and frequent cause of fire.
+The number of persons burned to death in this way is really
+incredible. It is true that it does not always happen that a fire
+takes place in the house, in either of the above cases, although the
+unfortunate beings whose clothes take fire, rarely escape with their
+lives; but the danger to the neighbourhood is at all times
+considerable, if persons in a state of inebriety are left in a house
+alone. When there is reason to apprehend that any member of a family
+will come home at night in that state, some one should always be
+appointed to receive him, and on no account to leave him till he is
+put to bed, and the light extinguished.
+
+I do not mean to say that people must be actually drunk before danger
+is to be apprehended from them. Indeed, a very slight degree of
+inebriety is dangerous, as it always tends to blunt the perception,
+and to make a person careless and indifferent. I may also add, that no
+inconsiderable number of fires are occasioned by the thoughtless
+practice of throwing spirits into the fire. The dresses of females
+taking fire adds very much to the list of lives lost by fire, if it
+does not exceed all the other causes put together.
+
+Another very general cause of fire is that of approaching with lighted
+candles too near bed or window curtains; these, being generally quite
+dry, are, from the way in which they are hung, easily set on fire,
+and, as the flames ascend rapidly, when once touched, they are in a
+blaze in a moment.
+
+It is really astonishing to find that, with daily examples before
+their eyes, people should persist (whether insured or not seems to
+make little difference) in practices which, there is a hundred chances
+to one, may involve both themselves and the neighbourhood in one
+common ruin. Of this sort are the practices of looking under a bed
+with a lighted candle, and placing a screen full of clothes too near
+the fire.
+
+Houses not unfrequently take fire from cinders falling between the
+joints of the outer and inner hearths. When smoke is observed to arise
+from the floor, the cause should be immediately ascertained, and the
+inmates ought on no account to retire to rest while there is the
+slightest smell of fire, or any grounds to suspect danger from that
+cause.
+
+Occasional fires are caused by a very absurd method of extinguishing
+at night the fires kept in grates during the day. Instead of arranging
+the embers in the grate in such a way as to prevent their falling off,
+and thus allowing the fire to die out in its proper place, they are
+frequently taken off and laid on the hearth, where, should there be
+wood-work underneath, it becomes scorched, and the slightest spark
+falling through a joint in the stones sets it on fire.
+
+A very frequent cause of fire in shops and warehouses arises from the
+carelessness of the person intrusted to lock them up. It is no
+uncommon practice with those to whom this duty is intrusted, to light
+themselves out, or to search for any little article which may have
+been mislaid, with a lighted paper, and then to throw it carelessly on
+the floor, imagining they have taken every necessary precaution,
+merely by setting their foot upon it, forgetting that the current of
+air occasioned by shutting the door frequently rekindles it, and
+produces the most serious consequences.
+
+In warehouses and manufactories, fires are not unfrequently caused by
+the workmen being occasionally kept late at work. By the time their
+task is finished, the men are so tired and sleepy, that the
+extinguishing of fires and lights is done in a very careless manner. I
+recollect an instance of this sort, in which the flames were issuing
+from three upper windows, and observed by the neighbours, while the
+workmen engaged at their employment in the lower floors knew nothing
+of the destruction that was going on above.
+
+A very serious annual loss is also caused by want of due care in
+handing up or removing the goods in linen-drapers' shop windows when
+the gas is burning. Flues taking fire often result in mischief and it
+is believed that many serious fires have arisen from this cause, which
+can hardly be called accidental, as, if flues are properly
+constructed, kept moderately clean, and fairly used, they cannot take
+fire.
+
+From what has been said, it will be seen that care and attention may
+do a very great deal towards the prevention of fire, and consequent
+loss of life. It is very easy to make good rules, and keep them for a
+time, after having been alarmed by some serious loss of property or
+life, but the difficulty is to maintain constant attention to the
+subject. The most evident plan for effecting this seems to be, for the
+masters thoroughly to examine and consider the subject at certain
+stated periods, not too far apart, and to constantly warn their
+domestics, workmen, or others, of the danger of the improper use of
+fires and lights.
+
+One of the greatest preventives of carelessness in the use of fires
+and lights would be a legal inquiry in every case, as it would not
+only show the faults that had been committed, and thus warn others,
+but the idea of being exposed in the newspapers would be another
+motive for increased care. This plan has been adopted in New York, and
+the reports of the proceedings of Mr. Baker, the "Fire Marshal," show
+that the inquiries there made have led to most useful results. Mr.
+Payne, the coroner, held inquests on fires in the City of London some
+years ago, but the authorities would not allow his expenses, and
+therefore they were given up, although believed to be highly
+advantageous in explaining accidental and others causes of fire.
+
+_The improper construction of buildings_ more generally assists the
+spread than is the original cause of fires, although laying hearths on
+timber, and placing timber too near flues, are constant causes of
+fire, and it is believed that many melancholy occurrences have arisen
+from these and similar sources.
+
+One cause of danger from chimneys arises from the communication which
+they often have with each other in one gable. The divisions or
+partitions, being very often found in an imperfect state, the fire
+communicates to the adjoining chimney, and in this way sometimes wraps
+a whole tenement in flames. I know a division of a principal street in
+Edinburgh, in which there is scarcely a single chimney-head that is
+not more or less in this condition; and I have no doubt that this is
+not an uncommon case. There is also great danger from the ends of
+joists, safe-lintels, or other pieces of timber, being allowed to
+protrude into chimneys. In one instance which came under my notice, a
+flue passing under the recess of a window had on the upper side no
+other covering than the wood of the floor; of course, when the chimney
+took fire the floor was immediately in a blaze: but there are many
+instances of such carelessness. It is a common practice amongst
+carpenters to drive small pieces of wood into walls for the purpose of
+fixing their work, not paying the least attention as to whether the
+points run into the flues or not.
+
+In the repairs and alterations of old buildings, house-carpenters are,
+if possible, even more careless in this particular, than in the
+construction of new.
+
+I know of two different buildings which underwent some alterations. In
+both of these, safe-lintels had been run into flues, and both of them,
+after the alterations, took fire; the one in consequence of a foul
+chimney, which set fire to the lintel; and although the other did not
+take fire from the same cause, the lintel was nevertheless very much
+scorched, and obliged to be removed.
+
+Great carelessness is frequently exhibited by builders, when erecting
+at one time two or three houses connected by mutual gables, by not
+carrying up the gables, or party-walls, so as to divide the roofs. I
+have seen more than one instance where the adjoining house would have
+been quite safe, but for this culpable neglect. It is no uncommon
+thing, too, to find houses divided only by lath and standard
+partitions, without a single brick in them. When a fire occurs in
+houses divided in this manner, the vacuities in the middle of the
+partitions act like so many funnels to conduct the flame, thereby
+greatly adding to the danger from the fire, and infinitely increasing
+the difficulty of extinguishing it.
+
+In London the Building Act forbids all such proceedings, but the
+District Surveyors do not seem to have sufficient power, or be able to
+pay sufficient attention to such matters, as they are constantly met
+with at fires. A very flagrant case of laying a hearth on timber was
+lately exposed by a fire in the City. Due notice was given of the
+circumstance, but no farther attention was paid to the matter than to
+make the proprietor construct the floor properly, although the Act
+gave power to fine for such neglect. The omission is to be regretted,
+as there could not have been a better case for warning others; it
+occurred in a very large establishment, and the work was done by one
+of the first builders in the City. Had this fire taken place in the
+night and gained some head, it would have been very difficult to have
+ascertained the cause. As the premises were situated, a serious loss
+of life might have occurred, the apartment in which the fire
+originated being the only means of retreat which ten or twelve female
+servants had from their bedrooms.
+
+The Metropolitan Building Acts, up to about the year 1825, by
+insisting upon party-walls and other precautions, were invaluable for
+the prevention of the spread of fires. By them no warehouse was
+permitted to exceed a certain area. From the year 1842, the area has
+been exchanged for a specified number of cubic feet. But since 1825, a
+class of buildings has arisen of which there are now considerable
+numbers in the City, called Manchester or piece goods warehouses,
+which somehow have been exempted from the law restricting the extent
+of warehouses, on the plea that they are _not_ warehouses, because
+"bulk is broken" in them, although it is thoroughly understood that
+the legislature intended by the Act to restrict the amassing such a
+quantity of goods under one roof as would be dangerous to the
+neighbourhood.
+
+Manchester and piece goods warehouses have for some time past been
+built in London of unlimited size, sometimes equal to twenty average
+houses. This is pretty nearly the same as if that number of houses
+were built without party-walls, only that it is much worse, for the
+whole mass generally communicates by well holes and open staircases,
+and thus takes fire with great rapidity, and, from the quantity of
+fresh air within the building, the fire makes much greater progress
+before it is discovered. By this means the risk of fire in the City
+has been greatly increased, not only to such warehouses themselves,
+but to the surrounding neighbourhood, for it is impossible to say how
+far fires of such magnitude may extend their ravages under untoward
+circumstances, there being at present no preventive power in London
+capable of controlling them. To provide such a power would be a very
+costly business.
+
+Such buildings are also against the generally received rule, that a
+man may burn himself and his own property, but he shall not unduly
+risk the lives and property of his neighbours.
+
+The new Building Act is likely to repress, to a certain extent, this
+great evil, unless its meaning be subverted by some such subterfuge as
+destroyed the efficiency of the last one. But what is to be done with
+those which are already built? It may seem tedious to dwell so much on
+this subject, but it appears to be a risk which is not generally much
+thought of, though it is of the most vital importance to the safety of
+London. It is very desirable that the metropolis should take warning
+by the experience of Liverpool, without going through the fiery ordeal
+which the latter city did.
+
+From 1838 to 1843, 776,762_l._ were lost in Liverpool by fire, almost
+entirely in the warehouse risks. The consequence was, that the
+mercantile rates of insurance gradually rose from about 8_s._ per
+cent. to 30_s._, 40_s._, and, it is said, in some cases, to 45_s._ per
+cent. Such premiums could not be paid on wholesale transactions,
+therefore the Liverpool people themselves obtained an Act of
+Parliament, 6 and 7 Vic., cap. 109, by which the size and height of
+warehouses were restricted, party walls were made imperative, and
+warehouses were not allowed to be erected within thirty-six feet of
+any other warehouse, unless the whole of the doors and window-shutters
+were made of _wrought iron_, with many similar restrictions. This Act
+applied to warehouses already built as well as to those to be built,
+and any tenant was at liberty, after notice to his landlord, to alter
+his warehouse according to the Act, and to stop his rent till the
+expense was paid. Another Act, 6 and 7 Vic., cap. 75, was also
+obtained, for bringing water into Liverpool for the purpose of
+extinguishing fires and watering the streets _only_. It is supposed
+that the works directed, or permitted, by these two Acts, cost the
+people of Liverpool from 200,000_l._ to 300,000_l._ Shortly after
+these alterations had been made, the mercantile premiums again fell to
+about 8_s._ per cent.
+
+There is another very common cause of fire, which seems to come under
+the head of construction--viz., covering up a fireplace when not in
+use with wood or paper and canvas, &c. The soot falls into the
+fireplace, either from the flue itself, or from an adjoining one which
+communicates with it. A neighbouring chimney takes fire; a spark falls
+down the blocked-up flue, sets fire to the soot in the fireplace,
+which smoulders till the covering is burned through, and thus sets
+fire to the premises.
+
+In theatres, that part of the house which includes the stage and
+scenery should be carefully divided from that where the spectators
+assemble by a solid wall carried up to, and through the roof. The
+opening in this wall for the stage should be arched over, and the
+other communications secured with iron doors, which would be kept shut
+while the audience was in the house. By this plan, there would be
+abundance of time for the spectators to retire, before fire could
+reach that part of the theatre which they occupy.
+
+_The danger from furnaces_ or close fires, whether for heating,
+cooking, or manufacturing purposes, is very great, and no flue should
+be permitted to be so used, unless it is prepared for the purpose. The
+reason is, that in a close fire the whole of the draught must pass
+through the fire. It thus becomes so heated that, unless the flue is
+properly built, it is dangerous throughout its whole course. In one
+instance of a heating furnace, the heat in the flue was found to be
+300 deg., at a distance of from forty to fifty feet from the fire. In open
+fireplaces, the quantity of cold air carried up with the draught keeps
+the flue at a moderate heat, from the fire upwards, and, unless the
+flue is allowed to become foul, and take fire, this is the safest
+possible mode of heating.
+
+Heating by hot air, steam, and hot water are objectionable. First,
+because there must be a furnace and furnace flue, and the flue used is
+generally that built for an open fire only; and second, the pipes are
+carried in every direction, to be as much out of sight as possible. By
+this means they are constantly liable to produce spontaneous ignition,
+for there appears to be some chemical action between heated iron and
+timber, by which fire is generated at a much lower temperature than is
+necessary to ignite timber under ordinary circumstances. No
+satisfactory explanation of this fact has yet been given, but there is
+abundant proof that such is the case. In heating by hot-water pipes,
+those hermetically sealed are by far the most dangerous, as the
+strength of the pipes to resist the pressure is the only limit of the
+heat to which the water, and of course the pipes, may be raised. In
+some cases a plug of metal which fuses at 400 deg. is put into the pipes,
+but the heat to which the plug is exposed will depend very much on
+where it is placed, as, however great may be the heat of the exit
+pipe, the return pipe is comparatively cool. But even where the pipes
+are left open, the heat of the water at the furnace is not necessarily
+212 deg.. It is almost needless to say that 212 deg. is the heat of boiling
+water under the pressure of one atmosphere only; but if the pipes are
+carried sixty or seventy feet high, the water in the furnace must be
+under the pressure of nearer three atmospheres than one, and therefore
+the heat will be proportionately increased. Fires from pipes for
+heating by hot water have been known to take place within twenty-four
+hours after first heating, and some after ten years of apparent
+safety.
+
+The New Metropolitan Building Act prescribes rules for the placing
+steam, hot-air, and hot-water pipes at a certain distance from timber;
+but as it must be extremely difficult for the District Surveyors to
+watch such minute proceedings, it becomes every one who is anxious for
+safety to see that the District Surveyors have due notice of any
+operation of this kind.
+
+Another cause of fire which may come under this head is the use of
+pipes for conveying away the products of combustion. Every one is
+acquainted with the danger of stove pipes, but all are not perhaps
+aware that pipes for conveying away the heat and effluvia from
+gas-burners are also very dangerous when placed near timber. It is not
+an uncommon practice to convey such pipes between the ceiling and the
+flooring of the floor above. This is highly dangerous. Gas-burners are
+also dangerous when placed near a ceiling. A remarkable instance of
+this took place lately, where a gas-burner set fire to a ceiling
+28-1/2 inches from it.
+
+Another evil of furnaces is, that the original fireplace is sometimes
+not large enough to contain the apparatus, and the party wall is cut
+into. Perhaps it may be necessary to notice at this point the use of
+gas, as it is becoming so very general. Gas, if carefully laid on, and
+properly used, is safer than any other light, so far as actually
+setting fire to anything goes, but the greater heat given out so dries
+up any combustibles within its reach, that it prepares them for
+burning, and when a fire does take place, the destruction is much more
+rapid than in a building lighted by other means. Gas-stoves, also,
+from the great heat given out, sometimes cause serious accidents; in
+one instance, a gas-stove set fire to a beam through a two-and-half
+inch York landing, well bedded in mortar, although the lights were
+five or six inches above the stone. This is mentioned to show that
+gas-stoves require quite as much care as common fires.
+
+_Spontaneous ignition_ is believed to be a very fruitful cause of
+fires; but, unless the fire is discovered almost at the commencement,
+it is difficult to ascertain positively that this has been the cause.
+Spontaneous ignition is generally accelerated by natural or artificial
+heat. For instance, where substances liable to spontaneous ignition
+are exposed to the heat of the sun, to furnace flues, heated pipes, or
+are placed over apartments lighted by gas, the process of ignition
+proceeds much more rapidly than when in a cooler atmosphere. Sawdust
+in contact with vegetable oil is very likely to take fire. Cotton,
+cotton waste, hemp, and most other vegetable substances are alike
+dangerous. In one case oil and sawdust took fire within sixteen hours;
+in others, the same materials have lain for years, until some external
+heat has been applied to them. The greater number of the serious fires
+which have taken place in railroad stations in and near London have
+commenced in the paint stores. In a very large fire in an oil
+warehouse, a quantity of oil was spilt the day before and wiped up,
+the wipings being thrown aside. This was believed to have been the
+cause of the fire, but direct proof could not be obtained. Dust-bins
+also very often cause serious accidents. In one instance, 30,000_l._
+to 40,000_l._ were lost, apparently from hot ashes being thrown into a
+dust-bin.
+
+These accidents may in a great measure be avoided by constant care and
+attention to cleanliness, and where paints and oils are necessary, by
+keeping them in some place outside the principal buildings. Dust-bins
+should, as much as possible, be placed in the open air, and where that
+cannot be done, they should be emptied once a day. No collection of
+rubbish or lumber of any sort should be allowed to be made in any
+building of value.
+
+Mr. Wyatt Papworth, architect, has published some very interesting
+notes on spontaneous ignition, giving several well-authenticated
+instances.
+
+_Incendiarism_ may be divided into three sorts--malicious, fraudulent,
+and monomaniac. Of the former there has been very little in London for
+many years. The second, however, is rather prevalent. The insurance
+offices, which are the victims, protect themselves as well as they
+can, but an inquest on each fire is the true mode of lessening the
+evil. This is much more the interest of the public than at first seems
+to be the case. In several instances where the criminals were brought
+to punishment by Mr. Payne's inquests, people were asleep in the upper
+parts of the houses set fire to, and in one case there were as many as
+twelve or fifteen persons. This, however, is seldom stated in the
+indictment, as, if it is, the punishment is still death by the law,
+and it is supposed that a conviction is more easily obtained, by the
+capital charge being waived. Monomania is a rare cause of
+incendiarism, but still several well-certified cases have occurred in
+which no possible motive could be given. In one instance a youth of
+fifteen set fire to his father's premises seven times within a few
+hours. In another, a young female on a visit set fire to her friend's
+furniture, &c., ten or eleven times in the course of one or two days.
+In neither case could anything like disagreement or harshness be
+elicited, but the reverse. In other instances, it has been strongly
+suspected that this disease was the cause of repeated fires, but there
+was no positive proof. In all these cases, known or suspected, the
+parties were generally from fourteen to twenty years of age.
+
+
+FIRE-PROOF STRUCTURES.
+
+What is "Fire-proof Construction?" is a question which has given rise
+to a great deal of discussion, simply, as it appears to me, because
+the size of the buildings, and the quantity and description of the
+contents, have not always been taken into account. That which may be
+perfectly fireproof in a dwelling house, may be the weakest in a large
+warehouse. Suppose an average-sized dwelling-house 20 x 40 x 50 =
+40,000 cubic feet, built with brick partitions, stone or slate stairs,
+wrought-iron joists filled in with concrete, and the whole well
+plastered. Such a house will be practically fire-proof, because there
+is no probability that the furniture and flooring in any one room,
+would make fire enough to communicate to another. But suppose a
+warehouse equal to twenty such houses, with floors completely open,
+supported by cast-iron pillars, and each floor communicating with the
+others by open staircases and wells; suppose, further, that it is half
+filled with combustible goods, and perhaps the walls and ceilings
+lined with timber. Now, if a fire takes place below, the moment it
+bursts through the upper windows or skylights, the whole place becomes
+an immense blast furnace; the iron is melted, and in a comparatively
+short time the building is in ruins, and, it may be, the half of the
+neighbourhood destroyed. The real fire-proof construction for such
+buildings is groined brick arches, supported on brick pillars only.
+This mode of building, however, involves so much expense, and occupies
+so much space, that it cannot be used with advantage. The next best
+plan is to build the warehouses in compartments of moderate size,
+divided by party-walls and double wrought-iron doors, so that if one
+of these compartments takes fire, there may be a reasonable prospect
+of confining the fire to that compartment only. Again, cast iron gives
+way from so many different causes, that it is impossible to calculate
+when it will give way. The castings may have flaws in them; or they
+may be too weak for the weight they have to support, being sometimes
+within 10 per cent., or less, of the breaking weight. The expansion of
+the girders may thrust out the side walls. For instance, in a
+warehouse 120 feet x 75 feet x 80 feet, there are three continuous
+rows of girders on each floor, with butt joints; the expansion in this
+case may be twelve inches. The tie rods to take the strain of the flat
+arches must expand and become useless, and the whole of the lateral
+strain be thrown on the girders and side walls, perhaps weak enough
+already. Again, throwing cold water on the heated iron may cause an
+immediate fracture. For these and similar reasons, the firemen are not
+permitted to go into warehouses supported by iron, _when once fairly
+on fire_.
+
+Cast and wrought-iron have been frequently fused at fires in large
+buildings such as warehouses, sugar houses, &c., but according to Mr.
+Fairbairn's experiments on cast iron in a heated state, it is not
+necessary that the fusing point should be attained to cause it to give
+way.[A] He also states, that the loss of strength in cold-blast cast
+iron, in a variation of temperature from 26 deg. to 190 deg. = 164 deg. Fahr., is
+10 per cent., and in hot-blast at a variation of from 21 deg. to 190 deg. =
+169 deg. Fahr., is 15 per cent.; now if the loss of strength advances in
+anything like this ratio, the iron will be totally useless as a
+support, long before the fusing point is attained.
+
+Much confidence has been placed in wrought-iron tie or tension rods,
+to take the lateral strain of the arches, and also in trusses to
+support the beams; but it must be evident that the expansion of the
+iron from the heat, would render them useless, and under a high
+temperature, it would be so great as to unsettle the brickwork, and
+accelerate its fall, on any part of the iron-work giving way: again,
+the application of cold water to the heated iron, in an endeavour to
+extinguish the fire, is almost certain to cause one or more fractures.
+The brick-arching is also very liable to fall, especially if only four
+and a half inches thick, independently of the weight which may be
+placed upon it, for it is not uncommon after a fire in a large
+building, to find the mortar almost completely pulverized to the depth
+of three inches, or four inches, from the face of the wall. When a
+fire occurred under one of the arches of the Blackwall Railway, on the
+15th July, 1843, a portion of the lower ring fell down, and also a few
+bricks from the next ring.
+
+Another very serious objection to buildings of this description, is
+that, unless scientifically constructed, they are very unlikely to be
+safe, even for the common purposes intended, independent of the risk
+of fire. In the Report of Sir Henry De la Beche and Mr. Thomas Cubitt
+on the fall of the mill at Oldham, in October, 1844,[B] it is stated
+that the strength of the iron-beams was within ten per cent. of the
+breaking weight. Now according to Mr. Fairbairn's experiments on
+heated iron, already referred to, an increase of temperature of only
+170 deg. would have destroyed the whole building. It is quite clear,
+therefore, that so long as mill-owners and others continue to
+construct such buildings without proper advice, they must be liable to
+these accidents. In timber-floors there can be no such risk, as the
+strains are all direct, and any journeyman carpenter, by following
+good examples, can ascertain the size required; and even if he makes a
+mistake, the evil is comparatively trivial, as the timber will give
+notice before yielding, and may be propped up for the time, until it
+can be properly secured. In the case of fire-proof buildings, an
+ignorant person may make many mistakes without being aware that he has
+done so, and the slightest failure is probably fatal to every one
+within the walls. This also increases the difficulty and danger of
+extinguishing fires in a large building, as the only method of doing
+so is for the firemen to enter it with their branches, and in case of
+the floors falling, there is no chance of escape. On the other hand,
+timber-floors have repeatedly fallen while the firemen were inside the
+building, and they have made their escape uninjured.
+
+In a pamphlet published by Mr. S. Holme, of Liverpool, in 1844,[C] and
+which contains a report from Mr. Fairbairn on fire-proof buildings, it
+is stated, that many people, especially in the manufacturing
+districts, are their own architects; that the warehouses in Liverpool
+may be loaded to one ton per yard of flooring; and that unless great
+care and knowledge are used in the construction of fire-proof
+buildings, they are of all others the most dangerous.[D]
+
+The following are the principles on which Mr. Fairbairn proposes to
+build fire-proof warehouses:--
+
+ The whole of the building to be composed of non-combustible
+ materials, such as iron, stone, or bricks.
+
+ In order to prevent fire, whether arising from accident or
+ spontaneous combustion, every opening, or crevice,
+ communicating with the external atmosphere to be closed.
+
+ An isolated staircase, of stone, or iron, well protected on
+ every side by brick, or stone walls, to be attached to every
+ story, and be furnished with a line of water-pipes,
+ communicating with the mains in the street, and ascending to
+ the top of the building.
+
+ In a range of stores, the different warehouses to be divided
+ by strong partition-walls, in no case less than eighteen
+ inches thick, and no more openings to be made than are
+ absolutely necessary for the admission of goods and light.
+
+ That the iron columns, beams, and brick arches be of
+ strength sufficient, not only to support a continuous dead
+ pressure, but to resist the force of impact to which they
+ are subject by the falling of heavy goods upon the floors.
+
+ That in order to prevent accident from the columns being
+ melted by intense heat in the event of fire in any of the
+ rooms, a current of cold air should be introduced into the
+ hollow of the columns, from an arched tunnel under the
+ floors.
+
+There is no doubt that if the second principle could be carried out,
+namely, the total exclusion of air, the fire would go out of itself;
+but it seems, to say the least of it, very doubtful indeed if this can
+be accomplished, and if it could, the carelessness of a porter leaving
+open one of the doors or windows, would make the whole useless. The
+fifth principle shows that Mr. Fairbairn has omitted to allow for the
+loss of strength the iron may sustain from the increase of
+temperature. The last principle would not be likely to answer its
+purpose, even if it was possible to keep these tunnels and hollow
+columns clear for a number of years, which is scarcely to be expected.
+A piece of cast-iron pipe, one-and-a-half inch in diameter, was heated
+for four minutes in a common forge, both ends being carefully kept
+open to the atmosphere, when, on one end being fixed in a vice, and
+the other pulled aside by the hand, it gave way.
+
+One of the principal objections to the kind of fire-proof buildings
+above described, is, that absolute perfection in their construction is
+indispensable to their safety; whereas buildings of a more common
+description are comparatively safe, although there may be some errors
+or omissions in their construction. Indeed, Mr. Fairbairn states in
+the same Report, that "it is true that negligence of construction on
+the one hand, and want of care in management on the other, might
+entail risk and loss to an enormous extent."
+
+The following is a very clear proof of the inability of cast iron to
+resist the effects of fire:--
+
+"A chapel in Liverpool-road, Islington, seventy feet in length and
+fifty-two feet in breadth, took fire in the cellar, on the 2nd
+October, 1848, and was completely burned down. After the fire, it was
+ascertained that of thirteen cast-iron pillars used to support the
+galleries, only two remained perfect; the greater part of the others
+were broken into small pieces, the metal appearing to have lost all
+power of cohesion, and some parts were melted. It should be observed,
+that these pillars were of ample strength to support the galleries
+when filled by the congregation, but when the fire reached them, they
+crumbled under the weight of the timber only, lightened as it must
+have been by the progress of the fire."
+
+In this case it mattered little whether the pillars stood or fell, but
+it would be very different with some of the large wholesale warehouses
+in the City, where numbers of young men sleep in the upper floors; in
+several of those warehouses the cast-iron pillars are much less in
+proportion to the weight to be carried than those referred to, and
+would be completely in the draught of a fire. If a fire should
+unfortunately take place under such circumstances, the loss of human
+life might be very great, as the chance of fifty, eighty, or one
+hundred people escaping in the confusion of a sudden night alarm, by
+one or two ladders, to the roof, could scarcely be calculated on, and
+the time such escape must necessarily occupy, independent of all
+chance of accidents, would be considerable.
+
+For the reasons here stated, I submit that large buildings, containing
+considerable quantities of combustible goods, with floors of
+brick-arches, supported by cast-iron beams and columns, are not,
+practically speaking, fire-proof; and that the only construction which
+would render large buildings fire-proof; where considerable quantities
+of combustible goods are deposited, would be groined brick-arches,
+supported by pillars of the same material, laid in proper cement. I am
+fully convinced, from a lengthened experience, that the intensity of a
+fire,--the risk of its ravages extending to adjoining premises, and
+also the difficulty of extinguishing it, depend, _caeteris paribus_, on
+the cubic contents of the building which takes fire, and it appears to
+me that the amount of loss would be very much reduced, if, instead of
+building immense warehouses, which give the fire a fortified position,
+warehouses were made of a moderate size, with access on two sides at
+least, completely separated from each other by party-walls, and
+protected by iron-doors and window-shutters. In the latter case, the
+probability is, that not more than one warehouse would be lost at a
+time, and perhaps that one would be only partially injured.
+
+It is sincerely to be hoped that the clause in the last Metropolitan
+Building Act, restricting the size of warehouses, may be more
+successful than its predecessor, for it is not only property that is
+at stake, but human life. In many of these "Manchester warehouses,"
+there are fifty or one hundred and upwards of warehousemen and
+servants sleeping in the upper floors, whose escape, in case of fire,
+would be very doubtful, to say the least of it.[E]
+
+Covering timber with sheet-iron is very often resorted to as a
+protection against fire. I have never found it succeed; but Dr.
+Faraday, Professor Brande, Dr. D. B. Reid, and Mr. W. Tite, M.P., are
+of opinion that it may be useful against a sudden burst of flame, but
+that it is worse than useless against a continued heat.
+
+In wadding manufactories the drying-rooms were frequently lined with
+iron-plates, and when a fire arose there, the part covered with iron
+was generally found more damaged than the rest; the heat got through
+the sheet-iron, and burnt the materials behind it, and there was no
+means of touching them with water until the iron was torn down; sheet
+iron should not, therefore, be used for protecting wood.
+
+Even cast iron, one inch thick, laid on tiles and cement three inches
+thick, has allowed fire to pass through both, to the boarding and
+joisting below, merely from the fire in an open fire-place being taken
+off and laid on the hearth. This arises from iron being so good a
+conductor that, when heat is applied to it, it becomes in a very short
+time nearly as hot on the one side as the other. If the smoke escapes
+up a chimney, or in any other way, there may be a serious amount of
+fire before it is noticed.
+
+In a fire at the Bank of England, the hearth on which the stove was
+placed was cast iron an inch thick, with two-and-a-half inches of
+concrete underneath it; but the timber below that was fired.
+
+With regard to the subject of fire-proof dwelling-houses of average
+size, I consider that such houses when built of brick or stone, with
+party-walls carried through the roof; the partitions of brick, the
+stairs of slate or stone, the joists of wrought iron filled in with
+concrete, and the whole well plastered, are practically fire-proof
+because, as stated at the opening of this chapter, there is no
+probability that the furniture and flooring in any one room would make
+fire enough to communicate to another. The safest manner of heating
+such houses is with open fire-places, the hearths not being laid upon
+timber. Stone staircases, when much heated, will fracture from cold
+water coming suddenly in contact with them; but in a dwelling-house
+built as described above, there is very little chance of such a
+circumstance endangering human life, even with wooden steps carried
+upon brick walls, and rendered incombustible by a ceiling of an inch
+and a quarter of good hair mortar and well pugged, all the purposes of
+safety to human life would be attained.
+
+There is a particular description of floor, which, although not
+altogether fire-proof, is certainly (at least so far as I can judge),
+almost practically so for dwelling-houses. It is composed simply of
+plank two and a-half or three inches thick, so closely joined, and so
+nicely fitted to the walls, as to be completely air-tight. Its
+thickness and its property of being air-tight, will be easily observed
+to be its only causes of safety. Although the apartment be on fire,
+yet the time required to burn through the floor above or below, will
+be so great, that the property may be removed from the other floors,
+or, more probably, if the means of extinguishing fire be at hand, it
+may be subdued before it can spread to any other apartment. The doors
+must of course be made in proportion, and the partitions of brick or
+stone.
+
+Before closing the subject of fire-proof structures, I will add a few
+words upon fire-proof safes. These are all constructed with double
+casings of wrought iron, the interstices being in some filled with
+non-combustible substances, such as pumice stone and Stourbridge clay,
+and in others with metal tubes, that melt at a low temperature, and
+allow a liquid contained in them to escape, and form steam round the
+box, with the intention of preventing the heat from injuring the
+contents. Such safes I have never found destroyed; and in some cases,
+after large fires, the whole of the contents have been found
+uninjured, while the papers in common safes, merely made strong enough
+to prevent their being broken into, were generally found consumed.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote A: _Vide_ Seventh Report of the British Association, 1837,
+vol. vi. page 409.]
+
+[Footnote B: _Vide_ Report on the Fall of the Cotton Mill, at Oldham,
+and part of the Prison at Northleach, page 4. Folio. London: Clowes
+and Sons, 1845.]
+
+[Footnote C: _Vide_ Report of W. Fairbairn, Esq., on the Construction
+of Fire-proof Buildings. With introductory Remarks by Samuel Holme,
+page 11, _et seq._ Tract, 8vo. Liverpool: T. Baines, 1844.]
+
+[Footnote D: The Author has been informed by Mr. Farey, M. Inst. C.E.,
+that a fire took place, in 1827, in a mill belonging to Mr. Marshall,
+of Leeds, the whole of which, with the exception of the roof, was
+fire-proof. The upper floor was filled with flax, which took fire; the
+roof fell in, and the heat so affected the iron beams of the floor, as
+to cause them to give way.]
+
+[Footnote E: In the year 1858, when reporting to the Insurance Offices
+upon the Warehouses in the Metropolitan Docks, Mr. Braidwood made the
+following suggestions which are applicable to all large buildings.
+That all the party-walls where the roofs do not rise above the wall,
+should be 3 feet 6 inches above such roof. That all the party-walls in
+the valleys of the roofs should be raised to the level of the highest
+ridge on either side, all openings in such walls being closed by
+wrought-iron doors on each side of the walls, at least a quarter of an
+inch thick in the panels, and such openings not to exceed 42
+superficial feet in the clear. That all windows which look upon other
+windows, or loop-hole doors in other warehouses or compartments,
+within 100 feet, should be bricked up, or have wrought-iron shutters
+at least 3/16th of an inch thick in the panels.
+
+That all loop-hole doors similarly situated should be made entirely of
+wrought iron, frames included, or bricked up. That all shafts for
+lifts or other purposes, should be of brick, with wrought-iron doors
+where necessary to receive or deliver goods, and that all openings
+whatever for machinery should be included in such shaft. That every
+hatchway or opening in the floors for "shooting" goods from floor to
+floor should have a strong flap _hinged on_ to the floor, to be closed
+when not in use, especially at night.
+
+That there should be direct access to every room, of every
+compartment, of every warehouse, from a fire-proof staircase, by iron
+doors, and that all such staircases should enter from the open air, as
+well as from under any warehouse on the quay; in the latter case the
+doors must be of iron only.
+
+All the windows in the entresol and ground floors to be bricked up, or
+have iron shutters, and the doors and frames to be of iron.
+
+Wherever the warehouses face each other within 100 feet, the front
+parapet walls to be carried up to the level of the ridge of the roof.
+
+When it is stated in this report that the windows or loop-hole doors
+should be bricked up, it is not meant to exclude the use of thick
+glass, three or four pieces being built into each door or window
+space, not exceeding 6 inches in diameter or square, in the clear, and
+set in the mortar or cement at least 3/4 of an inch all round, the
+glass to be not less than 1-1/2 inches thick, flat on both sides, and
+so placed that no goods can be stored within 18 inches of the inner
+surface.
+
+There should be a tank on the top of each staircase, with a tap from
+it on each landing, with six fire buckets hung near it, and three
+small hand pumps in every staircase; the officers and workpeople
+seeing these every day would be certain to run to them in case of
+fire, and by having a constant supply of water on every floor small
+accidents might be extinguished at once, and the iron doors and roofs
+kept cool in case of one room taking fire.]
+
+
+
+
+FIRE EXTINCTION, INCLUDING FIRE BRIGADES, FIRE ENGINES, AND WATER
+SUPPLY.
+
+
+Before entering upon the subject of Public Fire Brigades, I will call
+attention to the course to be pursued by inmates of the house on fire,
+and their neighbours.
+
+When all available means of fire prevention have been adopted, the
+next thing to be considered is a supply of water. In the country, or
+where there are no water-pipes or engines, this ought to be
+particularly attended to, and a hand-pump should be provided. Where no
+water is kept solely for the purpose of extinguishing fire, such
+vessels as can be spared should be regularly filled every night, and
+placed in such situations as may be most convenient in case of danger;
+and no master of a family ought to retire to rest, without being
+satisfied that this has been attended to. If it had no other advantage
+than merely that of directing the inmates of a house to the
+possibility of such an occurrence as fire, it would be worth much more
+than the trouble such an arrangement would cost; but, in addition to
+that, a supply of water would be at hand, in most cases more than
+sufficient to extinguish the fire immediately on its being discovered,
+and before it had become either alarming or dangerous. But when no
+such precaution has been adopted, when even the bare possibility of
+fire has not been considered, when no attention has even been paid to
+the subject, and no provision made for it; the inhabitants are
+generally so alarmed and confused, that the danger is probably over,
+by their property being burned to the ground, before they can
+sufficiently recollect themselves to lend any effective assistance.
+
+In most cases of fire, the people in whose premises it occurs are
+thrown into what may be called a state of temporary derangement, and
+seem to be actuated only by a desire of muscular movement, no matter
+to what purpose their exertions are directed. Persons may often be
+seen toiling like galley-slaves, at operations which a moment's
+reflection would show were utterly useless. I have seen tables,
+chairs, and every article of furniture that would pass through a
+window, three or four stories high, dashed into the street, even when
+the fire had hardly touched the tenement. On one occasion I saw
+crockery-ware thrown from a window on the third floor.[F]
+
+Most of these extravagances take place on the first alarm. When the
+engines have got fairly into play, people begin to recollect
+themselves, and it is at this time that most of those "who go to see a
+fire" arrive. By the exertions of the police there is then generally a
+considerable degree of order restored, and the most interesting part
+of the scene is over.
+
+What remains, however, may, from its novelty or grandeur, if the fire
+is extensive, be still worth looking at for a little, but much of the
+excitement is banished with the confusion; and if the fire and firemen
+seem to be well matched, the chief interest which is excited in the
+spectators is to ascertain which of the parties is likely to be
+victorious. Few people, comparatively, have thus an opportunity of
+witnessing the terror and distraction occasioned by the first alarm of
+fire, and this may probably account for the apathy and indifference
+with which people who have not seen this regard it.
+
+When a fire actually takes place, every one should endeavour to be as
+cool and collected as possible; screams, cries, and other exhibitions
+of terror, while utterly useless in themselves, have generally the
+effect of alarming those whose services might otherwise be of the
+utmost advantage, and of rendering them unfit for useful exertion. It
+is unhappily, too, at the commencement of fires, that this tendency to
+confusion and terror is the strongest, when a bucket of water,
+properly applied, is generally of more value than a hundred will be
+half an hour afterwards. It is the feeling of total surprise, on the
+breaking out of a fire, which thus unhinges the faculties of many
+individuals. They have never made the case their own, nay, one would
+almost imagine they had scarcely thought such an occurrence possible,
+till, coming on them almost like a thunderbolt, they are lost in
+perplexity and terror. The only preventive against this is to think
+the matter over frequently and carefully before it occurs.
+
+The moment it is ascertained that fire has actually taken place,
+notice should be sent to the nearest station where there is a
+fire-engine. No matter whether the inmates are likely to be able to
+extinguish the fire themselves--this should never be trusted to if
+more efficient help can be had.
+
+It is much better that an engine should be turned out twenty times
+when it is not wanted, than be once too late. This may cause a
+trifling expense; but even that expense is not altogether lost, as it
+teaches the firemen steadiness and coolness.
+
+The person in the house best qualified for such duty should endeavour
+to ascertain, with as much precision as possible, the extent and
+position of the fire, while the others collect as much water as they
+can. If the fire be in an upper floor, the inmates should be got out
+immediately, although the lower part of the house may generally be
+entered with safety for some time. If in the lower part of the house,
+after the inmates have been removed, great care should be observed in
+going into any of the upper floors, as the flames very often reach the
+stair before being observed by those above. The upper floors are,
+besides, generally filled with smoke, and, in that case, there is
+great danger of suffocation to those who may enter.
+
+This, indeed, is the principal danger attending fires, and should be
+particularly guarded against, as a person, when being suffocated, is
+unable to call for assistance. In a case of this kind the fire took
+place in the third floor from the street, and all the inmates
+immediately left the premises except one old woman. In about fifteen
+minutes after the arrival of the engines, the firemen made their way
+upstairs, and the poor woman was found dead beside a basket partly
+filled with clothes, which it was supposed she had been packing up for
+removal; had she made any noise, or even broke a pane of glass, she
+would, in all probability, have been saved; as the fire never touched
+the floor in which she was found, she must have died entirely from
+suffocation, which a little fresh air would have prevented. Had the
+slightest suspicion existed that any one was in the upper floors, they
+would have been entered by the windows or the roof; but as the fire
+took place in daylight, and none of the neighbours spoke of any one
+being in the house, it was thought unnecessary to damage the property,
+or risk the lives of the firemen, without some adequate cause. This,
+however, shows how little dependence can be placed on information
+received from the inmates of the premises on fire. Some of the people
+who lived on the same floor with this poor woman, and who had seen her
+immediately before they left the house, never mentioned her. I do not
+suppose that this negligence arose from apathy, or any feeling of that
+sort; but the people were in such a state of utter confusion, that
+they were unable to think of anything. But to return.
+
+On the first discovery of a fire, it is of the utmost consequence to
+shut, and keep shut, all doors, windows, or other openings. It may
+often be observed, after a house has been on fire, that one floor is
+comparatively untouched, while those above and below are nearly burned
+out. This arises from the door on that particular floor having been
+shut, and the draught directed elsewhere. If the person who has
+examined the fire finds a risk of its gaining ground upon him, he
+should, if within reach of fire-engines, keep everything close, and
+await their arrival, instead of admitting air to the fire by
+ineffectual efforts to oppose it with inadequate means. In the
+meantime, however, he should examine where a supply of water is most
+likely to be obtained, and communicate that, and any other local
+information, to the firemen on their coming forward. If there be no
+fire-engine within reach, the person who has examined the fire should
+keep the place where it is situated as close as possible, till as many
+buckets of water as can be easily collected are placed within his
+reach.
+
+Taking care always that there is some one ready to assist him, he
+should then open the door, and creep forward on his hands and knees
+till he gets as near the fire as possible; holding his breath, and
+standing up for a moment to give the water a proper direction, he
+should throw it with force, using a hand pump if available, and
+instantly get down to his former position, where he will be again able
+to breathe. The people behind handing forward another bucket of water,
+he repeats the operation till the fire is quenched, or until he feels
+exhausted; in which case some one should take his place. If there be
+enough of water, however, two, three, or any convenient number of
+people may be employed in throwing it; on the contrary, if the supply
+of water be insufficient to employ even one person, the door should be
+kept shut while the water is being brought, and the air excluded as
+much as possible, as the fire burns exactly in proportion to the
+quantity of air which it receives.
+
+One great evil, and which ought to be strictly guarded against by
+people not accustomed to fire, is, that on the first alarm they exert
+themselves to the very utmost of their strength. This, of course, can
+last but a short time; and when they feel tired, which in that case
+soon happens, they very often give up altogether. Now this is the
+reverse of what it ought to be. In extinguishing fires, like most
+other things, a cool judgment and steady perseverance are far more
+effective than any desultory exertions which can be made.
+
+The heat generally increases in a considerable degree when water is
+first thrown upon a fire, from the conversion of a portion of it into
+steam. This is sometimes very annoying; so much so, that the persons
+engaged in throwing the water, frequently feel themselves obliged to
+give back a little. They should on no account, however, abate or
+discontinue their exertions in throwing the water with as much force
+as possible in the direction of the fire; it will in a short time cool
+the air and materials, and the steam will, in consequence, be
+generated more slowly, while a steady perseverance on the part of
+those employed can alone effect the object in view.
+
+When water is scarce, mud, cow or horse dung, damp earth, &c., may be
+used as substitutes; but if there seems no chance of succeeding by any
+of these, and the fire is likely to extend to other buildings, the
+communication should be immediately cut off by pulling down the
+building next to that on fire. Any operation of this sort, however,
+should be begun at a sufficient distance from the fire to allow the
+communication to be completely cut off, before it gains upon the
+workmen. If this operation be attempted so near the fire as to be
+interrupted by it, it must be begun again at a greater distance; and,
+in that case, there is a greater destruction of property than might
+have been necessary.
+
+If a fire occur in a stable or cow-house, surrounded with other
+buildings of the same description, or with the produce of a farm,
+there is much danger. The cattle and horses should be immediately
+removed; and, in doing so, if any of them become restive, they should
+be blindfolded, taking care that it is done thoroughly, as any attempt
+to blindfold them partially, only increases the evil. They should be
+handled as much as possible in the ordinary manner, and with great
+coolness; the violent gestures and excited appearance of the persons
+removing them tending greatly to startle the animals, and render them
+unmanageable.
+
+
+PUBLIC FIRE BRIGADES AND THE DUTIES OF FIREMEN.
+
+The best public means of arresting fires is a very wide question, as
+the only limit to the means is the expense. Different nations have
+different ways of doing the same thing. On the Continent generally,
+the whole is managed by Government, and the firemen are placed under
+martial law, the inhabitants being compelled to work the engines. In
+London, the principal means of arresting fires is a voluntary
+association of the insurance companies, without legal authority of any
+sort, the legal protection by parish engines being, with a few
+praiseworthy exceptions, a dead letter.
+
+In Liverpool, Manchester, and other towns, the extinction of fires by
+the pressure of water only, without the use of fire-engines, is very
+much practised. The advantages of this system are very great; but, to
+enable us to follow this system in London, the whole water supply
+would require to be remodelled.
+
+In America, the firemen are generally volunteers, enrolled by the
+local Governments. They are exempt from other duties, or are entitled
+to privileges, which appear to satisfy them, as the situation of
+fireman is eagerly sought in most of the American cities.
+
+Which is the best of these different modes it is difficult to say;
+perhaps each is best suited for the place where it exists.
+
+It is now generally admitted, that the whole force brought together to
+extinguish a fire ought to be under the direction and control of one
+individual. By this means, all quarrelling among the firemen about the
+supply of water, the interest of particular insurance companies, and
+other matters of detail, is avoided. By having the whole force under
+the command of one person, he is enabled to form one general plan of
+operations, to which the whole body is subservient; and although he
+may not, in the hurry of the moment, at all times adopt what will
+afterwards appear to be the best plan, yet it is better to have some
+general arrangement, than to allow the firemen of each engine to work
+according to their own fancy, and that, too, very often in utter
+disregard as to whether their exertions may aid or retard those of
+their neighbours. The individual appointed to such a situation ought
+not to be interfered with, or have his attention distracted, except by
+the chief authority on the spot, or the owner of the premises on fire.
+Much valuable information is frequently obtained from the latter, as
+to the division of the premises, the party-walls, and other matters
+connected with its locality. But, generally speaking, the less
+interference and advice the better, as it occupies time which may
+generally be better employed.
+
+I need scarcely add, that on no account whatever should directions be
+given to the firemen by any other individual while the superintendent
+of brigade is present; and that there may be no quarrelling about
+superiority, the men should be aware on whom the command is to devolve
+in his absence.
+
+It has often been to me a matter of surprise, that so small a portion
+of the public attention should be directed to the matter of
+extinguishing fires. It is only when roused by some great calamity
+that people bestir themselves; and then there is such a variety of
+plans proposed to avert similar cases of distress, that to attempt to
+concoct a rational plan out of such a crude, ill-digested, and
+contradictory mass of opinion, requires more labour and attention than
+most people are inclined to give it, unless a regular business was
+made of it. In Paris the corps of military firemen are so well
+trained, that although their apparatus is not so good as it should be,
+the amount of the losses by fire is comparatively trifling. If the
+head-quarters of such an establishment were to be in London, a store
+of apparatus, constructed on one uniform plan, could be kept there, to
+be forwarded to any other part of the kingdom where it might be
+required. This uniformity of the structure and design of the apparatus
+could extend to the most minute particulars; a screw or a nut of any
+one engine would fit every other engine in the kingdom. A depot could
+also be kept at head-quarters, where recruits would be regularly
+drilled and instructed in the business, and a regular system of
+communication kept up with all the provincial corps. Any particular
+circumstances occurring at a fire would thus be immediately reported,
+and the advantages of any knowledge or experience thus gained, would
+be disseminated over the whole kingdom. As the matter at present
+stands one town may have an excellent fire-engine establishment, and
+another within a few miles a very indifferent one, and when the one is
+called to assist the other, they can neither act in concert, nor can
+the apparatus of the one in case of accident be of the smallest
+service in replacing that of the other. The best might (if a proper
+communication were kept up) be under frequent obligations to the
+worst, and here, as in other matters, it is chiefly by communication
+that knowledge is increased. If the whole experience of the country
+were brought together, and maturely considered and digested by persons
+competent to judge, I have no doubt that a system might be introduced
+suitable to the nation and to the age in which we live. Instead of
+hearing of the "_dreadful losses by fire_," and the "_great
+exertions_" made to extinguish it, all the notice would be, such a
+place took fire, the engines arrived, and it was extinguished.
+
+It would be useless for me to enter into the details of a plan which I
+have little hope of ever seeing realized. I may state, however, that a
+premium might be offered for the best engine of a size previously
+agreed upon, which, when finished, should be kept as a model.
+
+Specifications could then be made out, and estimates advertised for,
+for all the different parts, such as wheels, axles, levers, cisterns,
+barrels, air-vessels, &c., separately. When any particular part of an
+engine was damaged, it could be immediately replaced, and the engine
+again rendered fit for service; and upon emergency any number of
+engines could be set up, merely by putting the different parts
+together. The work would also be better done; at least it would be
+much more easy to detect faults in the materials or workmanship than
+if the engines were bought ready for use. These remarks apply to all
+the rest of the apparatus.
+
+It could be provided that firemen might be enlisted for a term of
+years. When enlisted, they would be sent to the depot at
+head-quarters, drilled to the use of the engines, and carefully
+instructed in separating and cleaning the different parts. Here also
+they could be practised in gymnastic exercises, and generally
+instructed in everything tending to promote their usefulness as
+firemen. They could then be sent off to some large towns, and, after
+having seen a little active service, distributed over the country in
+such parties as might be deemed necessary for the places they were
+intended to protect.
+
+The practice of keeping fire-engines at noblemen's and gentlemen's
+residences, and at large manufactories in the country, is by no means
+uncommon, and I have no doubt that many more would supply themselves
+in this way if they knew where to apply for information in such
+matters; but the great fault lies in the want of persons of skill and
+experience to work them when fire occurs. In the way I have mentioned,
+proprietors and others could have one or more of their workmen
+instructed in this necessary piece of duty; and I have no doubt that
+many gentlemen would avail themselves of the means of instructing some
+of their servants.
+
+It will be observed, I do not propose that the firemen who are
+enlisted, drilled, and instructed in the business, should be sent to
+the different stations in sufficient numbers to work the engines; this
+part of the work can be performed by any man accustomed to hard
+labour, as well as by the most expert fireman, and the local
+authorities could easily provide men for this purpose. In small towns,
+where fires are rare, the novelty would draw together plenty of hands;
+and in large towns, where the inhabitants are not sufficiently
+disinterested to work for nothing, there are always plenty who could
+be bound to assist in cases of fire at a certain rate per hour, to be
+paid upon a certificate from the fireman who has charge of the engine
+at which they worked. The trained firemen would thus be required only
+for the direction of the engine, attaching the hose, &c.
+
+I am quite aware that many people object to the training of firemen;
+but it would be just as reasonable to give to a mob all the "materiel"
+of war, and next day expect it to act like a regular army, as to
+expect engines to be managed with any general prospect of success,
+unless the men are properly trained and prepared for the duty which is
+expected from them. Fire is both a powerful and an insidious enemy,
+and those whose business it is to attack it will best succeed when
+they have become skilful and experienced in the use of their arms.
+
+It is quite obvious that a fire brigade, however complete in its
+apparatus and equipments, must depend for its efficiency on the state
+of training and discipline of the firemen. Wherever there is
+inexperience, want of co-operation, or confusion amongst them, the
+utmost danger is to be apprehended in the event of fire. It is amidst
+the raging of this destructive element, the terror and bustle of the
+inhabitants, that organization and discipline triumph, and it is
+there, too, that coolness and promptitude, steadiness and activity,
+fearlessness and caution, are peculiarly required; but, unfortunately,
+it is then also that they are most rarely exhibited.
+
+There should not be less than five or six men attached to each engine,
+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.
+
+If any of the men are sick, or absent from any other cause, their
+duties are performed by other men attached to their engine-station.
+
+With a view to the men being always at hand, they are lodged as near
+as possible to their respective engine-houses.
+
+The roll is called at each station every morning and evening.
+
+No man leaves his own residence or the engine-station to which he
+belongs from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. except to go to a fire, or by an order
+from a superior, or with written leave from the superintendent, and
+the senior man on duty is answerable if he does not report any
+departure from this rule.
+
+Men on duty not at the engine-stations are allowed one hour for
+breakfast and one for dinner, as follows:--One-half of the men on duty
+go to breakfast from 8 to 9, and the other half from 9 to 10; also
+one-half go to dinner from 1 to 2, and the other half from 2 to 3. The
+second half in no case leave until the whole of the first half have
+returned, neither do the men on duty leave morning or evening until
+the relief has arrived. The engineer or senior man on duty is
+answerable for this regulation being carried into effect. And any man
+being absent from the premises he is watching or working in, except at
+the regular hours, is punished.
+
+The men for duty individually assemble at the principal engine-house
+in the district before, or precisely at, the hour fixed for that
+purpose. Their names are called, and an inspection made by the foreman
+of the district, to ascertain that they are sober and correctly
+dressed and appointed. The foreman then reads and explains the orders
+of the day. At the hour for relieving the men, no one leaves his
+engine-house until the relief has actually arrived there; when the men
+are relieved, their names are called over, and they are inspected by
+the engineer, that he may ascertain whether they are sober, and as
+correctly dressed and appointed as when they went on duty. The
+engineer enters these inspections in a book.
+
+The engineers deliver a written report, according to a printed form,
+twice each day, to the foreman of the district, who in his turn
+reports twice a day to the superintendent.
+
+The whole of the men are, at all times, ready to appear at any place
+required, for exercise or any other purpose, and are ready (whether on
+duty or not) to execute whatever orders they may receive, in relation
+to the Establishment, from the engineers, foremen, or superintendent.
+
+
+DUTIES OF SUPERINTENDENT.
+
+The Superintendent resides at the principal engine-station in
+Watling-street.
+
+The moment an alarm of fire is given, wherever it may be, he repairs
+to the spot with all possible expedition, and takes the command of the
+whole force.
+
+He endeavours to ascertain the cause of the fire, and reports the same
+to the committee.
+
+He is responsible for the general conduct of the foremen, engineers,
+and firemen under his charge.
+
+He makes himself well acquainted with the character and conduct of
+every man under his orders.
+
+He must be firm and just, and, at the same time, kind and conciliating
+in his behaviour on all occasions.
+
+He takes care that the printed regulations and all others given out
+from time to time, are promptly and strictly obeyed; and he gives
+clear and precise instructions to the men under him, and reports every
+instance of neglect of a serious nature to the Committee.
+
+He must feel the importance of visiting some of the engine-houses, at
+uncertain hours, every day and night.
+
+He suspends and reports to the Committee persons who are guilty of
+serious misconduct; and at once punishes by fines, according to a
+scale sanctioned by the Committee, irregularities of a lighter
+character, reporting such fines to them.
+
+He must be at all times prepared to furnish the Committee with
+particulars respecting the state of the Establishment.
+
+When a fire is extinguished, the superintendent retains only such a
+number of men and engines as he may think necessary for watching the
+premises.
+
+He communicates with the surveyors of stock of the offices interested
+in a fire, and arranges with them, in the event of its being
+necessary, to work out salvage from the ruins.
+
+When a fire happens, he causes a report to be made immediately, if in
+office hours (or, if after office hours, before ten o'clock next
+morning), to those offices interested in the fire, and also to their
+surveyors of buildings and stock, as soon as possible after the fire
+is extinguished, and causes a daily report to be transmitted to each
+office of all fires which have happened, according to a printed form
+given to him for that purpose, as follows:--
+
+ Date and hour.
+
+ Situation of premises.
+
+ Name and occupation of tenant.
+
+ Name and residence of landlord.
+
+ Supposed cause of fire.
+
+ In what offices insured.
+
+ No. of Policy.
+
+ If there is gas on the premises.
+
+ By whom called.
+
+ By whom extinguished.
+
+ Supply of water, with name of company.
+
+ No. of engines attending and of what district, and the order
+ in which they arrive.
+
+ No. of men ditto ditto.
+
+ Engines not of the Establishment, and the order in which
+ they arrive.
+
+ Description of damage.
+
+
+DUTIES OF FOREMAN.
+
+The Foreman resides at the place appointed for him.
+
+He receives his orders and instructions from, and makes his reports
+to, the superintendent.
+
+He must set an example to the men of alacrity and skill in the
+discharge of his duty, and of regularity in his general behaviour.
+
+In the absence of the superintendent, the foreman of the district will
+take the command of the whole force, both those of his own district
+and of all other engines and men which may come to his assistance in
+cases of fire.
+
+He does not attend fires that happen out of his own district unless he
+receives orders from the superintendent to that effect.
+
+He endeavours to ascertain the cause of the fire, and reports the same
+to the superintendent.
+
+On the alarm of fire being given in his own district, he instantly
+repairs to the spot, and uses his utmost endeavours to get the engines
+into play and supply them with water. The first engine and firemen
+which arrive at a fire are not 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
+foreman of the district. The same rule applies to each succeeding
+engine which takes up a position.
+
+He is careful to place the engines in such a manner that the men who
+work at the levers may be in no danger from the falling of the
+premises on fire; and also that the engines may not be in the way of
+people carrying out furniture, &c.; but, above all things, he
+endeavours to place the engineers with their branch pipes in such
+positions _that the water from the branches may directly strike the
+burning materials_. This he cannot too often inculcate on the men
+placed under him, as upon this point, on being properly attended to,
+depends entirely the effect of the engines. To attain this most
+desirable end, it is frequently necessary to enter the premises on
+fire, and the foreman takes care so to place his men that they can
+easily escape. If he has reason to suspect that the building is not
+sufficiently secure, he stations one or two competent men to observe
+the state of the building, and to give the alarm when they see any
+danger.
+
+He never allows any man unaccompanied by another to enter a building
+on fire.
+
+He does not throw more water on the premises than is absolutely
+necessary to extinguish the fire, as all the water thrown after the
+fire is extinguished, only tends to increase the damage.
+
+When the inmates of the premises on fire are removed, the foreman
+endeavours to exclude air from the parts on fire, by shutting all
+doors and windows as far as may be practicable.
+
+He is responsible for the conduct of the men placed under him, and for
+the state of the engines, which must at all times be kept in
+first-rate order; he also makes himself well acquainted with the
+talent and general character of each individual under him.
+
+He visits every engine-house in his district at least once in the
+twenty-four hours; he sees that the men are on duty, the engines ready
+for service, and everything in proper order, and enters his visit in a
+book kept for that purpose, with the date and hour of his visit. If he
+finds anything wrong, he enters it in the book, and immediately sends
+off a report to the superintendent by one of the men not on duty.
+
+He sends a written report twice in every twenty-four hours to the
+superintendent, which contains a particular statement of all fires and
+everything else connected with the Establishment which has occurred in
+his district within the preceding twelve hours.
+
+He returns in his report of a fire the names of such men, if any, as
+were not ready to start with the engine to which they are attached.
+
+It is expected that he is able and ready to give instructions to the
+engineers and men on all points relating to their duty.
+
+He receives and enters, in a book kept for that purpose, all
+complaints which may be made against any person under his command,
+causing the complaining party to sign the same and insert his address,
+and he reports the whole matter without delay to the superintendent.
+
+He is responsible for the engines in his district being each provided
+with the articles contained in the following list:--
+
+ 2 lengths of scaling ladder.
+
+ 1 canvas sheet, with 10 or 12 handles of rope round the edge
+ of it, used as a portable fire-escape.
+
+ 2 pieces of 2-1/2-inch rope, one 10 fathoms and one 14
+ fathoms long.
+
+ 7 lengths of hose, each 40 feet long.
+
+ 2 branch pipes, one 4 and the other 1 foot long.
+
+ 3 nozzles, or jet pipes.
+
+ 4 lengths of suction-pipe, each about 6 feet long.
+
+ 1 flat rose.
+
+ 1 standcock.
+
+ 1 goose-neck.
+
+ 2 balls of strips of sheep-skin.
+
+ 2 balls of small cord.
+
+ 4 hose wrenches.
+
+ 1 fire hook.
+
+ 1 mattock.
+
+ 1 shovel.
+
+ 1 saw.
+
+ 1 screw-wrench.
+
+ 1 portable cistern.
+
+ 1 hatchet or pole-axe.
+
+ 1 iron crow-bar.
+
+
+DUTIES OF THE ENGINEER.
+
+He resides in the engine-house to which he is appointed.
+
+He obeys all orders given to him by the superintendent or the foreman
+of the district.
+
+He must set an example to the men of alacrity and skill in the
+discharge of his duty, and of regularity in his general behaviour.
+
+He is held responsible for the conduct of the men under him, and for
+the state of his engine, and takes care that it is provided with the
+articles contained in the foregoing list.
+
+He reports to his foreman, every morning and evening, in writing,
+whether any of his men have been absent with or without leave.
+
+He enters in his book the time when the men go to the foreman's
+station before taking duty, and also when they return.
+
+On receiving notice of a fire happening within the prescribed limits,
+he instantly takes his engine and men to the spot, and places himself
+and them at the disposal of the superintendent, foreman, or senior
+engineer of the district in which the fire happens.
+
+He must make himself acquainted with the character and abilities of
+each man under him.
+
+He is subject to fines at the discretion of the Committee, for neglect
+of duty or misbehaviour.
+
+
+DUTIES OF SUB-ENGINEERS.
+
+The sub-engineers being attached to foremen's and double stations
+only, in the absence of the foremen or engineer, or when in charge of
+an engine, the duties of the sub-engineer are the same as those
+described for an engineer; when the foreman or engineer is absent, the
+sub-engineer must set an example to the firemen at the station of
+constant attention, implicit obedience and activity, and in so far as
+he exhibits these and similar qualifications he expects to rise in the
+service.
+
+
+DUTIES OF THE FIREMAN.
+
+Every fireman in the establishment may expect to rise to the superior
+stations, by activity, intelligence, sobriety, and general good
+conduct.
+
+He must make it his study to recommend himself to notice by a diligent
+discharge of his duties, and strict obedience to the commands of his
+superiors, recollecting that he who has been accustomed to obey will
+be considered best qualified to command.
+
+He resides near the engine-house to which he is attached, in a
+situation to be approved of, and devotes the whole of his time and
+abilities to the service.
+
+On the alarm of fire, he proceeds with all possible speed to the
+engine-house to which he is attached.
+
+He must at all times appear neat in his person, and correctly dressed
+in the establishment uniform, and be respectful in his demeanour
+towards his superiors.
+
+He must readily and punctually obey the orders of the engineers,
+foremen, and superintendent.
+
+He must not quit his engine-house while on duty, except to go to a
+fire, unless by special order from a superior.
+
+He is subject to fines for neglect of duty or misbehaviour, according
+to the regulations.
+
+
+BOOKS KEPT AT THE STATIONS.
+
+There is a book kept in each engine-house, in which are entered all
+fires or alarms of fires; the time the men come on duty; the visits
+made by the foremen, superintendent, or any of the Committee, and all
+complaints against the men.
+
+This book is in charge of the superior on duty at the time; and the
+foreman and engineers are answerable for its being correctly kept.
+
+Every entry made in this book is signed by the person making it.
+
+The superintendent enters, in a book kept for that purpose, the
+particulars of every fire, the attendance of engines, supply of water,
+&c., and lays it before the Committee weekly, or oftener, if required.
+
+Any false entry, for the purpose of concealing absence, is
+punished--for the first offence, by the reduction of one step, and for
+the second by dismissal.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote F: At a fire which took place in one of the best streets in
+Edinburgh, and which began in the roof, the persons who rushed into
+the house on the first alarm being given, threw the greater part of
+the contents of the drawing-room and library, with several basketsful
+of china and glass, out of the windows; the fire injured nothing below
+the uppermost story.]
+
+
+
+
+THE EDINBURGH FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+
+In forming the brigade in Edinburgh, where the firemen are only
+occasionally employed, the description of men, from which I made a
+selection, were slaters, house-carpenters, masons, plumbers, and
+smiths.
+
+Slaters make good firemen, not so much from their superiority in
+climbing, going along roofs, &c., although these are great advantages,
+but from their being in general possessed of a handiness and readiness
+which I have not been able to discover in the same degree amongst
+other classes of workmen. It is, perhaps, not necessary that I should
+account for this, but it appears to me to arise from their being more
+dependent on their wits, and more frequently put to their shifts in
+the execution of their ordinary avocations. House-carpenters and
+masons being well acquainted with the construction of buildings, and
+understanding readily from whence danger is to be apprehended, can
+judge with tolerable accuracy, from the appearance of a house, where
+the stair is situated, and how the house is divided inside. Plumbers
+are also well accustomed to climbing and going along the roofs of
+houses; they are useful in working fire-cocks, covering the gratings
+of drains with lead, and generally in the management of water. Smiths
+and plumbers can also better endure heat and smoke than most other
+workmen.
+
+Men selected from these five trades are also more robust in body, and
+better able to endure the extremes of heat, cold, wet, and fatigue, to
+which firemen are so frequently exposed, than men engaged in more
+sedentary employments.
+
+I have generally made it a point to select for firemen, young men from
+seventeen or eighteen to twenty-five years of age. At that age they
+enter more readily into the spirit of the business, and are much more
+easily trained, than when farther advanced in life. Men are frequently
+found who, although they excel in the mechanical parts of their own
+professions, are yet so devoid of judgment and resources, that when
+anything occurs which they have not been taught, or have not been able
+to foresee, they are completely at a loss. Now it happens not
+unfrequently that the man who arrives first at a fire, notwithstanding
+any training or instructions he may have received, is still, from the
+circumstances of the case, left almost entirely to the direction of
+his own judgment. It is, therefore, of immense importance to procure
+men on whose coolness and judgment you can depend. If they are expert
+tradesmen, so much the better, as there is generally a degree of
+respect shown to first-rate tradesmen by their fellows, which inferior
+hands can seldom obtain; and this respect tends greatly to keep up the
+character of the corps to which they belong, which ought never to be
+lost sight of.
+
+Amidst the noise and confusion which more or less attend all fires, I
+have found considerable difficulty in being able to convey the
+necessary orders to the firemen in such a manner as not to be liable
+to misapprehension. I tried a speaking-trumpet; but, finding it of no
+advantage, it was speedily abandoned. It appeared to me indeed, that
+while it increased the sound of the voice, by the deep tone which it
+gave, it brought it into greater accordance with the surrounding
+noise. I tried a boatswain's call, which I have found to answer much
+better. Its shrill piercing note is so unlike any other sound usually
+heard at a fire, that it immediately attracts the attention of the
+firemen. By varying the calls, I have now established a mode of
+communication not easily misunderstood, and sufficiently precise for
+the circumstances to which it is adapted, and which I now find to be a
+very great convenience.
+
+The calls are as follows:--
+
+ 1 for red, 2 for blue, 3 for yellow, 4 for grey.[G]
+
+ 5 to work the engine.
+
+ 6 to stop working.
+
+ 7 to attach one length of hose more than the engine has at
+ the time the call is given.
+
+ 8 to coil up the hose attached to the engine.
+
+ 9 to coil up the hose attached to the fire-cock.
+
+ 10 to turn to the left.
+
+ 11 to turn to the right.
+
+ 12 the call to work the engine answers also to move forward
+ when the engine is prepared for travelling.
+
+ 13 the call to stop working answers to stop the engine when
+ moving forward.
+
+In all there are thirty-six calls when compounded with the first four.
+
+In speaking of the drilling of firemen, I shall give a short account
+of the plan followed here, which has been tolerably successful.
+
+The present number of firemen in Edinburgh is fifty, divided into four
+companies; three of which consist of twelve and one of fourteen men.
+The bounds of the city are divided into four districts; in each of
+which there is an engine-house, containing one or more engines, one of
+the companies being attached to each engine-house. In each company
+there is one captain, one sergeant, four pioneers, and six or eight
+firemen.
+
+The whole are dressed in blue jackets, canvas trousers, and hardened
+leather helmets, having hollow leather crests over the crown to ward
+off falling materials. The form of this helmet was taken from the
+war-helmet of the New Zealanders, with the addition of the hind flap
+of leather to prevent burning matter, melted lead, water, or rubbish
+getting into the neck of the wearer. The captains' helmets have three
+small ornaments, those of the sergeants one--those of the pioneers and
+firemen being plain.
+
+The jackets of the captains have two small cloth wings on the
+shoulder, similar to those worn by light infantry. Those of the
+sergeants have three stripes on the left arm, and, on the left arms of
+the pioneers and firemen, are their respective numbers in the company.
+Each company has a particular colour--red, blue, yellow, and grey.
+Each engine is painted of one or other of these colours, and the
+accoutrements of the men belonging to it correspond. There is thus no
+difficulty in distinguishing the engines or men from each other by
+their colours and numbers. Each man also wears a broad leather
+waist-belt, with a brass buckle in front. To the waist-belts of the
+captains, sergeants, and pioneers is attached eighty feet of cord; the
+captains having also a small mason's hammer, with a crow-head at the
+end of the handle: the sergeants have a clawed hammer, such as is used
+by house-carpenters, with an iron handle, and two openings at the end
+for unscrewing nuts from bolts; the pioneers a small hatchet, with a
+crow-head at the end of the handle; and the firemen each carry a
+canvas water-bucket folded up.
+
+The captains assemble every Tuesday night, to give in a report of such
+fires as may have occurred in their respective districts, with a list
+of the men who have turned out, and a corresponding list from the
+sergeant of police of the respective districts. They then receive any
+orders which may be necessary; and any vacancies which have occurred
+in the establishment are filled up at these meetings.
+
+For some months after this fire establishment was organized, the men
+were regularly drilled once a week, at four o'clock in the morning;
+but now only once a month at the same hour.
+
+Among many other good reasons for preferring this early hour, I may
+mention, that it does not interfere with the daily occupation of the
+firemen. The chance of collecting a crowd is also avoided, as there
+are then comparatively few people on the streets; this is a matter of
+some importance, as a crowd of people not only impedes the movements
+of the firemen, but, from small quantities of water spilt on the
+by-standers, quarrels are generated, and a prejudice excited against
+the corps, to avoid which every exertion should be used to keep the
+firemen on good terms with the populace.
+
+The mornings, too, at this early hour, are dark for more than half the
+year, and the firemen are thus accustomed to work by torch-light, and
+sometimes without any light whatever, except the few public lamps
+which are then burning. And, as most fires happen in the night, the
+advantage of drilling in the dark must be sufficiently obvious.
+
+The inhabitants have sometimes complained of being disturbed with the
+noise of the engines at so early an hour; but when the object has been
+explained, they have generally submitted, with a good grace, to this
+slight evil. A different part of the city being always chosen for each
+successive drill, the annoyance occasioned to any one district is very
+trifling, and of very unfrequent occurrence.
+
+On the Tuesday evening preceding the drill, the captains are informed
+when and where the men are to assemble. These orders they communicate
+to the individual firemen. A point of rendezvous being thus given to
+the whole body, every man, who is not on the spot at the hour
+appointed, fully equipped, with his clothes and accoutrements in good
+order, is subjected to a fine. Arrived on the ground, the men are
+divided into two parties, each party consisting of two companies, that
+being the number required to work each large engine without any
+assistance from the populace. The whole are then examined as to the
+condition of their clothing and equipments.
+
+The captains, sergeants, and pioneers of each company alternately take
+the duty of directing the engine, attaching the hose, &c., while the
+whole of each party not engaged in these duties take the levers as
+firemen. The call is then given to move forward, the men setting off
+at a quick walking pace, and, on the same call being repeated, they
+get into a smart trot. When the call to stop is given, with orders to
+attach one or more lengths of hose to the engine and fire-cock, it is
+done in the following manner:--No. 1 takes out the branch pipe, and
+runs out as far as he thinks the hose ordered to be attached will
+reach, and there remains; No. 2 takes a length of hose out of the
+engine, and uncoils it towards No. 1; and No. 3 attaches the hose to
+the engine. If more than one length is required, No. 4 takes out
+another, couples it to the former length, and then uncoils it. If a
+third length is wanted, No. 3 comes up with it, after having attached
+the first length to the engine. If more lengths are still wanted, No:
+2 goes back to the engine for another; Nos. 3 and 4 follow, and so on
+till the requisite length is obtained; No. 1 then screws on the
+branch-pipe at the farther extremity of the last length.[H] While Nos.
+1, 2, 3, and 4 are attaching the hose to the engine, No. 5 opens the
+fire-cock door, screws on the distributor, and attaches the length of
+hose, which No. 6 uncoils; Nos. 7 and 8 assist, if more than one
+length of hose be required. Immediately on the call being given to
+attach the hose, the sergeant locks the fore-carriage of the engine,
+and unlocks the levers. The fire-cock being opened by No. 5 (who
+remains by it as long as it is being used), the sergeant holds the end
+of the hose which supplies the engine, and at the same time
+superintends the men who work the levers. The call being given to work
+the engine, the whole of the men, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the captain
+and sergeant excepted, work at the levers along with the men of the
+other company.
+
+Although these operations may appear complicated, they are all
+completed, and the engine in full play, with three lengths, or 120
+feet of hose, in one minute and ten seconds, including the time
+required for the water to fill the engine so far as to allow it to
+work.
+
+In order to excite a spirit of emulation, as well as to teach the men
+dexterity in working the engines, I frequently cause a competition
+amongst them. They are ordered to attach one or more lengths of hose
+to each of two engines, and to work them as quickly as possible, the
+first engine which throws water being considered the winner. They are
+sometimes also placed at an equal distance from each of two separate
+fire-cocks; on the call being given to move forward, each party starts
+for the fire-cock to which it is ordered, and the first which gets
+into play is of course held to have beat the other. The call to stop
+is then given, and both parties return to their former station, with
+their hose coiled up, and everything in proper travelling order; the
+first which arrives being understood to have the advantage.
+
+The men are also carefully and regularly practised in taking their
+hose up common-stairs, drawing them up by ropes on the outside, and
+generally in accustoming themselves to, and providing against, every
+circumstance which may be anticipated in the case of fire.
+
+When a fire occurs in a common-stair, the advantages arising from this
+branch of training are incalculable. The occupants, in some cases
+amounting to twenty or thirty families, hurrying out with their
+children and furniture, regardless of everything except the
+preservation of their lives and property, and the rush of the crowd to
+the scene of alarm, form altogether, notwithstanding the exertions of
+an excellent police, such a scene of confusion as those only who have
+witnessed it can imagine; and here it is that discipline and unity of
+purpose are indispensable; for, unless each man has already been
+taught and accustomed to the particular duty expected from him, he
+only partakes of the general alarm, and adds to the confusion. But
+even when a hose has been carried up the interior of a common-stair,
+the risk of damage from the people carrying out their furniture is so
+great, that the hose is not unfrequently burst, almost as soon as the
+engine has begun to play. If the hose be carried up to the floor on
+fire by the outside, the risk of damage is comparatively small, the
+hose in that case being only exposed for a short distance in crossing
+the stair.
+
+During a period of four years the only two firemen who lost their
+lives were run down by their own engines; and, in order to avoid
+danger from this cause, they are frequently accustomed suddenly to
+stop the engines when running down the steep streets with which this
+city abounds. It is a highly necessary exercise, and is done by
+wheeling the engine smartly round to the right or left, which has the
+effect of immediately stopping its course.
+
+There is a branch of training which I introduced amongst the Edinburgh
+firemen some time ago, which has been attended with more important
+advantages than was at first anticipated. I mean the gymnastic
+exercises. The men are practised in these exercises (in a small
+gymnasium fitted up for them in the head engine-house) regularly once
+a-week, and in winter sometimes twice: attendance on their part is
+entirely voluntary; the best gymnasts (if otherwise equally qualified)
+are always promoted in cases of vacancy.
+
+So sensible were the Insurance Companies doing business here, of the
+advantages likely to arise from the practice of these exercises, that
+on one occasion they subscribed upwards of 10_l._, which was
+distributed in medals and money among the most expert and attentive
+gymnasts of the corps, at a competition in presence of the
+magistrates, commissioners of police, and managers of insurance
+companies.
+
+Amongst the many advantages arising from these exercises I shall
+notice only one or two. The firemen, when at their ordinary
+employments, as masons, house-carpenters, &c., being accustomed to a
+particular exercise of certain muscles only, there is very often a
+degree of stiffness in their general movements, which prevents them
+from performing their duty as firemen with that ease and celerity
+which are so necessary and desirable; but the gymnastic exercises, by
+bringing all the muscles of the body into action, and by aiding the
+more general development of the frame, tend greatly to remove or
+overcome this awkwardness. But its greatest advantage is the
+confidence it gives to the men when placed in certain situations of
+danger. A man, for example, in the third or fourth floor of a house on
+fire, who is uncertain as to his means of escape, in the event of his
+return by the stair being cut off, will not render any very efficient
+service in extinguishing the fire; his own safety will be the
+principal object of his attention, and till that is to a certain
+extent secured, his exertions are not much to be relied upon. An
+experienced gymnast, on the other hand, placed in these circumstances,
+finds himself in comparative security. With a hatchet and eighty feet
+of cord at his command, and a window near him, he knows there is not
+much difficulty in getting to the street; and this confidence not only
+enables him to go on with his duty with more spirit, but his attention
+not being abstracted by thoughts of personal danger, he is able to
+direct it wholly to the circumstances of the fire. He can raise
+himself on a window sill, or the top of a wall, if he can only reach
+it with his hands; and by his hands alone he may sustain himself in
+situations where other means of support are unattainable, till the
+arrival of assistance. These are great advantages; but, as I said
+before, the greatest of all is that feeling of safety with which it
+enables a fireman to proceed with his operations, uncertainty or
+distraction being the greatest of possible evils. The cord carried at
+the waist-belt of the captains, sergeants, and pioneers, being fully
+sufficient to sustain a man's weight, and with the assistance of their
+small hatchets easily made fast, and the pioneers always being two
+together, there is thus no difficulty in descending even from a height
+of eighty feet: the cords should be doubled by way of security.
+
+
+I.--GENERAL REGULATIONS OF THE EDINBURGH FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+A list of the engine-houses, and the residences of the superintendent
+and head enginemen in each district shall be publicly advertised, that
+no one may be ignorant where to apply in cases of fire; and, in the
+event of fire breaking out in any house, the possessor shall be bound
+to give instant notice of it at the nearest station; and shall take
+particular care to keep all doors and windows shut in the premises
+where the fire happens to be.
+
+"Fire-engine house" shall be painted in large characters on one or
+more prominent places of each engine-house; and the residences of the
+master of engines, head enginemen, inspectors of gas companies, and
+water-officers of the district, shall likewise be marked there.
+
+The head enginemen and firemen shall reside as near the engine-house
+as possible.
+
+As, in the case of a fire breaking out, it may be necessary to break
+open the doors of houses and shops in the neighbourhood, in order to
+prevent the fire from spreading, it is ordered, that no possessors of
+houses or shops in the neighbourhood shall go away, after the fire has
+broken out, without leaving the key of their house or shop, as
+otherwise the door will be broken open, if necessary; and it is
+recommended that all possessors of shops shall have the place of their
+residence painted upon their shop-doors, that notice may be sent them
+when necessary.
+
+
+II.--POLICE.
+
+Upon any watchman discovering fire, he shall call the neighbouring
+watchmen to his assistance--shall take the best means in his power to
+put all concerned upon their guard--and shall immediately send off
+notice to the nearest office and engine-house. The watchman, who is
+despatched to give these intimations, shall run as far as he can, and
+shall then send forward any other watchman whom he may meet, he
+himself following at a walk to communicate his information, in case of
+any mistake on the part of the second messenger.
+
+Upon intimation of a fire being received at the main office, or a
+district office, the head officer on duty shall instantly give notice
+thereof to the head engineman of the district, to the master of
+engines, to the water-officers of the district, and to the inspectors
+of the different gas-light companies, and shall have power, if his
+force at the office at the time be deficient, to employ the nearest
+watchmen for these purposes; and, on intimation being first received
+at a district-office, the officer on duty in the office shall
+immediately send notice to the main office.
+
+Upon intimation being received at the main office, the officer on duty
+shall also instantly send notice to the superintendent of police, and
+the lieutenants not at the office at the time--to the master of
+engines; to the head enginemen of the various districts; to the
+superintendent of the water company; to the lord provost or chief
+magistrate for the time; to the sheriff of the county; to the bailie
+residing nearest the place; to the dean of guild; to the members of
+fire-engine committee of commissioners of police; to the moderator of
+the high constables; and also to the managers of the different
+gaslight companies.
+
+The officer on duty at the main office shall, with the least possible
+delay, send off to the fire a party of his men, under the command of a
+lieutenant or other officer.
+
+This party, on arriving at the spot, shall clear off the crowd, and
+keep open space and passages for the firemen and others employed.
+
+The officer commanding this party of the police shall attend to no
+instructions except such as he shall receive from the acting chief
+magistrate attending; or, in absence of a magistrate, from any member
+of the committee on fire-engines; and the men shall attend to the
+instructions of their own officer alone.
+
+Three or more policemen shall be in attendance upon the acting chief
+magistrate and fire-engine committee; two policemen shall constantly
+attend the master of the engines, to be at his disposal entirely; and
+one policeman shall attend with the water-officer at each fire-cock
+that may be opened.
+
+The superintendent of police shall always have a list of extra
+policemen hung up in the police-office, who, upon occasions of fire,
+may be called out, if necessary, and twenty of these extra men shall
+always be called out upon notice of fire being received at the main
+office, for the purpose of attending at the police-office, and
+rendering assistance where it may be required. The superintendent
+shall likewise have a supply of fire-buckets, flambeaux, and lanterns,
+at the office, to be ready when wanted.
+
+There shall be no ringing of alarm-bells, beating of drums, or
+springing of rattles, except by written order from the chief
+magistrate for the time; but the alarm may be given by despatching
+messengers, with proper badges, through different parts of the town,
+when considered necessary.
+
+
+III. SUPERINTENDENT OF FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+On receiving notice of a fire, the superintendent shall instantly
+equip himself in his uniform, and repair to the spot where the fire
+is.
+
+The necessary operations to be adopted shall be under his absolute
+control, and he will issue his instructions to the head enginemen and
+firemen.
+
+The superintendent shall report from time to time to the chief
+magistrate in attendance (through such medium as may be at his
+command, but without his leaving the spot), the state of the fire, and
+whether a greater number of policemen, or a party of the military, be
+required, and anything else which may occur to him; and the master
+shall observe the directions of the chief magistrate attending, and
+those of no other person whatever.
+
+The superintendent shall frequently inspect the engines, and all the
+apparatus connected therewith; he shall be responsible for the whole
+being at all times in good order and condition; and he shall have a
+general muster and inspection at least once every three months, when
+the engines and all the apparatus shall be tried. He shall also
+instruct the enginemen, firemen, and the watchmen, to unlock the
+plates, and screw on the distributors of the fire-cocks, or open the
+fire-plugs.
+
+Whenever any repairs or new apparatus shall appear to be necessary,
+the superintendent shall give notice to the clerk of the police, whose
+duty it shall be instantly to convene the committee on fire-engines.
+
+Upon a fire breaking out, the superintendent shall lose as little time
+as possible in stationing chimney-sweepers on the roofs of the
+adjoining houses, to keep them clear of flying embers; and also
+persons in each flat of the adjoining houses, to observe their state,
+and report if any appearances of danger should arise; such persons
+taking as much care as possible _to keep all doors and windows of said
+flats shut_, and the doors and windows of the premises where the fire
+happens to be shall, so far as practicable, be carefully kept shut.
+
+The superintendent shall forthwith prepare regulations for the
+firemen, &c., under his charge, and report the same to the committee
+on fire-engines for their approval. Every fireman shall be furnished
+with a copy of such regulations, and shall be bound to make himself
+master of its contents; and it shall be the duty of the superintendent
+to see that the instructions are duly attended to in training and
+exercising the men.
+
+
+IV.--HEAD ENGINEMEN.
+
+Each head engineman shall attend to the engines placed in his
+district, and all the apparatus connected therewith, and report to the
+superintendent when any repairs or new apparatus seem requisite, and
+shall be responsible for the engines being in proper working condition
+at all times.
+
+Upon receiving notice of a fire, the head enginemen shall call out the
+firemen in their respective districts; and they shall all repair,
+perfectly equipped, with the utmost expedition, to the spot where the
+fire happens to be, carrying along with them the engines and
+apparatus.
+
+The head enginemen shall have the carts and barrels attached to their
+several districts always in readiness, in good order, and the barrels
+filled with water, which shall accompany the engines to the fire.
+
+On arriving at the spot, the head enginemen shall take their
+instructions from the superintendent, or, in his absence, from the
+chief magistrate in attendance on the spot; or, in their absence, from
+a member of the fire-engine committee, and from no other person
+whatever.
+
+
+V.--FIREMEN.
+
+The firemen shall attend at all times when required by the head
+enginemen or superintendent, as well as upon the days of general
+inspection. They shall keep their engines in good order and condition,
+and shall be equipped in their uniform at all times when called out.
+
+They shall observe the instructions of no person whatever, except
+those of the superintendent or head enginemen.
+
+
+VI.--HIGH CONSTABLES AND COMMISSIONERS OF POLICE.
+
+Upon occasions of fire, the moderator of the high constables shall
+call out the high constables, and, if necessary, he shall also call
+out the extra constables, and give notice to call out the constables
+of their districts; and it shall be the duty of the constables to
+preserve order and to protect property, to keep the crowd away from
+the engines, and those employed about them; and, when authorized by
+the chief magistrate, superintendent of engines, or, in the absence of
+a magistrate, by a member of the committee on fire-engines, to provide
+men for working the engines.
+
+Neither the constables nor the commissioners of police shall assume
+any management, or give any directions whatsoever, except in absence
+of a magistrate and the superintendent of engines, in which case any
+member of the committee on fire-engines may give orders to the head
+enginemen.
+
+In cases of protracted fire, when extra men may be required to relieve
+the regular establishment, it shall be the duty of the high constables
+to collect those wanted, from amongst the persons on the street who
+may be willing to lend their assistance, mustering them in such
+parties as may be required, taking a note of their names, and
+furnishing each individual with a certificate or ticket, with which
+the moderator of the high constables, or chief constable at the time,
+will be supplied; and no person shall receive any remuneration for
+alleged assistance given at a fire who may not produce such
+certificate or ticket.
+
+The party or parties so mustered shall be placed and continue under
+the care of two high constables, until required for service, when they
+shall be moved forward to the engine.
+
+The men relieved by the party so moved forward, shall be taken charge
+of by two high constables, who shall see them properly refreshed and
+brought back within a reasonable time, so that the men employed may
+thus occasionally relieve each other without confusion, and without
+being too much exhausted.
+
+
+VII.--MAGISTRATES, &c.
+
+Upon occasion of fires, the magistrates, sheriff, moderator of the
+high constables, the superintendent of the water company, the managers
+of the different gas-light companies, and the fire-engine committee,
+will give their attendance. They will assemble in such house nearest
+to the place of the fire as can be procured, of which notice shall be
+immediately given to the officer commanding the police on the spot.
+
+The orders of the chief magistrate in attendance shall be immediately
+obeyed; and no order, except those issued by such magistrate, and the
+particular directions given as to the fire and engine department by
+the master of engines, or, in their absence, by a member of the
+fire-engine committee on the spot, shall be at all attended to.
+
+The magistrates and sheriff further declare, that all porters holding
+badges shall be bound to give their attendance at fires when called
+upon for that purpose.
+
+
+VIII.--GAS-LIGHT COMPANIES.
+
+The managers of the different gas-light companies, on receiving notice
+of a fire, shall instantly take measures for turning off the gas from
+all shops and houses in the immediate neighbourhood of the fire.
+
+
+IX.--SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE FIREMEN.
+
+_Captains._--On the alarm of fire being given, an engine must be
+immediately despatched from the main office to whatever district the
+fire may be in; and the captain in whose district the fire happens
+shall bring his engine to the spot as quickly as possible, taking care
+that none of the apparatus is awanting. On arriving at the spot, he
+must take every means in his power to supply his engine with water,
+but especially by a service-pipe from a fire-cock, if that be found
+practicable. Great care must be taken to place the engine so that it
+may be in the direction of the water, with sufficient room on all
+sides to work it, but as little in the way of persons employed in
+carrying out furniture, &c., as possible. He must also examine the
+fire while the men are fixing the hose, &c., that the water may be
+directed with the best effect.
+
+The captains shall be responsible for any misconduct of their men,
+when they fail to report such misconduct to the superintendent.
+
+The engines must be at all times in good working order, and the
+captain shall report to the superintendent when any part of the
+apparatus is in need of repair.
+
+When the fire is in another district, the captain of each engine shall
+get his men and engine ready to proceed at a moment's notice, but must
+not move from his engine-house till a special order arrives from a
+lieutenant of police or the superintendent of brigade.
+
+_Sergeants._--The sergeant of each engine will take the command in
+absence of the captain. When the captain is present, the sergeant will
+give him all possible assistance in conducting the engine to the fire;
+and it will there be more particularly the sergeant's duty to see that
+the engine is supplied with water, and that every man is at his proper
+station, and to remain with his engine while on duty, whether it is
+working or not, unless he receives special orders to the contrary.
+
+_Pioneers._--Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of each engine will be considered
+pioneers. Nos. 1 and 2 will proceed to the fire immediately, without
+going to their engine-house, in order to prepare for the arrival of
+the first engine, by ascertaining and clearing a proper station for
+it, and by making ready the most available supplies of water, as also
+to examine the state of the premises on fire and the neighbouring
+ones, so as to be able to give such information to the captain on his
+arrival as may enable him to apply his force with the greatest effect.
+_The pioneers will attend particularly to the excluding of air from
+the parts on fire by every means in their power, and they will
+ascertain whether there are any communications with the adjoining
+house by the roof, gable, or otherwise._ When the several engines
+arrive, the pioneers will fall in with their own company, and take
+their farther orders from the captain or sergeant.
+
+_Firemen._--On the alarm of fire being given, the whole company
+belonging to each engine (Nos. 1 and 2 excepted) shall assemble as
+speedily as possible at their engine-house, and act with spirit under
+the orders of their officers in getting everything ready for service.
+Each man will get a ticket with his own number and the colour of his
+engine marked upon it; and on all occasions when he comes on duty he
+will give this ticket into the hands of a policeman, who will be
+appointed by the officer of police on duty to collect them at each
+engine-house, and who will accompany the engine if it is ordered to
+the fire.
+
+If the ticket be not given in, as before provided, within half an hour
+after the alarm is given at their engine-house, or at all events,
+within half an hour after the arrival of the engine at the fire, the
+defaulter will forfeit the allowance for turning out, and also the
+first hour's pay.
+
+If not given in within the first hour, he will forfeit all claim to
+pay.
+
+The superintendent, however, may do away the forfeiture in any of
+these cases, on cause being shown to his satisfaction.
+
+On quarter-days and days of exercise, every man must be ready equipped
+at the appointed hour, otherwise he will forfeit that day's pay, or
+such part of it as the superintendent may determine.
+
+Any man destroying his equipments, or wearing them when off duty, will
+be punished by fine or dismissal from the service, as the
+superintendent may determine.
+
+Careless conduct, irregular attendance at exercise, or disobedience of
+superior officers, to be punished as above-mentioned.
+
+The man who arrives first at the engine-house to which he belongs,
+_properly equipped_, will receive three shillings over and above the
+pay for turning out.
+
+The first of the Nos. 1 and 2 who arrives at the fire, _properly
+equipped_, in whatever district it may be, will receive three
+shillings over and above the pay for turning out.
+
+No pay will be allowed for a false alarm, unless the same is given by
+a policeman.
+
+As nothing is so hurtful to the efficiency of an establishment for
+extinguishing fires as unnecessary noise, irregularity, or
+insubordination, it is enjoined on all to observe quietness and
+regularity, to execute readily whatever orders they may receive from
+their officers, and to do nothing without orders.
+
+The first engine and company which arrive at the fire are not to be
+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.
+
+If, in addition to these advantages, the engine-house can be had
+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.]
+
+[Footnote I: In practising this exercise the men are in the habit of
+descending by the chains from the parapet of the North Bridge,
+Edinburgh, to the ground below: a height of 75 feet.]
+
+[Footnote J: Mr. Braidwood used canvas jumping sheets on this
+principle with hand holes for a dozen men, in the ordinary service of
+the London Fire Brigade.]
+
+[Footnote K: Now Shand, Mason, and Co.]
+
+[Footnote L: This description applies to the most recently constructed
+fire-engines belonging to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.]
+
+[Footnote M: "Stuffing," a technical term need by leather-dressers or
+curriers.]
+
+[Footnote N: The proportions are, 1 gallon neats-foot oil, 2 lbs.
+tallow, 1/4 lb. bees-wax, melted together, and laid while warm on the
+leather.]
+
+[Footnote O: This description of the Edinburgh coupling-joints was
+written in 1830, and is inserted here to show how the present form of
+the well-known London Brigade hose-coupling was arrived at. The
+internal diameter was originally 2-3/8 inches, but Mr. Braidwood, when
+in London, found that he could increase it to 2-1/2 inches.]
+
+[Footnote P: See engraving of portable cistern, page 156.]
+
+
+
+
+FIRE ANNIHILATOR
+
+
+With regard to the Fire Annihilator, I have seen several experiments
+with this machine, and heard of more which were not successful; and if
+an invention fails when experiments are tried, it is open to the
+impression that it might fail when brought into active operation.
+There have also been many cases where these machines have met with
+accidents, one at Drury Lane Theatre amongst the number.
+
+Water, properly applied, will do whatever the Annihilator can
+accomplish, and also many things which the latter cannot do. As it is,
+there are some forty or fifty different articles to carry with each
+fire-engine, and to add to them such unwieldy things as Fire
+Annihilators, would be to encumber the men more than they are at
+present, with a very doubtful prospect of advantage.
+
+
+WATER SUPPLY.
+
+The supply of water is the most vital part of any exertions towards
+extinguishing fire. Where the pressure is sufficient, and the mains
+large enough, by far the most efficient and economical mode of using
+the water is to attach the hose directly to the mains.
+
+In London, however, this can rarely be done, for several reasons. The
+greatest number of plugs are on the service pipes, that is, the pipes
+for supplying water for domestic and other purposes, which are only
+open a short time every day. If the cisterns are nearly empty, the
+pressure cannot be obtained till they are filled. Then, again, the
+plugs being some distance apart, it is difficult to obtain a
+sufficient number of jets. But when the plugs are full open 1-3/4
+diameter, a sufficient quantity of water is obtained from each to
+supply three engines, each of which will give a jet equal to the plug
+if confined to one jet. The pressure also in the mains in London
+seldom exceeds 120 feet at the utmost. For these reasons the pressure
+from the mains is seldom used till the fire is checked, when the ruins
+are cooled by the "dummies," as the jets from the mains are named by
+the firemen.
+
+If water can be obtained at an elevation, pipes with plugs or
+firecocks on them, are preferable to any other mode at present in use
+for the supply of fire-engines. The size of the pipes will depend on
+the distance and elevation of the head, and also on the size of the
+buildings to be protected. It may be assumed as a general rule, that
+the intensity of a fire depends, in a great measure, on the cubic
+content of the building; distinction being made as to the nature and
+contents of such building. If no natural elevation of water can be
+made available, and the premises are of much value, it may be found
+advisable to erect elevated tanks; where this is done, the quantity of
+water to be kept ready, and the rate at which it is delivered, must
+depend on the means possessed of making use of the water.
+
+The average size of fire-engines may be taken at two cylinders of 7
+inches diameter, with a length of stroke of 8 inches, making forty
+strokes each per minute. This sized engine will throw 141 tons of
+water in six hours, and allowing one-fourth for waste, 176 tons would
+be a fair provision in the tanks for six hours' work; this quantity
+multiplied by the number of engines within reach, will give an idea of
+what is likely to be required at a large fire. If, however, there are
+steam-engines to keep up the supply through the mains, the quantity of
+water kept in readiness may be reduced to two hours' consumption, as
+it is likely that the steam-engines would be at work before that
+quantity was exhausted. This is what may be supposed to be required,
+in cases of serious fires in dockyards, in large stacks of warehouses,
+or in large manufactories.
+
+[Illustration: FIG 6. Opening for Suction-pipe.]
+
+Where water can be had at nearly the level of the premises, such as
+from rivers, canals, &c., if it is not thought prudent to erect
+elevated tanks, the water may be conducted under the surface by large
+cast-iron pipes, with openings at such distances as may seem advisable
+for introducing the suction-pipes (Fig. 6). This plan should not be
+adopted where the level of the water is more than 12 feet below the
+surface of the ground, as although a fire-engine will, if perfectly
+tight, draw from a much greater depth than 14 feet (2 feet being
+allowed for the height of the engine), still a very trifling leakage
+will render it useless for the time, at such a depth.
+
+The worst mode of supplying engines with water is by covered sunk
+tanks; they are generally too small, and unless very numerous, confine
+the engines to one or two particular spots, obliging the firemen to
+increase the length of the hose which materially diminishes the effect
+of the fire-engine. If the tank is supplied by mains from a reservoir,
+it would be much better to save the expense of the tank, and to place
+plugs or firecocks on the water-pipe. Another evil in sunk tanks is,
+that the firemen can seldom guess what quantity of water they may
+depend upon, and they may thus be induced to attempt to stop a fire,
+at a point they would not have thought of if they had known correctly
+the quantity of water in store.
+
+Where sunk tanks are already constructed, they may be rendered more
+available by a partial use of the method shown in Fig. 6.
+
+_Memoranda of Experiments tried on the mains and service pipes of the
+Southwark Water Company, between 4 and 9_ A.M. _of the 31st January,
+1844. The wind blowing fresh from N.N.W._
+
+The pressure at the water-works at Battersea was kept at 120 feet
+during the experiments, and every service pipe or other outlet was
+kept shut.
+
+_1st Experiment._--Six standcocks, with one length of 2-1/2 inches
+riveted leather hose 40 feet long, and one copper branch 4 feet to 5
+feet long, with a jet 7/8 inch in diameter on each, were placed in six
+plugs on a main 7 inches diameter, in Union-street, between
+High-Street, Borough, and Gravel-lane, Southwark, at distances of
+about 120 yards apart. The water was brought from the head at
+Battersea, by 4250 yards of iron pipes 20 inches diameter, 550 yards
+of 15 inches diameter, and 500 yards of 9 inches diameter.
+
+1st. One standcock was opened, which gave a jet of 50 feet in height,
+and delivered 100 gallons per minute.
+
+With four lengths of hose the jet was 40 feet high, and the delivery
+92 gallons per minute. When the branch and jet were taken off with one
+length of hose the delivery was 260 gallons per minute.
+
+2nd. The second standcock was then opened, and the jet from the first
+was 45 feet high.
+
+3rd. The third standcock was opened, and the jet from the first 40
+feet high.
+
+4th. The fourth standcock being opened, the first gave a jet of 35
+feet high.
+
+5th. The fifth being opened, the first gave a jet of 30 feet high.
+
+6th. All the six being opened, the first gave a jet of 27 feet in
+height.
+
+_2nd Experiment._--Six standcocks were then put into plugs, on a main
+9 inches diameter in Tooley-Street, the extreme distance being 450
+yards, with hose and jets as in the first experiment. The water was
+brought from the head at Battersea by 4250 yards of iron pipes of 20
+inches diameter, 1000 yards of 15 inches diameter, 1400 yards of 9
+inches diameter. The weather was nearly the same, but the place of
+experiment was more protected from the wind than in Union-street.
+
+1st. With one standcock open, a jet 60 feet in height was produced,
+and 107 gallons per minute were delivered.
+
+2nd. The second standcock was then opened, and the difference in the
+first jet was barely perceptible.
+
+3rd. Other two standcocks being opened, the first jet was reduced to
+45 feet in height, and the delivery to 92 gallons per minute.
+
+4th. All the six standcocks being opened, the first jet was further
+reduced to 40 feet high, and the delivery to 76 gallons per minute.
+
+_3rd Experiment._--Two standcocks, with hose, &c., as in the first
+experiment, were then put into a service-pipe, 4 inches diameter and
+200 yards long, in Tooley-street, the service-pipe was connected with
+200 yards of main 5 inches diameter, branching from the main of 9
+inches diameter. The weather was still the same as at first, but the
+wind did not appear to affect the jets, owing to the buildings all
+round being so much higher than the jet.
+
+1st. The standcock nearest the larger main was opened, and a jet of 40
+feet high was produced, delivering 82 gallons per minute.
+
+2nd. Both standcocks being opened, the first gave a jet of 31 feet,
+and delivered 68 gallons per minute.
+
+3rd. The standcock farthest from the large main only being opened,
+gave a jet of 34 feet, and delivered 74 gallons per minute.
+
+4th. Both standcocks being opened, the farthest one gave a jet of 23
+feet, and delivered 58 gallons per minute.
+
+When both these plugs were allowed to flow freely without hose, the
+water from that nearest the large main, rose about 18 inches, and the
+farther one about 1 inch above the plug-box.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 7. Common Fire-plug.]
+
+These and other experiments prove the necessity of placing the plugs
+on the mains, and not on the service pipes, where there are mains in
+the street.
+
+The different modes of obtaining water from the mains or pipes are
+shown in the accompanying drawings.
+
+(Fig. 7) is a section of a common plug when not in use.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 8. Fire-plug with canvas cistern.]
+
+(Fig. 8) is a section of the common plug, with a canvas dam or cistern
+over it, as used in London. The cistern is made of No. 1 canvas, 15
+inches deep, extended at top and bottom by 5/8-inch round iron frames,
+a double stay is hinged on the top frame at each end. When the cistern
+is used the top frame is lifted up, and the stays put into the
+notches, in two pieces of hoop iron, fixed to the bottom frame. There
+is a circular opening 9 inches diameter in the canvas bottom, two
+circular rings of wash-leather, about 2 inches broad, are attached to
+the edges of the opening in the canvas, so as to contract it to 4
+inches or 5 inches diameter; the plug being opened, the cistern is
+placed over it; the wash-leather is pressed down to the surface of the
+road by the water, and a tolerably water-tight cistern, with about 12
+inches or 14 inches of water in it, is immediately obtained.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 9. Plug, with Standcock.]
+
+(Fig. 9) is a plug with a standcock in it, to which hose may be
+attached.
+
+(Fig. 10) is a common single firecock with a round water-way 2-1/2
+inches diameter.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 10. Single Firecock.]
+
+(Fig. 11) is a double firecock, as laid down in Her Majesty's
+Dockyards.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 11. Double Firecock, used at the Royal Dockyards.]
+
+It will be observed, that the short piece of pipe between the main and
+this firecock is not curved to the current of the water, but merely
+opened a little; this is done with a view of increasing the supply by
+steam power, and as the steam engines are, in most cases, situated in
+a different direction from the tanks or reservoirs, therefore the
+curve that would have assisted the current in one direction would have
+retarded it in the other. It has been objected to these firecocks,
+that the opening does not run through the centre of the key, therefore
+only one side of the key covers the opening in the barrel, while in
+the common firecock both sides are covered.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 12. Double Firecock, used at the British Museum.]
+
+(Fig. 12) is a double firecock, as laid down at the British Museum.
+
+This has a very good delivery, and is certain to be always tight, if
+well made, as the pressure of the water forces the key into the
+barrel; this also renders the cock somewhat difficult to be opened and
+shut, if the pressure be great; but as a lever of any length may be
+used, and the key, from its perpendicular position, may be loosened by
+a blow, this objection is in a great measure obviated.
+
+In Figs. 10 and 11 the openings in the street are large enough to
+admit of the levers for opening the cock to be fixed, that no mistake
+may occur from the lever being mislaid; but with those at the British
+Museum, it was not thought necessary to have fixed levers, as a
+crow-bar, or anything that could be introduced into the eye of the
+spanner, would open them.
+
+The plug and firecock have both certain advantages and disadvantages,
+which are now described.
+
+The plug, with a canvas cistern, is the easiest mode of obtaining
+water; the plug-box being only the size of a paving-stone, is no
+annoyance in the street, and the water has only one angle to turn
+before it is delivered.
+
+On the other hand, where the supply of water is limited, the plugs
+give but little command of it; there is, however, comparatively very
+small loss at a large fire in London from this cause, as it is very
+seldom that all the fire-engines can be supplied direct from the
+plugs, and those that arrive late must pick up the waste water as they
+best can, by using another description of canvas dam, or opening the
+street; but in enclosed premises, especially where the water is kept
+for the purpose of extinguishing fires, firecocks are much to be
+preferred. It is very difficult to insert the standcock into a plug if
+there is a considerable force of water, and if the paving has moved,
+it cannot be done without raising the plug-box; but this is, however,
+the easiest mode of using firecocks, and where there is a considerable
+pressure of water, if the watchmen or the police are supplied with a
+hose-reel and branch-pipe, they can, in enclosed premises, direct a
+jet on the fire while the engines are being prepared, and if they
+cannot reach the fire, they will have water ready for the engine when
+it arrives.
+
+Inclosed premises are particularly mentioned, because the principal
+duty of the watchmen, in these cases, is to guard against fire, and
+their other duties being comparatively few, the men are not often
+changed, and they can be instructed thoroughly in the matter. With the
+general police of the metropolis it is quite different, their duties
+are so numerous and varied, that to add that of firemen to them would
+only be to confuse them.
+
+Firecocks, if kept at 9 inches to 12 inches below the surface, are
+easily protected from frost, by stuffing the opening with straw.
+
+The advantage which the double firecocks have over the single ones, is
+merely the increased water-way, as a firecock 3-1/2 inches diameter
+could not be so easily opened or shut, as two cocks of 2-1/2 inches
+diameter.
+
+One of the greatest objections to firecocks, is the very large
+openings required in the streets, the first cost and the repair of
+which are both considerable, besides their liability to accident. To
+take them to the footpath, increases the expenses and diminishes the
+supply of water, as it is generally done with a small pipe, and the
+number of angles is increased. In some instances, where firecocks have
+been put down on one side of the street, no less than four right
+angles have been made in the course of the water; and if the fire
+happens to be on the opposite side of the street from the firecock,
+the thoroughfare must be stopped. The expense also is no slight
+consideration, for if laid along with the water-pipes, each firecock,
+if properly laid, and the pit built round with cement, will cost eight
+or ten times as much as a plug.
+
+London is, upon the whole (except in the warehouse districts), fairly
+supplied with water for the average description of fires, that is,
+where not more than five or six engines are required. When, however,
+it is necessary to work ten or twelve engines, there is very often a
+deficiency. In many of the warehouse districts the supply is very
+limited indeed, although it is there that the largest fires take
+place.
+
+The water companies are generally willing to give any quantity of
+water, but they object to lay down large mains without any prospect of
+remuneration. The warehouse keepers decline to be at the expense of
+laying the pipes, and there the matter seems to rest. In most other
+places of importance, the water is under the management of the civic
+authorities, and they, of course, endeavour to obtain a good supply of
+water at fires in warehouse as well as in other districts.
+
+In supplying fire-engines with water from firecocks, one or more
+lengths of hose are screwed on the firecock; the extreme end being put
+into the engine, the firecock is then opened and the water rushes in.
+When the water-pipes are large and the pressure considerable, two or
+even three engines may be supplied from the same firecock.
+
+If the firecocks are all at too great a distance from the place on
+fire, to be reached by the supply of hose brought with the engine, the
+next resource is, to open the nearest firecock above the level of the
+place where the water is required. By covering the eyes of drains, and
+stopping up any cross-water channels, the water may in this manner be
+conveyed along the street, from a very considerable distance. From the
+nature of the ground it does not always happen that the water will run
+directly from the nearest firecock, to the spot where it is required;
+acclivities, buildings, and many other causes, may prevent this; but
+in some of these cases a few lengths of the hose, attached to the
+firecock, may convey the water to a channel which will conduct it to
+the required point. Upon the arrival of the water, it ought to be
+dammed up, and the engine will lift it by suction out of the pool so
+formed.
+
+If, however, from the nature of the ground, from the want of hose, or
+from other causes, it is found impracticable to convey the water by
+either of the above methods, the next best is, to conduct the water in
+hose as far as can be accomplished, and carry it the remainder of the
+distance in carts, buckets, or whatever else may be most convenient.
+
+When carried in buckets it is of advantage to form a line of men from
+the water to the engine, each man covering five or six feet of ground.
+The buckets are then handed from one man to another, till they reach
+the two or three men who are stationed round the suction-tub or
+fire-engine to receive them. The buckets when emptied are returned by
+a different line of men (women or boys) stationed in the same manner
+as the former. If a sufficient number of hands cannot be had to return
+the buckets in this manner, any convenient number may be employed to
+carry them to the firecock, that they may be again filled. When a fire
+occurs where the water-pipes are unprovided with firecocks or plugs,
+the ground should be immediately opened, and the water-pipe cut. If it
+be of cast-iron, a large hammer may effect the purpose: on the
+water-pipe being broken, the suction-pipe of the engine is placed in
+the opening so made. If the pipe be of lead, the opening in the street
+should be made of sufficient length to admit of one end of it, when
+cut, being turned into the engine. If the supply of water by this
+means be so great as to occasion waste, it may be regulated by the
+nearest stopcock on the water-pipe, by driving a wooden plug into the
+end of a cast-iron pipe, or compressing the end of a leaden one.
+
+The next plan I shall notice of supplying fire-engines is from drains,
+gutters, &c. In particular situations and wet weather considerable
+supplies of water from these and similar sources may be obtained. In
+the gutters all that is required is to dam them up; and, if there be
+no materials at hand for this purpose, the causeway must be dug up,
+till there is a sufficient depth of water for the suction-pipe of the
+engine.
+
+When the water is to be drawn from drains or common sewers, great care
+should be taken not to damage them farther than is absolutely
+necessary.
+
+If enough of cover be taken off to allow one man to enter easily, it
+will be quite sufficient for all necessary purposes. When the man
+inside the drain or common sewer has collected a proper supply of
+water by damming up the channel, the suction-pipe should be handed
+down to him, and the engine set to work.
+
+Although it be true that foul water quenches fire, I will here
+observe, that the water from a common sewer should never be used,
+except when it is impossible to procure it from a purer source. For
+the purpose of procuring water to extinguish a fire, I had at one time
+occasion to open a common sewer, in which, with the usual impurities,
+the waste from a gas manufactory was intermixed, and the stench in the
+premises where the fire had been extinguished by this water, was for
+some time after very disagreeable.
+
+If the water be obtained from a pond or river at a little distance,
+one engine may be stationed close to it, and that engine made to pump
+the water into another at work. If the water be conveyed in carts, an
+engine may be kept at the pond or river for the purpose of filling
+them. Of course this can only be done where there is a proper supply
+of engines.
+
+In working from an open water, such as a gutter, drain, river, or
+pond, it is proper, in order to prevent sand or gravel being drawn
+into the engine, to sink an iron or wooden bucket, into which the
+suction-pipe of the engine should be placed. If nothing better can be
+had, a good wicker basket will be found useful.
+
+It is of great advantage to have a number of carts, with butts upon
+them full of water, as it ensures a small supply to the engines the
+moment they arrive at the fire. This plan, however, entails a very
+considerable expense, as carters must be paid for taking them out on
+every alarm, besides giving prizes to the owners of the first and
+second horses, to ensure their coming in time.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+The following, on Steam Fire-engines and the Metropolitan Fire
+Brigade, is added as a supplement to Mr. Braidwood's account of the
+London Fire Brigade, and brings the information upon these subjects up
+to the present date (May, 1866):--
+
+The steam fire-engine was first constructed in London, in 1830, before
+the formation of the London Fire Brigade, by Braithwaite, who made
+several engines, and exhibited them at various public trials, also at
+several fires, but without being able to bring them into general use.
+
+The matter remained in abeyance till 1852, when the London Fire
+Brigade caused their large hand-worked floating fire-engine to be
+altered so as to be worked by steam. This engine having been
+originally made by Tilley, of London, the alterations were entrusted
+to Shand and Mason, his successors. In the same year the first
+American steam fire-engine was constructed in New York.
+
+In 1855 the London Fire Brigade, stimulated by their first experiment,
+caused an entirely new self-propelling, floating steam fire-engine to
+be constructed. The experience gained by their first attempt at steam
+fire-engine making, enabled Shand and Mason to compete successfully in
+this matter, as their design was adopted after receiving the approval
+of the late Mr. Walker, Engineer, of Great George Street, London.
+
+The re-introduction of land steam fire-engines into London was
+accomplished by Shand and Mason, who, in 1858, constructed their
+first; this engine, after several public trials, was in the same year
+sent to St. Petersburgh.
+
+In 1859 the same firm constructed two land steam fire-engines, which
+they offered to the London Fire Brigade for hire or purchase, and in
+the following year (1860) the Fire Brigade took one on hire for one
+year. This experiment proved so successful, that in 1861 the committee
+purchased, from Shand and Mason, the fourth steam engine of their
+construction. This, with one of the two made in 1859, were the only
+land steam engines that were at work at the Great Tooley Street Fire
+of 1861.
+
+In the beginning of 1862, Mr. Lee, of the firm of Lee and Larned, of
+New York, brought over a land steam fire-engine to be placed in the
+International Exhibition. This was worked in public at Hodges'
+Distillery on the 24th of March previous to the opening of the
+Exhibition.
+
+Shand and Mason supplied the London Fire Brigade in April, 1862, with
+the eighth land steam fire-engine of their construction. Messrs.
+Merryweather and Sons, of London, placed their first land steam
+fire-engine in the International Exhibition of 1862, but this, like
+the ninth by Shand and Mason, was not in time for the opening, and
+consequently could not compete for a prize medal, which was awarded to
+Lee and Larned, of New York.
+
+A public trial, however, took place before the jury of the Exhibition,
+of which the following is an account extracted verbatim from the
+jurors' published reports:--
+
+
+INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862.
+
+SPECIAL JURY FOR FIRE-ENGINES.
+
+
+J. F. BATEMAN, F.R.S., _London_; Civil Engineer.
+
+CAPT. BENT, _London_; Superintendent of Fire Arrangements in the
+Exhibition.
+
+W. M. BROWN, _London_; Superintendent of Westminster Fire Brigade.
+
+EARL OF CAITHNESS, _London_.
+
+J. HAWKSHAW, _London_; Civil Engineer.
+
+C. JENNY, _Austria_; Councillor of Mines in the Imperial Royal Academy
+of Mines at Schemnitz.
+
+P. LUUYT, _France_; Engineer to the Imperial Commissioners of Mines.
+
+J. E. McCONNELL, _Wolverton_; late Locomotive Superintendent of the
+London and North Western Railway.
+
+O. PIHL, _Norway_; Civil Engineer.
+
+W. M. RANKINE, _Glasgow_; Professor of Mechanics in the University of
+Glasgow.
+
+CAPT. SHAW, _London_; Superintendent of the London Fire Brigade.
+
+DUKE OF SUTHERLAND, _London_.
+
+F. B. TAYLOR, _United States_; Mechanical Engineer.
+
+H. THOMAS, _Zollverein_; Manufacturer.
+
+H. TRESCA, _France_; Professor of Mechanics, President of the French
+Institute of Civil Engineers.
+
+
+REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF CLASS VIII. ON FIRE-ENGINES.
+
+_After detailing the Trials of Hand-worked Fire-Engines, the Report
+states that_,--
+
+The Committee next proceeded to take the necessary steps for trying
+the steam fire-engines on the 1st of July, and, as before, invited the
+engine builders to a preliminary meeting, that they might receive full
+information as to the rules and regulations to be observed.
+
+In compliance with this invitation, the following engine-makers
+attended a meeting on the 28th of June, viz:--
+
+ Mr. Lee, of the firm of Lee and Larned, Novelty Iron-works,
+ New York.
+
+ Messrs. Merryweather and Son.
+
+ Messrs. Shand and Mason.
+
+Mr. Lee declined to produce his steam fire-engine for trial, alleging
+various reasons for so doing, and though strongly urged, persisted in
+his resolution, and declined the contest.
+
+Messrs. Merryweather and Son expressed themselves ready to produce
+their steam fire-engine on the appointed day.
+
+Messrs. Shand and Mason informed the Committee that the engine which
+they had intended to work would not be ready owing to an accident, but
+requested permission to produce for trial two steam-engines made by
+them for the London Fire-Engine Establishment, although they were not
+in the Exhibition. All the arrangements having been made for trying
+several engines together, the Committee granted this request, as
+otherwise only one engine would have been present, and a complete
+table of results could therefore not have been obtained.
+
+The Committee assembled in the appointed place at eight o'clock on the
+morning of the 1st of July, and found three engines present, viz., one
+of Messrs. Merryweather and Son and two of Messrs. Shand and Mason.
+
+After the Committee had examined the boilers and machinery generally,
+the engine-makers filled their respective boilers with cold water from
+the river, and fires having been laid, the three were lighted at the
+same moment, and the makers were ordered to commence working into a
+tank at sixty feet distance as soon as they had attained a steam
+pressure of 100 lbs. to the square inch.
+
+Messrs. Merryweather's engine attained the pressure named in 12
+minutes 10 seconds, Messrs. Shand and Mason's large engine in 18
+minutes 30 seconds, the small engine in about 30 minutes, some
+mismanagement having occurred which compelled them to draw the fire in
+the latter and light it a second time. Messrs. Merryweather's engine
+commenced working as arranged when the steam-gauge indicated a
+pressure of 100 lbs., and was 2 minutes and 50 seconds at work before
+water passed through the nose-pipe. Notwithstanding this very serious
+defect, this engine had poured 500 gallons of water into a tank 60
+feet distant in 17 minutes and 15 seconds from the time at which the
+fire was lighted. After the difficulty of drawing the water had been
+surmounted, this engine worked well, and threw an admirable jet,
+losing 15 lbs. steam-pressure during the first trial. After three
+trials this engine became disabled; it was, however, repaired on the
+ground in about an hour and a half, and resumed work at the ninth
+trial, continuing to work well until the thirteenth, when it became
+again disabled, and was withdrawn by the maker, to the great regret of
+the Committee, who were thus left to continue the experiments with
+only two engines, both made by one firm.
+
+Messrs. Shand and Mason's large engine was 18 minutes 30 seconds
+getting up steam to 100 lbs., and when started drew water instantly,
+losing during the first trial 5 lbs. of steam-pressure.
+
+This engine was severely tested, and worked without accident
+throughout the day, the seventeenth trial lasting no less than 63
+minutes, during which the steam and water were both kept to a pressure
+of 90 lbs. on the square inch throughout, working through a 1-3/8 inch
+nose-pipe.
+
+At the eighteenth and last trial this engine threw a good vertical
+jet.
+
+Messrs. Shand and Mason's small engine did not raise the steam to 100
+lbs. in less than 30 minutes, owing, of course, partly to the
+mismanagement already mentioned, and partly to the nature of the
+boiler and fire-box, which, according to the makers' account, are not
+adapted for raising steam in the shortest possible time. After the
+engine got to work the steam-pressure was well sustained, and the
+engine continued working the entire day without accident, concluding
+in the evening by throwing a good vertical jet.
+
+During the time occupied by the trials the direction of the wind was
+W.N.W. to W. by N., pressure 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 lbs. on the square foot.
+The barometer stood at 29.97 inches.
+
+
+_Summary._
+
+On the whole the Committee find as follows:--
+
+Messrs. Merryweather and Son have produced, at a price of 700_l._, a
+steam fire-engine, weighing, according to the makers' account, 65
+cwt., with jets and lamps, but without water, coal, suction-pipes,
+hose, or other gear, and capable, if no accidents occur, of throwing
+in an available stream the following average quantities of water per
+minute:--
+
+ Distance. Angle. Quantity.
+
+ 61 feet. 10 deg. 230 gallons.
+ 85 " 21 deg. 124 "
+
+Messrs. Shand and Mason have produced an engine, at a cost of 650_l._,
+weighing, according to their statement, 55 cwt., with jets and lamps,
+but without water, coals, suction-pipes, hose, or other gear, and
+capable of throwing in an available stream the following average
+quantities of water per minute:--
+
+ Distance. Angle. Quantity.
+
+ 61 feet. 10 deg. 250 gallons.
+ 63 " 18 deg. 165 "
+ 82 " 14 deg. 172 "
+ 85 " 21 deg. 137 "
+ 102 " 11 deg. 94 "
+ 104 " 17 deg. 19 "
+
+Messrs. Shand and Mason have also produced, at a price of 370_l._, an
+engine which, under the same conditions, weighs 35 cwt., and is
+capable of throwing in an available stream the following average
+quantities per minute:--
+
+ Distance. Angle. Quantity.
+
+ 61 feet. 10 deg. 142 gallons.
+ 63 " 18 deg. 133 "
+ 82 " 14 deg. 56 "
+ 85 " 21 deg. 27 "
+
+The best performance during the five trials from which this last
+average was taken being forty-six gallons, and the lowest five gallons
+per minute.
+
+At greater distances, in consequence of the wind, this engine could
+not deliver a stream, but continued working without accident
+throughout the day, and concluded in the evening by throwing a good
+vertical jet.
+
+ SUTHERLAND, CHAIRMAN.
+ E. M. SHAW, HON. SEC.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Shand and Mason's tenth land steam fire-engine was supplied to the
+London Brigade in June, 1862, and their twelfth, in February, 1863,
+upon orders given on the 4th January, 1862. But as the Committee of
+the London Fire Brigade were now negotiating with Government to take
+the duty of extinguishing fires off their hands, no orders for
+steam-engines were given out by them after the above date.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+STEAM FIRE-ENGINE COMPETITION,
+
+CRYSTAL PALACE, LONDON, 1863.
+
+Towards the close of 1862, several engineers and other gentlemen
+interested in the improvement of steam fire-engines, offered prizes to
+be awarded at competitive trials to take place in London. The
+following is the Committee's published account of these trials which
+were held in the grounds of the Crystal Palace Company on the 1st,
+2nd, and 3rd July, 1863.
+
+The Committee consisted of the following gentlemen, viz.:--
+
+_Chairman._
+
+HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.
+
+
+_Members._
+
+THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CAITHNESS.
+LORD RICHARD GROSVENOR, M.P.
+J. G. APPOLD, ESQ.
+J. T. BATEMAN, ESQ.
+W. M'BROWNE, ESQ.
+T. R. CRAMPTON, ESQ.
+W. M. CROSSLAND, ESQ.
+W. FAIRBAIRN, ESQ.
+T. HAWKSLEY, ESQ.
+J. E. McCONNELL, ESQ.
+HENRY MAUDSLAY, ESQ.
+J. MATHEWS, ESQ.
+J. NASMYTH, ESQ.
+J. PENN, ESQ.
+WILLIAM SMITH, ESQ.
+
+_Hon. Sec._
+
+CAPTAIN E. M. SHAW.
+
+
+The engines were divided into two classes, the large class consisting
+of those weighing over 30 cwts., and not exceeding 60 cwts. and the
+small class of those not exceeding 30 cwts.
+
+The prizes offered were 250_l._ for the best engine, and 100_l._ for
+the second best, in each class.
+
+The chief points to which the Committee directed their attention, in
+addition to the consideration of cost and weight, were those relating
+to the general efficiency of the machines as fire-engines, combining
+among other points of excellence--
+
+ Rapidity in raising and generating steam.
+
+ Facility of drawing water.
+
+ Volume thrown.
+
+ Distance to which it can be projected with the least amount of loss.
+
+ Simplicity, accessibility, and durability of parts.
+
+
+LARGE CLASS.
+
+FIRST TRIAL.
+
+Delivering 1000 gallons into a tank at a true distance of 67 feet, and
+27 deg. from the horizon. Depth from which water was drawn, 4 feet 6
+inches. The water in the boiler being cold when the signal was given
+to commence, each engine commencing to work on attaining steam
+pressure of 100lb. to the square inch.
+
++---+-----------------+--------------+----------+---------+--------+
+| | | | Time of | Time of | |
+|No.| MAKER. | Weight. | raising | filling | Total |
+| | | | Steam to | Tank. | Time. |
+| | | | 100lbs. | | |
++---+-----------------+--------------+----------+---------+--------+
+| | | T. c. q. lbs.| ' " | ' " | ' " |
+| 1 | Easton & Amos, | 2 18 3 12 | 13 14 | 6 16 | 19 30 |
+| | London | | | | |
+| | | | | | |
+| 2 | Merryweather & | 2 18 0 8 | 10 25 | 9 42 | 20 7 |
+| | Son, London | | | | |
+| | | | | | |
+| 3 | Shand & Mason, | 2 17 1 0 | 10 51 | 12 19 | 23 10 |
+| | London | | | | |
+| | | | | | |
+| 4 | Butt and Co., | 2 14 0 4 | 16 30 | 6 48 | 23 18 |
+| | United States | | | | |
+| | | | | | |
+| 5 | Roberts, London | 1 19 1 4 | 11 40 | 20 24 | 32 4 |
+| | | | | | |
+| | | | |
+| | Nichols | 2 10 1 4 | Did not work. |
+| | (Manhattan) | | |
+| | United States | | |
+| | | | |
+| | Gray & Son, | 1 18 1 4 | Did not work. |
+| | London | | |
++---+-----------------+--------------+----------+---------+--------+
+
+MERRYWEATHER AND SON began to work at 100 lbs., fell directly to 40
+lbs., and continued so throughout; stopped and steam rose to 130 lbs.
+
+SHAND AND MASON--Suction-pipe choked; left off working about 2
+minutes.
+
+
+SECOND TRIAL.
+
+Delivering 1000 gallons into tank at same distance commencing with
+full steam.
+
++-----+--------------------+------------+--------+---------+
+| | | Steam at | Steam | Time of |
+| No. | NAME. | Beginning. | during | filling |
+| | | | Work. | Tank. |
++-----+--------------------+------------+--------+---------+
+| | | | | ' " |
+| 1 | Shand & Mason | 100 | | 3 0 |
+| | | | | |
+| 2 | Butt & Co. | 100 | | 3 3 |
+| | | | | |
+| 3 | Merryweather & Son | 145 | | 3 7 |
+| | | | | |
+| 4 | Roberts | 80 | | 12 30 |
++-----+--------------------+------------+--------+---------+
+ Roberts did not fill the tank.
+
+
+THIRD TRIAL.
+
+Delivering into large tank at a horizontal distance of 40 feet, a
+vertical height of 40 feet, a true distance of 56 feet, and at an
+angle of 45 degrees from the horizon, the depth from which water was
+drawn being 16 feet 4 inches.
+
+Key:
+A--No. of Deliveries Open.
+B--Length of Hose.
+C--Average Steam Pressure.
+D--Average Water Pressure.
+E--No. of Gallons Delivered.
+
++-----+-----------+---------+---+---+--------+----+----+-------+-------+
+| | | | | |Size of | | | |Time of|
+|No.| Name. | Time. | A | B |Nozzle. | C | D | E |Raising|
+| | | | | | | | | |Steam. |
++---+-------------+---------+---+---+--------+----+----+-------+-------+
+| | |hr. m. s.| | | | | | | |
+| 1 | Merryweather| 1 24 55 | 2 |440| 1-1/2 | 91 | 89 |16,086 |10' 32"|
+| | & Son | | | | | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | | 80lbs.|
+| | | | | | | | | | |
+| 2 | Shand | 2 0 0 | 2 |440| 1-1/2 &| 96 | 62 |12,917 |11' 21"|
+| | & Mason | | | | 1-3/8 | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | |120lbs.|
+| | | | | | | | | | |
+| 3 | Roberts | 2 0 0 | 1 |420| 1-1/4 | 75 | 75 | 9,936 |11' 20"|
+| | | | | | | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | | 80lbs.|
+| | | | | | | | | | |
+| 4 | Butt & Co. | 0 46 50 | 2 |440| 1-1/2 | 78 | 78 | 8,280 |14' 10"|
+| | | | | | | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | | 45lbs.|
+| | | | | | | | | | |
+| 5 | Easton & | 1 32 35 | 2 |440| 1-3/8 | 98 | 41 | 3,036 |12' 30"|
+| | & Amos | | | | | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | | 90lbs.|
+| | | | | | | | | | |
+| 6 | Nichols | 0 4 55 | 2 |420| 1-1/2 | -- | -- | None. |13' 09"|
+| | (Manhattan) | | | | | | | | to |
+| | | | | | | | | | 45lbs.|
++---+-------------+---------+---+---+--------+----+----+-------+-------+
+
+MERRYWEATHER AND SON--Fire lighted at 4h. 1m. 55s.; gauge moved at 4h.
+8m. 20s.; engine started at 4h. 12m. 27s.; water drawn in about 10
+revolutions; pumps not primed, valve box leaked slightly, and engine
+worked satisfactorily in every respect.
+
+SHAND AND MASON--Fire lighted at 11h. 25m. 46s.; gauge moved at 11h.
+32m. 53s.; engine started at 11h. 37m. 7s.; pump primed at 11h. 45m.
+48s.; drew water at 11h. 47m.; water first through the nozzle at 11h.
+48m. 59s.; in hood at 11h. 49m. 19s.; shifted nozzle (3-1/4m. delay);
+high wind.
+
+ROBERTS--Fire lighted at 11h. 17m.; engine, started at 11h. 28m. 20s.
+
+BUTT AND CO.--Fire lighted at 5h. 55m. 10s.; started engine at 6h. 9m.
+20s.; repeatedly stopped from slide valves not acting, and stopped
+entirely at 6h. 46m., from cylinder cover breaking.
+
+EASTON AND AMOS--Fire lighted at 2h. 2m. 35s.; gauge moved 2h. 10m.;
+started engine at 2h. 15m. 5s.; pumps primed, worked till 2h. 54m.
+5s.; stopped to shift plungers; went to work again, and stopped
+entirely at 3h. 35m. 10s., from two fire bars falling out.
+
+NICHOLS (Manhattan)--Fire lighted at 10h. 51m. 14s.; gauge moved at
+10h. 59m. 20s.; drew water directly; steam up to 140lbs. at 11h. 8m.
+45s.; stopped two minutes; started again; made a few revolutions, and
+fly-wheel broke.
+
+
+FOURTH TRIAL
+
+Vertical Jet against Tower.
+
++-----+--------------------+---------+-----------------+
+| No. | Name. | Size | Greatest Height |
+| | | of Jet. | Thrown. |
++-----+--------------------+---------+-----------------+
+| 1 | Shand & Mason | 22/16 | 180 ft. |
+| | | | |
+| 2 | Merryweather & Son | 26/16 | 180 ft. |
+| | | | |
+| 3 | Roberts | 14/16 | 150 ft. |
+| | | | |
+| 4 | Lee & Co | 21/16 | 55 ft. |
++-----+--------------------+---------+-----------------+
+
+GRAY'S engine lighted fire at 7h. 7m. 40s.; steam 9lbs. at 7h. 17m.
+0s.; got to work at 7h. 23m. 40s. to blow fires; at 7h. 27m. 0s. water
+through hose. Owing to some of the pipe connected with the steam gauge
+breaking, no further experiments could be made.
+
+
+SMALL CLASS.
+
+FIRST TRIAL.
+
+Delivering 1000 gallons into a tank at a true distance of 50ft. and
+37 deg. from the horizon. Depth from which water was drawn, 4ft. 6in. The
+water in the boilers being cold when the signal was given to commence,
+each engine commencing to work on attaining steam pressure of 100lbs.
+to the square inch.
+
++---+---------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+
+| | | | Time of | Time of | |
+|No.| Name. | Weight. | raising | filling | Total |
+| | | | Steam | Tank. | Time. |
+| | | | to 100lbs.| | |
++---+---------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+
+| | | T. c. q. lbs.| ' " | ' " | ' " |
+| 1 | Shand & Mason | 1 9 2 0 | 11 36 | 5 24 | 17 0 |
+| | | | | | |
+| 2 | Lee & Co | 1 10 0 0 | 11 55 | 6 3 | 17 58 |
+| | | | | | |
+| 3 | Merryweather | 1 10 1 12 | 12 15 | 9 14 | 21 29 |
+| | & Son | | | | |
++---+---------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+
+
+Owing to a broken bolt, there was great leakage in water cylinder of
+Lee and Co's. engine.
+
+
+SECOND TRIAL.
+
+Delivering 1000 gallons into tank at same distance, commencing with
+full steam.
+
++-----+--------------------+------------+--------+---------+
+| | | Steam | Steam | Time |
+| No. | Name. | at | during | filling |
+| | | Beginning. | Work. | Tank. |
++-----+--------------------+------------+--------+---------+
+| | | | | ' " |
+| 1 | Shand & Mason | 85 | -- | 5 49 |
+| | | | | |
+| 2 | Lee & Co. | 125 | -- | 5 50 |
+| | | | | |
+| 3 | Merryweather & Son | 100 | -- | 6 17 |
++---------------------------------------+--------+---------+
+ The leakage in Lee and Co's. engine was remedied.
+
+
+THIRD TRIAL.
+
+Delivering into large tank, commencing with Full Steam. At a
+horizontal distance of 40ft., a vertical height of 40ft., a true
+distance of 56ft., and at an angle of 45 deg. from the horizon; the depth
+from which water was drawn being 16ft. 4in.
+
+Key
+A--Number of Deliveries open.
+B--Average Steam Pressure.
+C--Average Water Pressure.
+D--No. of Gallons Delivered.
++--------------+---+---------+---+--------+---------+-----+----+------+
+| | | | | Length | Size of | | | |
+| Name. |No.| Time. | A | of | Nozzle. | B | C | D |
+| | | | | Hose. | | | | |
++--------------+---+---------+---+--------+---------+-----+----+------+
+| | | h. m. s.| | | in. | | | |
+| Shand & | 1 | 1 0 0 | 1 | 420 | 1 & | 146 | 80 | 8142 |
+| Mason | | | | | 1-1/4 | | | |
+| | | | | | | | | |
+| Merryweather | 2 | 1 0 0 | 1 | 420 | 7/8 | 86 | 45 | 4885 |
+| & Son | | | | | | | | |
+| | | | | | | | | |
+| Lee & Co. | 3 | 1 0 0 | 1 | 420 | 3/4 | 80 | 60 | 4278 |
+| | | | | | | | | |
++--------------+---+---------+---+--------+---------+-----+----+------+
+
+SHAND AND MASON--Steam ready at 150 lbs.; started at 7h. 3m. 32s.;
+stopped at 7h. 12m. 5s. to put on an additional length of hose; worked
+well throughout.
+
+MERRYWEATHER AND SON--Steam ready at 110 lbs.; commenced work at 3h.
+43m. 30s.; pumps primed.
+
+LEE AND CO.--Steam ready, started at 2h. 1m. 0s.; worked well, without
+any stoppage.
+
+
+AWARDS.
+
+At a meeting of the Committee held on the 8th July, 1863, his Grace
+the Duke of Sutherland in the Chair, the following prizes were
+awarded:--
+
+LARGE CLASS.
+
+Messrs. Merryweather & Sons, 1st Prize, 250_l._
+Messrs. Shand & Mason 2nd Prize, 100_l._
+Mr. W. Roberts, highly commended.
+
+
+SMALL CLASS.
+
+Messrs. Shand & Mason 1st Prize, 250_l._
+Messrs. W. Lee & Co. 2nd Prize, 100_l._
+
+(Signed) On behalf of the Committee,
+
+ SUTHERLAND, CHAIRMAN.
+ E. M. SHAW, HON. SEC.
+
+From the above trials it was found that the first prize large-class
+engine weighed 6504 lbs., and delivered in one hour 11,366 gallons,
+being at the rate of 196 gallons for each hundred-weight of the
+engine; while the first prize small-class engine delivered in the same
+time 8142 gallons, or 276 for each hundred-weight of the engine,
+showing that the latter engine delivered nearly one-half more water in
+proportion to its weight, than was delivered by the large one, the
+conditions of the two trials being the same.
+
+As the greatest amount of power in the smallest possible bulk and
+weight, was considered most available for use at London fires, the
+Committee of the London Fire Brigade, although not in a position, for
+the reasons already stated, to purchase additional steam fire-engines,
+commenced hiring Shand, Mason, and Co.'s prize engines, and at the
+close of 1865 had four such in use in this manner.
+
+The Metropolitan Fire Brigade, an extension of the late London Fire
+Brigade, has now (May, 1866) the following steam fire-engines in
+use:--The Floating Steam Fire-engine, by Shand and Mason, in 1855; a
+Land Steam Fire-engine by Easton and Amos, which was worked at the
+Crystal Palace trials, and is now used in a barge as a floating
+engine; one by Roberts, which was also worked at the Crystal Palace;
+three by Merryweather and Sons; and fifteen of Shand, Mason, and Co.'s
+Land Steam Fire-engines.
+
+
+METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADE.
+
+The disastrous results of the great fire at Tooley-street, in 1861, at
+which Mr. Braidwood lost his life, fully demonstrated the inadequacy
+(in men and appliances) of the fire brigade supported by the insurance
+offices, and as these bodies declined extending their establishment so
+as to meet the wants of the whole of the metropolis, a Parliamentary
+inquiry was instituted, which resulted in the passing of the following
+Act:--
+
+ ANNO VICESIMO OCTAVO & VICESIMO NONO
+
+ VICTORIAE REGINAE.
+
+ CAP. XC.
+
+ An Act for the Establishment of a Fire Brigade within the
+ Metropolis. [5th July, 1865.]
+
+ WHEREAS it is expedient to make further provision for the
+ protection of life and property from fire within the
+ metropolis: Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent
+ Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords
+ Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
+ Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
+ follows:
+
+
+ _Preliminary._
+
+ 1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the
+ "Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act, 1865."
+
+ 2. For the purposes of this Act the "Metropolis" shall mean
+ the City of _London_ and all other parishes and places for
+ the time being within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan
+ Board of Works:
+
+ "Insurance Company" shall include any persons corporate or
+ unincorporate, or any person carrying on the business of
+ fire insurance.
+
+ 3. The expression "Metropolis Local Management Acts" shall
+ mean the Acts following; that is to say, "The Metropolis
+ Management Act, 1855," "The Metropolis Management Amendment
+ Act, 1856," and "The Metropolis Management Amendment Act,
+ 1862."
+
+
+ _Establishment and Duties of Fire Brigade._
+
+ 4. On and after the first day of _January_ one thousand
+ eight hundred and sixty-six the duty of extinguishing fires
+ and protecting life and property in case of fire shall
+ within the metropolis be deemed for the purposes of this Act
+ to be entrusted to the Metropolitan Board of Works; and with
+ a view to the performance of that duty it shall be lawful
+ for them to provide and maintain an efficient force of
+ firemen, and to furnish them with all such fire engines,
+ horses, accoutrements, tools, and implements as may be
+ necessary for the complete equipment of the force, or
+ conducive to the efficient performance of their duties.
+
+ 5. The said Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, may
+ take on lease, purchase, or otherwise acquire stations for
+ engines, stables, houses for firemen, and such other houses,
+ buildings, or land as they may think requisite for carrying
+ into effect the purposes of this Act, and may from time to
+ time sell any property acquired by or vested in them for the
+ purposes of this Act:
+
+ The Board may also contract with any company or persons
+ authorized to establish the same for the establishment of
+ telegraphic communication between the several stations in
+ which their fire engines or firemen are placed, and between
+ any of such stations and other parts of the metropolis.
+
+ 6. On and after the said first day of January one thousand
+ eight hundred and sixty-six, all stations, fire-engines,
+ fire escapes, plant, and other property belonging to or used
+ by the fire engine establishment of the insurance companies
+ in the metropolis shall vest in or be conveyed or assigned
+ to the Board for all the estate and interest of the said
+ companies therein, upon trust to be applied by the Board to
+ the purposes of this Act, but subject to all legal
+ liabilities and obligations attaching thereto, including the
+ payment of all pensions that have been granted to the
+ members of the said Fire Engine Establishment, according to
+ a list that has been furnished to the chairman of the said
+ Board by the chief officer of the said fire-engine
+ establishment, and all trustees for the same shall be
+ indemnified against such liabilities and obligations. The
+ Board may also, if they think fit, purchase the stations,
+ fire-engines, and plant belonging to any parish, place, or
+ body of persons within their jurisdiction.
+
+ 7. The force of firemen established under this Act,
+ hereinafter called the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, shall be
+ under the command of an officer, to be called the chief
+ officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
+
+ The chief officer and men composing the said fire brigade
+ shall be appointed and removed at the pleasure of the Board.
+
+ 8. The Board shall pay such salaries as they think expedient
+ to the said fire brigade. They may also make such
+ regulations as they think fit with respect to the
+ compensation to be made to them in case of accident, or to
+ their wives or families in case of their death; also with
+ respect to the pensions or allowances to be paid to them in
+ case of retirement; also with respect to the gratuities to
+ be paid to persons giving notices of fires; also with
+ respect to gratuities by way of a gross sum or annual
+ payment to be from time to time awarded to any member of the
+ said force, or to any other person, for extraordinary
+ services performed in cases of fire; also with respect to
+ gratuities to turncocks belonging to waterworks from which a
+ supply of water is quickly derived.
+
+ 9. The Board may by byelaws make regulations for the
+ training, discipline, and good conduct of the men belonging
+ to the said fire brigade, for their speedy attendance with
+ engines, fire escapes, and all necessary implements on the
+ occasion of any alarm of fire, and generally for the
+ maintenance in a due state of efficiency of the said
+ brigade, and may annex to any breach of such regulations
+ penalties not exceeding in amount forty shillings, but no
+ byelaw under this section shall be of any validity unless it
+ is made and confirmed in manner directed by the Metropolis
+ Local Management Acts; and all the provisions of the said
+ Acts relating to byelaws shall, with the necessary
+ variations, apply to any byelaws made in pursuance of this
+ Act.
+
+ 10. The vestry of any parish or place in the metropolis may
+ allow such compensation as they think just to any engine
+ keeper or other person employed in the service of fire
+ engines who has hitherto been paid out of any rate raiseable
+ in such parish or place, and who is deprived of his
+ employment by or in consequence of the passing of this Act,
+ and any compensation so allowed shall be paid out of the
+ rate out of which the salary of the officer so compensated
+ was payable.
+
+ 11. The Board may make such arrangements as they think fit
+ as to establishing fire escapes throughout the metropolis.
+ They may for that purpose contribute to the funds of the
+ Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, or of
+ any existing society that provides fire escapes, or may
+ purchase or take by agreement the property of any existing
+ society in their stations and fire escapes, and generally
+ may maintain such fire escapes and do such things as they
+ think expedient towards aiding persons to escape from fire;
+ and any expenses incurred by them in pursuance of this
+ section shall be deemed to be expenses incurred in carrying
+ into effect this Act.
+
+ 12. On the occasion of a fire, the chief or other officer in
+ charge of the fire brigade may, in his discretion, take the
+ command of any volunteer fire brigade or other persons who
+ voluntarily place their services at his disposal, and may
+ remove, or order any fireman to remove, any persons who
+ interfere by their presence with the operations of the fire
+ brigade, and generally he may take any measures that appear
+ expedient for the protection of life and property, with
+ power by himself or his men to break into or through, or
+ take possession of, or pull down any premises for the
+ purpose of putting an end to a fire, doing as little damage
+ as possible; he may also on any such occasion cause the
+ water to be shut off from the mains and pipes of any
+ district, in order to give a greater supply and pressure of
+ water in the district in which the fire has occurred; and no
+ water company shall be liable to any penalty or claim by
+ reason of any interruption of the supply of water occasioned
+ only by compliance with the provisions of this section.
+
+ All police constables shall be authorized to aid the fire
+ brigade in the execution of their duties. They may close any
+ street in or near which a fire is burning, and they may of
+ their own motion, or on the request of the chief or other
+ officer of the fire brigade, remove any persons who
+ interfere by their presence with the operations of the fire
+ brigade.
+
+ Any damage occasioned by the fire brigade in the due
+ execution of their duties shall be deemed to be damage by
+ fire within the meaning of any policy of insurance against
+ fire.
+
+
+ _Expenses._
+
+ 13. Every insurance company that insures from fire any
+ property in the metropolis shall pay annually to the
+ Metropolitan Board of Works, by way of contribution toward
+ the expenses of carrying this Act into effect, a sum after
+ the rate of thirty-five pounds in the one million pounds on
+ the gross amounts insured by it, except by way of
+ reassurance, in respect of property in the metropolis for a
+ year, and at a like rate for any fractional part of a
+ million, and for any fractional part of a year as well as
+ for any number of years for which the insurance may be made,
+ renewed, or continued.
+
+ The said payments by insurance companies shall be made
+ quarterly in advance, on the 1st of January, 1st of April,
+ 1st of July, and 1st of October in every year; the first of
+ such payments to be made on the 1st of January one thousand
+ eight hundred and sixty-six, and such first payment and the
+ other payments for the year one thousand eight hundred and
+ sixty-six to be based upon the amounts insured by the
+ several companies in respect of property in the metropolis
+ in the year ending the twenty-fourth of December one
+ thousand eight hundred and sixty-four: provided that any
+ insurance company which at the time of the passing of this
+ Act contributes to the expenses of the said fire engine
+ establishment may, in respect of all payments to be made by
+ it in the years one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six and
+ one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, but not
+ afterwards, contribute after the yearly rate of thirty-five
+ pounds in one million pounds of the business in respect of
+ which it contributes to the said fire engine establishment
+ for the present year, according to a return which has been
+ furnished to the chairman of the said Metropolitan Board,
+ instead of in the manner in this Act provided.
+
+ 14. All contributions due from an insurance company to the
+ Board in pursuance of this Act shall be deemed to be
+ specialty debts due from the company to the Board, and be
+ recovered accordingly.
+
+ 15. For the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be
+ contributed by every such insurance company as aforesaid,
+ every insurance company insuring property from fire in the
+ metropolis shall, on the thirtieth day of December one
+ thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, with respect to the
+ amounts insured in the year one thousand eight hundred and
+ sixty-four, and on the 1st of June one thousand eight
+ hundred and sixty-six, and on every succeeding 1st of June,
+ or on such other days as the Metropolitan Board of Works may
+ appoint, make a return to the said Board, in such form as
+ they may require, of the gross amount insured by it in
+ respect of property in the metropolis.
+
+ There shall be annexed to the return so made a declaration
+ made by the secretary or other officer performing the duties
+ of secretary of the company by whom it is made, stating that
+ he has examined the return with the books of the company,
+ and that to the best of his knowledge, information, and
+ belief, it contains a true and faithful account of the gross
+ amount of the sums insured by the company to which he
+ belongs in respect of property in the metropolis.
+
+ The return made in the June of one year shall not come into
+ effect till the 1st of January of the succeeding year, and
+ shall be the basis of the contributions for that year.
+
+ 16. If any insurance company makes default in making such
+ returns to the Board as are required by this Act, it shall
+ be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds for every
+ day during which it is so in default.
+
+ 17. The secretary or other officer having the custody of the
+ books and papers of any insurance company that is required
+ to pay a contribution to the Board in pursuance of this Act
+ shall allow any officer appointed by the Board to inspect,
+ during the hours of business, any books and papers that will
+ enable him to ascertain the amount of property insured by
+ such company in the metropolis, and the amount for which it
+ is insured, and to make extracts from such books or papers;
+ and any secretary or other such officer as aforesaid of a
+ company failing to comply with the requisitions of this
+ section in respect of such inspections and extracts shall be
+ liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding five
+ pounds for each offence.
+
+ 18. The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall pay or
+ cause to be paid to the Board by way of contribution to the
+ expenses of maintaining the fire brigade such sums as
+ Parliament may from time to time grant for that purpose, not
+ exceeding in any one year the sum of ten thousand pounds.
+
+ 19. For the purpose of defraying all expenses that may be
+ incurred by the Board in carrying into effect this Act which
+ are not otherwise provided for, the Board may from time to
+ time issue their precepts to the overseers of the poor of
+ every parish or place within the metropolis, requiring the
+ overseers to pay over the amount mentioned in the precepts
+ to the Treasurer of the Board, or into a bank to be named in
+ the precepts, within forty days from the delivery of the
+ precept.
+
+ The overseers shall comply with the requisitions of any such
+ precept by paying the sums mentioned out of any monies in
+ their hands applicable to the relief of the poor, or by
+ levying the amount required as part of the rate for the
+ relief of the poor, but no contribution required to be paid
+ by any parish or place under this section shall exceed in
+ the whole in any one year the rate of one halfpenny in the
+ pound on the full and fair annual value of property rateable
+ to the relief of the poor within the said parish or place,
+ such full and fair annual value to be computed in all parts
+ of the metropolis, exclusive of the city of London,
+ according to the last valuation for the time being acted on
+ in assessing the county rate, or, where there is no county
+ rate, according to a like estimate or basis; and no liberty,
+ precinct, or place, shall be exempt from the rate leviable
+ for the purposes of this Act by reason of its being
+ extra-parochial or otherwise; and in default of proper
+ officers in any liberty, precinct, or place, to assess or
+ levy the said rate, the Board may appoint such officers, and
+ add the amount of any expenses so incurred to the amount to
+ be raised by the next succeeding rate in such liberty,
+ precinct, or place.
+
+ Overseers shall, for the purposes of levying any amount
+ required to be levied by them under this Act, have the same
+ powers and be subject to the same obligations as in levying
+ a rate for the relief of the poor.
+
+ The word "Overseers" shall include any persons or bodies of
+ persons authorized or required to make and collect or cause
+ to be collected rates applicable to the relief of the poor;
+ and such persons or bodies shall pay to the Board the amount
+ so mentioned in the precept out of the said rates.
+
+ 20. In case the amount ordered by any such precept as
+ aforesaid to be paid by the overseers of any parish or place
+ be not paid in manner directed by such precept and within
+ the time therein specified for that purpose, it shall be
+ lawful for any justice of the peace, upon the complaint by
+ the Board or by any person authorized by the Board, to issue
+ his warrant for levying the amount or so much thereof as may
+ be in arrear by distress and sale of the goods of all or any
+ of the said overseers, and in case the goods of all the
+ overseers be not sufficient to pay the same, the arrears
+ thereof shall be added to the amount of the next levy which
+ is directed to be made in such parish or place for the
+ purposes of this Act, and shall be collected by the like
+ methods.
+
+ 21. The Board may, with the consent of the Commissioners of
+ Her Majesty's Treasury, borrow any sum not exceeding forty
+ thousand pounds, and apply the same for the purposes of this
+ Act; and all powers contained in the Metropolis Local
+ Management Acts authorizing the Board to borrow money, or
+ any commissioners or persons to lend money to the Board, and
+ all other provisions as to the mode of borrowing, the
+ repayment of principal or interest, or in anywise relating
+ to borrowing by the Board, shall be deemed to apply and to
+ extend to this Act in the same manner as if the monies
+ borrowed in pursuance of this Act were monies borrowed for
+ the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Metropolis
+ Local Management Acts, or one or more of those acts. The
+ Board shall apply the monies received by them under this Act
+ in liquidation of the principal and interest of the monies
+ so borrowed, but no creditor shall be concerned to see to
+ such application, or be liable for any misapplication of the
+ monies received or borrowed by the Board in pursuance of
+ this Act.
+
+
+ MISCELLANEOUS.
+
+ 22. Where any chief officer, or other person who has been
+ employed by the Board in any capacity under this Act, and
+ has been discharged therefrom, continues to occupy any house
+ or building that may be provided for his use, or any part
+ thereof, after one week's notice in writing from the Board
+ to deliver up possession thereof, it shall be lawful for any
+ police magistrate, on the oath of one witness, stating such
+ notice to have been given, by warrant under his hand to
+ order any constable to enter into the house or building
+ occupied by such discharged chief officer or other person as
+ aforesaid, and to remove him and his family and servants
+ therefrom, and afterwards to deliver the possession thereof
+ to the Board, as effectually, to all intents and purposes,
+ as the sheriff having jurisdiction within the place where
+ such house or building is situate might lawfully do by
+ virtue of a writ of possession or a judgment at law.
+
+ 23. If the chimney of any house or other building within the
+ metropolis is on fire, the occupier of such house or
+ building shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty
+ shillings; but if such occupier proves that he has incurred
+ such penalty by reason of the neglect or wilful default of
+ any other person, he may recover summarily from such person
+ the whole or any part of the penalty he may have incurred as
+ occupier.
+
+ 24. All penalties imposed by this Act, or by any byelaw made
+ in pursuance thereof, and all expenses and other sums due to
+ the Board in pursuance of this Act, in respect of which no
+ mode of recovery is prescribed, may be recovered summarily
+ before two justices in manner directed by the Act of the
+ session holden in the eleventh and twelfth years of the
+ reign of her present Majesty, chapter forty-three, or any
+ Act amending the same, and when so recovered shall be paid
+ to the treasurer of the Board, notwithstanding any police
+ act or other act of parliament directing a different
+ appropriation of such monies.
+
+ 25. Any dispute or other matter which is by this Act
+ directed to be determined summarily by two justices shall be
+ deemed to be a matter in respect of which a complaint is
+ made upon which they have authority by law to make an order
+ for payment of money within the meaning of the said Act of
+ the session holden in the eleventh and twelfth years of the
+ reign of her present Majesty, chapter forty-three, or any
+ Act amending the same.
+
+ 26. Any act, power, or jurisdiction hereby authorized to be
+ done or exercised by two justices may be done or exercised
+ by the following magistrates within their respective
+ jurisdictions; that is to say, by any metropolitan police
+ magistrate sitting alone at a police court or other
+ appointed place, or by the Lord Mayor of the City of London,
+ or any alderman of the said City, sitting alone or with
+ others at the Mansion House or Guildhall.
+
+ 27. The accounts of the Board in respect of expenses
+ incurred by them under this Act shall be audited in the same
+ manner as if they were expenses incurred under the said
+ Metropolis Local Management Acts, and the Board shall in
+ each year make a report to one of her Majesty's principal
+ Secretaries of State of all acts done and expenditure
+ incurred by them in pursuance of this Act, and that report
+ shall be laid before Parliament within one month after the
+ commencement of the session.
+
+ 28. The Board may delegate any powers conferred on them by
+ this Act to a committee of their body; and such committee
+ shall, to the extent to which such powers are delegated, be
+ deemed to be the Board within the meaning of this Act.
+
+ 29. If the companies insuring property within the
+ metropolis, or any such number of them as may in the opinion
+ of the said Board be sufficient, establish a force of men
+ charged with the duty of attending at fires and saving
+ insured property, it shall be the duty of the Fire Brigade,
+ with the sanction of the Board, and subject to any
+ regulations that may be made by the Board, to afford the
+ necessary assistance to that force in the performance of
+ their duties, and, upon the application of any officer of
+ that force, to hand over to their custody property that may
+ be saved from fire; and no charge shall be made by the said
+ Board for the services thus rendered by the fire brigade.
+
+ 30. It shall be lawful for the Board, when occasion
+ requires, to permit any part of the fire brigade
+ establishment, with their engines, escapes, and other
+ implements, to proceed beyond the limits of the metropolis
+ for the purpose of extinguishing fires. In such case the
+ owner and occupier of the property where the fire has
+ occurred shall be jointly and severally liable to defray all
+ the expenses that may be incurred by the Fire Brigade in
+ attending the fire, and shall pay to the Board a reasonable
+ charge for the attendance of the Fire Brigade, and the use
+ of their engines, escapes, and other implements. In case of
+ difference between the Board and the owner and occupier of
+ such property, or either of them, the amount of the
+ expenses, as well as the propriety of the Fire Brigade
+ attending such fire (if the propriety thereof be disputed),
+ shall be summarily determined by two justices. In default of
+ payment, any expenses under this section may be recovered by
+ the Board in a summary manner.
+
+ The Board may also permit any part of the Fire Brigade
+ Establishment to be employed on special services upon such
+ terms of remuneration as the said Board may think just.
+
+ 31. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade shall in the morning of
+ each day, with the exception of Sundays, send information,
+ by post or otherwise, to all the insurance offices
+ contributing for the purposes of this Act, of all fires
+ which have taken place within the metropolis since the
+ preceding return, in such form as may be agreed upon between
+ the Board and the said companies.
+
+ 32. All the powers now exercised by any local body or
+ officer within the metropolis as respects fireplugs shall
+ henceforth be exercised by the Board, and the Board shall be
+ entitled to receive copies or extracts of all plans kept by
+ any water company under the provision of the Act of the
+ session of the fifteenth and sixteenth years of her Majesty,
+ chapter eighty-four; and every such water company shall
+ provide at the expense of the Board in any mains or pipes
+ within the metropolis plugs for the supply of water in case
+ of fire at such places, of such dimensions, and in such form
+ as the Board may require, and the Fire Brigade shall be at
+ liberty to make such use thereof as they may deem necessary
+ for the purpose of extinguishing any fire; and every such
+ company shall deposit keys of all their fireplugs at such
+ places as may be appointed by the Board, and the Board may
+ put up on any house or building a public notice in some
+ conspicuous place in each street in which a fireplug is
+ situated, showing its situation.
+
+ 33. "Owner" in this Act shall mean the person for the time
+ being receiving the rackrent of the premises in connexion
+ with which the word is used, either on his own account or as
+ agent or trustee for some other person, or who would receive
+ the same if the premises were let at rackrent.
+
+
+ _Repeal._
+
+ 34. On and after the first day of January, one thousand
+ eight hundred and sixty-six, there shall be repealed so much
+ as is unrepealed of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of
+ his late Majesty King George the Third, chapter
+ seventy-eight, and intituled an Act for the further and
+ better regulation of buildings and party walls, and for the
+ more effectually preventing mischief by fire, within the
+ Cities of London and Westminster and the liberties thereof,
+ and other the parishes, precincts, and places within the
+ weekly bills of mortality, the parishes of St. Marylebone,
+ Paddington, St. Pancras, and St. Luke, at Chelsea, in the
+ County of Middlesex, and for indemnifying, under certain
+ conditions, builders and other persons against the penalties
+ to which they are or may be liable for erecting buildings
+ within the limits aforesaid contrary to law, with the
+ exception of sections eighty-three and eighty-six which
+ shall remain in full force, but such repeal shall not affect
+ any penalty or liability incurred under the repealed
+ sections.
+
+ 35. On and after the first day of January, one thousand
+ eight hundred and sixty-six, section forty-four of an Act
+ passed in the session holden in the third and fourth years
+ of the reign of King William the Fourth, chapter ninety,
+ shall be repealed so far as respects any parish or place
+ within the limits of the metropolis as defined by this Act;
+ provided that the repeal of the said section shall not
+ affect the power of the churchwardens and overseers of any
+ parish or place to contribute to the funds of any society
+ that at the time of the passing of this Act maintains fire
+ escapes in such parish or place, unless and until the Board
+ purchase the property of such society, or otherwise provide
+ fire escapes in such parish or place.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In accordance with the provisions of the above recited Act of
+Parliament, the London Fire Brigade of the Insurance Offices is now
+being extended to meet the requirements of the whole of London, under
+the title of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, with Captain E. M. Shaw,
+Mr. Braidwood's successor, as chief officer.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON:
+
+SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,
+COVENT GARDEN.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+Variations in spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, and punctuation
+have been retained from the original book. The Table of Contents and
+List of Illustrations do not exactly match the chapter, section, and
+illustration titles in the text.
+
+The following changes have been made:
+
+Page 70: Missing word "of" added (avail themselves of the means).
+
+Page 183: Typo estalishment changed to establishment (establishment of
+telegraphic communication).
+
+Tables in the Appendix have been modified in format, but not in
+content, to fit the plain-text spacing constraints.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction, by
+James Braidwood
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIRE PREVENTION AND FIRE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 26440.txt or 26440.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+ http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/4/4/26440/
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness, Diane Monico, and the Online
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