Chapter 6

National Fire Brigades’ Union.—The National Fire Brigades’ Union, which is the representative Fire Service Society for Great Britain, originated in a national demonstration of volunteer fire brigades held at Oxford in celebration of Queen Victoria’s jubilee on the 30th of May 1887, when 82 fire brigades with 916 firemen were present. Next day a meeting of the officers was held at the Guildhall, Oxford, and it was then resolved to form the National Fire Brigades Union. Alderman Green, the chief officer of the Oxford fire brigade, was appointed the first chairman. Sir Eyre Massey Shaw was appointed first president in 1888, and on his retirement in 1896 through ill-health he was succeeded by the duke of Marlborough. When the union offered to provide ambulance firemen and stretcher bearers for his regiment the duke accepted the offer, and two fully equipped corps were sent out to the Imperial Yeomanry hospital at Deelfontein, South Africa, under Colonel Sloggett, who specially mentioned the services rendered by the firemen in his despatches.The union is divided into seventeen districts, each having its own council, and sending one delegate for every ten brigades to the central council. The districts are:—Eastern, Midlands, South Coast, South-Eastern, West Midland, North-Eastern, North-Western, South Western, Surrey, South Midlands, Southern, South Wales, North Wales, Cornish, Yorkshire, Central and South Africa (formed in 1902). There are also seventy-five foreign members and correspondents in America, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, India and the Federated Malay Straits. The total strength of the union is 667 fire brigades and members with nearly 12,000 firemen. Every member of the union gives his time and services for the benefit of the country; all appointments are honorary, with the exception that a small allowance is made for clerical assistance. A drill book is issued by the union, and the fourth edition was published in 1902. Over 60,000 of these books have been issued to brigades all over the world.The ambulance department is under the charge of medical officers. All members have to come up for re-examination every three years, else they are not entitled to wear the red cross, and the examination is more stringent than that held by the St John Ambulance Association. This department has proved to be a great benefit to provincial fire brigades, who are often called upon to undertake ambulance work. A very useful and instructive manual has been issued by the union entitledFirst Aid in the Fire Service, by Chief Officer William Ettles, M.D.The union organized and took part in the International Fire Exhibitions, at the Royal Agricultural Hall, London, in 1893 and 1896, and it was represented at the International Fire Congresses at Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Paris, Lyons, Havre and Berlin. It has also held a review before the German emperor at the Crystal Palace, and before Queen Victoria in Windsor Park.

The union is divided into seventeen districts, each having its own council, and sending one delegate for every ten brigades to the central council. The districts are:—Eastern, Midlands, South Coast, South-Eastern, West Midland, North-Eastern, North-Western, South Western, Surrey, South Midlands, Southern, South Wales, North Wales, Cornish, Yorkshire, Central and South Africa (formed in 1902). There are also seventy-five foreign members and correspondents in America, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, India and the Federated Malay Straits. The total strength of the union is 667 fire brigades and members with nearly 12,000 firemen. Every member of the union gives his time and services for the benefit of the country; all appointments are honorary, with the exception that a small allowance is made for clerical assistance. A drill book is issued by the union, and the fourth edition was published in 1902. Over 60,000 of these books have been issued to brigades all over the world.

The ambulance department is under the charge of medical officers. All members have to come up for re-examination every three years, else they are not entitled to wear the red cross, and the examination is more stringent than that held by the St John Ambulance Association. This department has proved to be a great benefit to provincial fire brigades, who are often called upon to undertake ambulance work. A very useful and instructive manual has been issued by the union entitledFirst Aid in the Fire Service, by Chief Officer William Ettles, M.D.

The union organized and took part in the International Fire Exhibitions, at the Royal Agricultural Hall, London, in 1893 and 1896, and it was represented at the International Fire Congresses at Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Paris, Lyons, Havre and Berlin. It has also held a review before the German emperor at the Crystal Palace, and before Queen Victoria in Windsor Park.

Fire Brigade Organization.

Below are given examples of the organization of different fire brigades. The brigades so described have been selected not so much on account of their intrinsic importance, as because they represent classes or types of brigades and fire brigade organization which it may be useful to refer to. In respect of the London fire brigade, however, historical data are also presented, as it is only with the aid of these that the extraordinary development of that force can be properly realized.

With regard to modern views as to the functions of the fire brigade, the resolutions of the Fire Prevention Congress of 1903 are reprinted below. As they indicate, the general feeling amongst all interested in fire protection from an economic pointof view is that fire brigades should not be merely fire extinguishing organizations but should utilize their influence in a much wider sense.

The Congress considered:—

1. That public authorities should encourage fire brigade officers to take an active interest in the preventive aspect of fire projection, inasmuch as the result of the fire brigade officers’ experience in actual fire practice, if suitably applied in conjunction with the work of architects, engineers and public officials, would be most useful for the organization and development of precautionary measures.2. That fire brigade societies, associations and unions should encourage amongst the brigades affiliated to these bodies the study of questions of fire prevention.3. That fire brigades should be placed on a sound legal basis, and that it is advisable that their efficiency be supervised by a government department.4. That an official investigation should be made of all fires. That on the occurrence of every fire an investigation should be immediately made by an official, duly qualified and empowered to ascertain the cause and circumstances connected therewith, reporting the result of such investigation to a public department for tabulation and publication.5. That the whole or part of the cost of such inquiry should be charged to the occupier of the premises where the fire occurred, as may appear desirable in the circumstances of each case.6. That the press should from time to time publish technical reports on fires so that the public may benefit from the knowledge and experience gained.

2. That fire brigade societies, associations and unions should encourage amongst the brigades affiliated to these bodies the study of questions of fire prevention.

3. That fire brigades should be placed on a sound legal basis, and that it is advisable that their efficiency be supervised by a government department.

4. That an official investigation should be made of all fires. That on the occurrence of every fire an investigation should be immediately made by an official, duly qualified and empowered to ascertain the cause and circumstances connected therewith, reporting the result of such investigation to a public department for tabulation and publication.

5. That the whole or part of the cost of such inquiry should be charged to the occupier of the premises where the fire occurred, as may appear desirable in the circumstances of each case.

6. That the press should from time to time publish technical reports on fires so that the public may benefit from the knowledge and experience gained.

London.—In the early part of the 19th century the methods in vogue for the suppression of outbreaks of fire in the metropolis were of the most crude and disjointed character, in striking contrast with the highly elaborated system now put into practice by the London County Council through its fire brigade; and it was not until the second half of the 19th century was well advanced that anything approaching an adequate and satisfactory organization was brought into existence. Until the passing of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, the only acts relating to the suppression of outbreaks of fire in London were the Lighting and Watching Act (3 & 4 William IV., c. 90), and “an act (14 Geo. III., c. 78) for the further and better Regulation of Buildings and Party Walls, and for the more effectually preventing Mischiefs 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 Marylebone, Paddington, St Pancras, and St Luke’s at Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex.” The clauses in the latter act relating to protection against fire remained in force till the passing of the act of 1865. They provided that every parish should keep “one large engine and one small, called a hand engine, a leathern pipe, and a certain number of ladders.” The Lighting and Watching Act contained a clause which extended to England and Wales and so covered the area “without the bills of mortality,” enabling the inspectors appointed under that act to provide and keep up two fire-engines; and certain of the parishes in the metropolitan district, without the bills of mortality, availed themselves of this provision.

The select committee of fires in the metropolis, which sat in 1862, reported that it was difficult to ascertain how far the act of George III. was attended to, or when it ceased to be considered practically of importance, but that, at the time of the report, the arrangements generally made by the parishes under the act were not only entirely useless, but in many cases produced injurious results, as the system under the act frequently conferred a reward for the first useless parochial engine, whereas the efficient engine which might be on the spot a few minutes later derived no pecuniary advantages. There were, however, exceptions to the general rule. At Hackney, for example, a “very efficient” fire brigade was maintained at an expense of about £500 a year, or about one halfpenny in the pound on the rating of the parish. The select committee were unable to ascertain with any accuracy the total amount paid by the metropolitan parishes for the maintenance, “however inefficient,” of their fire-engines, but it was estimated to be about £10,000.

For many years previous to 1832, the principal fire insurance offices in London kept fire brigades at their individual expense; to these brigades were attached a considerable number of men usually occupied as Thames watermen, retained in the service of the different Fire Offices, who received payment only on the occurrence of fires, and who wore the livery and badge of the respective companies. These fire brigades were, to quote the report of the select committee of 1862, considered as giving notoriety to the different insurance companies, and a considerable rivalry was maintained, which was productive naturally of good as well as of some considerable evil on occasions of fires.

The large expenses thus incurred by the companies induced an attempt to be made, which was effectually carried out in the year 1832, by R. Bell Forde, a leading director of the Sun Fire Office, to form one brigade for the purpose of promoting economy as well as greater efficiency. Thus the first organized fire brigade for London began its operations under the united sanction of, and from funds contributed by, most of the leading insurance offices in London. The force thus formed was known as the London Fire Engine Establishment. The annual expense was at first £8000, the number of stations 19, the number of men employed 80. By 1862 the annual cost had grown to £25,000, the number of stations had become 20, and the number of men 127.

It is interesting to note that the chief station of the Fire Engine Establishment was the Watling-Street station, in substitution for which the new Cannon-Street station has been built. The following is a list of the other stations of the establishment:—

The work of this force was carried out in an efficient manner as far as its limited equipment and strength would permit, but it was universally admitted that the staff, engines and stations were totally inadequate for the general protection of London from fire. The directors of the insurance offices themselves admitted this, but they considered their brigade sufficient for the protection of that part of London in which the largest amount of insured property was located, and contended that it was not their business to provide fire stations in the more outlying districts where, if a fire occurred, it was not likely to involve their offices in serious loss.

From 1836 the work of the brigade maintained by the fire offices was supplemented by the “Society for the Protection of Life from Fire.” This society was managed by a committee of which the lord mayor was president. It was supported entirely by voluntary contributions, and, at a cost of about £7000 a year, maintained fire-escapes at from 80 to 90 stations in different parts of the most central districts in London. Its most outlying station was only 4 m. from the Royal Exchange, and it maintained no stations in such localities as Greenwich, Peckham, Deptford and New Cross. It did much useful work, though its equipment was quite inadequate to cope with the needs of the metropolis.

In 1834, two years after the institution of the London Fire Engine Establishment, the Houses of Parliament were destroyed by fire, and the attention of the government was consequently directed to the inadequacy of the existing conditions for fire extinction. It was suggested, at the time, that the parochial engines should be placed under the inspection of the commissioners of police, but this proposal was not adopted, and the existing state of matters was allowed to continue for another thirty years. The select committee of 1862 recommended that a fire brigade should be created under the superintendence of the commissioners of police, and should form part of the general establishment of the metropolitan police. In 1865, however, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act was passed, under which the responsibility for the provision and maintenance of an efficientfire brigade was laid upon the Metropolitan Board of Works. Under the provisions of the act, the board took over the staff, stations and equipment of the Fire Engine Establishment; the engines maintained by the various parochial authorities, and the men in charge of them were also absorbed by the new organization, as were the fire-escapes and staff of the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire.

The funds provided by the Fire Brigade Act for the maintenance of the brigade were: (1) the produce of a halfpenny rate on all the rateable property in London; (2) contributions by the fire insurance companies at the rate of £35 per million of the gross amount insured by them in respect of property in London; and (3) a contribution of £10,000 a year by the government. Although the revenue allotted increased year by year, its increase was far from keeping pace with the constant calls from all parts of London for protection from fire. Some temporary financial relief was afforded by the Metropolitan Board of Works (Loans) Act 1869, which (1) authorized the interest on borrowed money to be paid, and the principal to be redeemed out of the proceeds of the Metropolitan Consolidated rate, apart from the halfpenny allocated for fire brigade purposes; and (2) provided that the amount to be raised for the annual working expenditure on the brigade should be equal to what would be produced by a halfpenny in the pound on the gross annual value of property, instead of, as before, on the rateable value. One result of the passing of the Local Government Act 1888 (by which the London County Council was constituted), under which a county rate for all purposes is levied, was virtually to repeal the limitation of the amount which might be raised from the ratepayers for fire brigade purposes. Since that time the expenditure on the brigade has therefore, like that of other departments of the council’s service, been determined solely by what the council has judged to be the requirements of the case.

When the council came into existence early in 1889 the fire brigade was admittedly not large enough properly to protect the whole of London, the provision in various suburban districts being notoriously inadequate to the requirements. A plan for enlarging and improving old stations, and for carrying out a scheme of additional protection laid down after careful consideration of the needs of London as a whole, was approved on the 8th of February 1898 (and somewhat enlarged in 1901); it provided for the placing of horsed escapes at existing fire stations, for the establishment of some 22 additional stations provided with horsed escapes, and for the discontinuance of nearly all the fire-escape and hose-cart stations in the public thoroughfares.

Since it came into existence the London County Council has established additional fire stations at Dulwich, New Cross, Kingsland, Whitefriars, Lewisham, Shepherd’s Bush, West Hampstead, East Greenwich, Perivale, Homerton, Highbury, Vauxhall, Pageant’s Wharf (Rotherhithe), Streatham, Kilburn, Bayswater, Eltham, Burdett Road (Mile End), Wapping, Northcote Road (Battersea), Herne Hill, Lee Green and North End (Fulham). Of these, Vauxhall, Kilburn, Bayswater, Eltham, Burdett Road, Herne Hill and North End stations are sub-stations. New stations have been erected, in substitution for small and inconvenient buildings, at Wandsworth, Shoreditch, Fulham, Brompton, Islington, Paddington, Redcross Street (City), Euston Road, Clapham, Mile End, Deptford, Old Kent Road, Millwall, Kensington, Westminster, Brixton and Cannon Street (City), and the existing stations at Kennington, Rotherhithe, Clerkenwell, Hampstead, Battersea, Whitechapel, Greenwich and Stoke Newington have been considerably enlarged. Two small stations without horses have been established in Battersea Park Road and North Woolwich respectively. A building has been erected at Rotherhithe for the accommodation of the staff of the Cherry-garden river station; and another building has been erected at Battersea for the accommodation of the staff of a river station which has been established there.In 1909 new stations in substitution for existing stations were in course of erection at Knightsbridge and Tooting, and additional sub-stations were being erected at Plumstead and Hornsey Rise. The Bethnal Green station was being considerably altered and enlarged. The council had also determined to erect new stations in substitution for existing inconvenient buildings at Holloway, Waterloo Road, Shooter’s Hill and North End, Fulham; and to build additional sub-stations at Charlton, Caledonian Road, Brixton Hill, Camberwell New Road, Roehampton, Balham, Brockley and Earlsfield.

In 1909 new stations in substitution for existing stations were in course of erection at Knightsbridge and Tooting, and additional sub-stations were being erected at Plumstead and Hornsey Rise. The Bethnal Green station was being considerably altered and enlarged. The council had also determined to erect new stations in substitution for existing inconvenient buildings at Holloway, Waterloo Road, Shooter’s Hill and North End, Fulham; and to build additional sub-stations at Charlton, Caledonian Road, Brixton Hill, Camberwell New Road, Roehampton, Balham, Brockley and Earlsfield.

Budapest.—There is a combination of a professional force and a volunteer force at Budapest, and in addition an auxiliary service of factory fire brigades. The professional fire brigade possesses a central station and eight sub-stations, two minor stations, and permanent theatre-watchrooms at the royal theatres. The staff (in 1901) of the professional brigade consisted of a chief officer, an inspector, a senior adjutant and two junior adjutants, a clerk, and further 23 warrant officers, 3 engineers, 15 foremen, 154 firemen and 30 coachmen with 62 horses. There have been some slight increases since. The apparatus at their disposal consists of 6 steam fire-engines, 22 manual engines, 27 small manual engines, 11 water carts, 13 traps, 4 tenders, 26 hose reels and hose carts, 5 long ladders, 9 ordinary extension ladders, 34 hook ladders, 12 smoke helmets and 22,000 metres of hose. The various stations are connected with the central station by private telephone lines. There are 149 telephonic fire alarms distributed throughout the city. They are on radial lines connected up with their respective nearest stations, and on a single radial line there are from three to seventeen call-points.

The volunteer brigade has an independent constitution and comprises some eighty members. Its equipment is housed with that of the professional brigade, and is bought and maintained by the municipality. This volunteer brigade is a comparatively wealthy institution, having a capital of 100,000 crowns, whilst receiving a special subsidy annually from the municipality. Though legally an entirely independent institution, the brigade voluntarily puts itself under the command of the chief officer of the professional brigade. It further puts daily at the disposal of the professional fire chief ten men who do duty every night and “turn out” when called upon to render service. This volunteer brigade stands as a kind of model to the other volunteer brigades, and it is in connexion with this volunteer brigade that the educational classes referred to above are held and facilities accorded to the officers undergoing instruction to gain experience at the Budapest fires.

The Budapest professional fire brigade, even if assisted by the volunteer force, would scarcely be of adequate strength to deal with the great factory risks of that city were it not that the Budapest factories and mills have a splendidly organized service of factory fire brigades. These brigades—forty-four in number—are essentially private institutions, intended to render self-help in the factories to which they belong, but they are well organized, and have a mutual understanding whereby the neighbouring brigades of any one factory immediately turn out and assist in case of need. These factory brigades have a total staff of 1600 men. They are equipped with 1 steam fire-engine, 57 large manuals, 136 small manuals, and have a very considerable amount of small gear, including 15 smoke helmets.

Cologne.—The Cologne professional fire brigade is 153 strong (1906), with a chief officer, a second officer, and two divisional officers, a warrant officer, a telegraph superintendent and 16 foremen. The brigade has 26 horses, of which 2, however, are used for ambulance purposes. The brigade has three large stations and a minor station, and has a permanent fire-watch at the two municipal theatres. Men are told off for duty as coachmen among the firemen. The staff do forty-eight hours of duty to twenty-four hours of rest.

A peculiarity of the Cologne organization is its auxiliary retained fire brigade in two sections, comprising a superintendent, 2 deputy superintendents, 5 foremen, and 51 men, with 2 horses, who are retained men housed in municipal buildings (tenements), and available as an immediate reserve force. The first section of the reserve force are housed centrally.

There is a further system of suburban volunteer fire brigades manned by volunteers but equipped by the municipality, and horsed from the municipal stables or municipal tramways. Three of these volunteer brigades, which have large suburban districts, comprise each a superintendent, 2 senior foremen and 3 junior foremen, with 50 firemen and 3 coachmen. The minor outlying suburbs have several such brigades, each having one senior foreman, 3 junior foremen, 20 firemen and 2 coachmen. The combined force of the suburban volunteer brigades is 295, all ranks.

The Cologne fire service thus comprises a combination of professional brigade with a retained auxiliary brigade and a system of suburban volunteer brigades. Of the three stations, the central one is still an old building, and the other two are in modern buildings; the extra sub-station (near the river stores) is also a modern building. The brigade has about 150 fires to attend per annum. Its printed matter, in the form of an annual detailed report, is exceptionally well prepared. The brigade does permanent “fire-watch” duty at the municipal theatres which are strengthened of an evening. It provides additional watches during performances at all other theatres and public entertainments. Such duties are provided in part by an auxiliary brigade and partly by the professional brigade. A number of the professional brigade are always utilized for doing general work in the workshops of the brigade. The first or central section of the auxiliary brigade drills eleven times per annum, and is additionally turned out eleven times per annum (without drill). Men newly attached to the auxiliary force have to go through a four weeks’ recruit drill.

Nuremberg.—The Nuremberg fire service stands as the most economically organized efficient fire service in Central Europe, and its form of organization is peculiar and exceptional. In 1902 the entire fire-service cost the city 126,000 marks (£6300). The total of inhabitants in 1900 was 261,000. For this small amount of money the city gets a highly-trained retained fire brigade of 156 men (1907), and two volunteer fire brigades of 130 and 224 men respectively. Further, it has an auxiliary of eighteen suburban volunteer fire brigades (1080 men) and two private factory fire brigades (71 men). The whole service stands under a professional chief officer and professional second officer. There are 8 telegraph clerks, 6 watchmen and 17 coachmen attached to the retained brigade. The service has been in existence for fifty years. It has gradually developed and has worked remarkably well, and may, in fact, be taken as a model institution for municipal economy, with due regard to up-to-dateness and efficiency. The retained fire brigade comprises entirely municipal employés, regularly engaged in the municipal workshops, scavenging and works department. The municipal workshops are located alongside the fire-brigade stations. There is a headquarters station for the retained brigade and volunteer brigade in the centre of the town, a modern district station in the western district, and a third district station is in course of erection for the eastern district, which is at present only served by a small branch station.

At headquarters station there are on immediate duty by day 14 firemen (chiefly smiths and carpenters) of the retained brigade. Nine men of the retained brigade are on duty at headquarters at night, together with 8 men of the volunteer fire brigade. At the west district station, 14 men of the retained brigade are on duty by day, and the same number at night.The headquarters can turn out in succession four complete units of the following strength, namely:—First unit, a large chemical engine, and a mechanical long ladder.Second unit, a trap with hose reel, a special gear-cart and a long ladder.Third unit, a trap with hose-cart and manual, and a long ladder.Fourth unit, a steam fire-engine, and hose- and coal-tender trap.From the west district station three units can be turned out in rotation, namely:—-First unit, large chemical engine, large trap and a long ladder.Second unit, a trap with hose-reel and manual engine.Third unit, a steam fire-engine and a hose-tender and coal-tender trap.The equipment of the eastern sub-station at present comprises a turn-out of a trap and a long ladder.The brigade can thus turn out immediately, in rapid succession, these horsed appliances, well organized and fully manned. It further has a reserve of 4 manual engines and 2 long ladders.The suburban volunteer brigades have besides at their disposal 25 manual engines, 9 fire-escapes and 18 hose-reels. The whole of the hose for all brigades is of uniform pattern and make, with bayonet pattern standard couplings. The brigade posts an evening “fire watch” at the theatres. The men of the retained brigade get modest extra pay for fire brigade duty, but this pay is intended rather to cover disbursements or expenses than to be considered as wages. The brigade uses the municipal horses, all of which are stabled in proximity to the fire stations, and a number of which are kept on duty for fire brigade purposes in the actual stations. For all practical purposes the retained brigade is the professional brigade in which the men do municipal work in the municipal workshops, and elsewhere,i.e.in training, drill and general efficiency they are quite up to the best professional standard. The volunteer brigade is well drilled and includes the best of the younger townsmen, who do duty at night by rotation. The brigade’s responsibilities are clearly defined, and the position of the professional chief and second officer clearly laid down by by-laws. There are 129 fire-call points. During the fifty years’ existence of the service, 85 firemen received the twenty-five years’ long-service medal, of whom 32 belonged to the suburban volunteer brigades.

The headquarters can turn out in succession four complete units of the following strength, namely:—

First unit, a large chemical engine, and a mechanical long ladder.

Second unit, a trap with hose reel, a special gear-cart and a long ladder.

Third unit, a trap with hose-cart and manual, and a long ladder.

Fourth unit, a steam fire-engine, and hose- and coal-tender trap.

From the west district station three units can be turned out in rotation, namely:—-

First unit, large chemical engine, large trap and a long ladder.

Second unit, a trap with hose-reel and manual engine.

Third unit, a steam fire-engine and a hose-tender and coal-tender trap.

The equipment of the eastern sub-station at present comprises a turn-out of a trap and a long ladder.

The brigade can thus turn out immediately, in rapid succession, these horsed appliances, well organized and fully manned. It further has a reserve of 4 manual engines and 2 long ladders.

The suburban volunteer brigades have besides at their disposal 25 manual engines, 9 fire-escapes and 18 hose-reels. The whole of the hose for all brigades is of uniform pattern and make, with bayonet pattern standard couplings. The brigade posts an evening “fire watch” at the theatres. The men of the retained brigade get modest extra pay for fire brigade duty, but this pay is intended rather to cover disbursements or expenses than to be considered as wages. The brigade uses the municipal horses, all of which are stabled in proximity to the fire stations, and a number of which are kept on duty for fire brigade purposes in the actual stations. For all practical purposes the retained brigade is the professional brigade in which the men do municipal work in the municipal workshops, and elsewhere,i.e.in training, drill and general efficiency they are quite up to the best professional standard. The volunteer brigade is well drilled and includes the best of the younger townsmen, who do duty at night by rotation. The brigade’s responsibilities are clearly defined, and the position of the professional chief and second officer clearly laid down by by-laws. There are 129 fire-call points. During the fifty years’ existence of the service, 85 firemen received the twenty-five years’ long-service medal, of whom 32 belonged to the suburban volunteer brigades.

Venice.—The Venice fire brigade is a section of the force of “Vigili” or municipal watchmen, which body does general duty in preserving order and rendering assistance to the community. In other words, this force performs the duties of the civil police (rather than governmental or criminal police), fire, patrol watch service, and public control in a general sense. The force, which in all its sections made a most excellent impression, has a commandant, under whom the two primary sections work, namely (a) the civil police section and the (b) fire brigade section; each section in turn having its own principal officers. The police section comprises some 108 of all ranks, and the fire brigade section some 73 of all ranks (1908). The commandant of the whole force is a retired military officer, and the chief of the fire service section is a civil engineer, and these two officers, together with the chief of the civil police section, are the three superior officers of the force. The police section serve as auxiliaries to the fire brigade section in case of any great fire, and, of course, generally work very much hand in hand on all occasions. The fire brigade section has 3 superintendents, 6 foremen, 6 sub-foremen, 6 corporals and 40 file. The section is well equipped with appliances, both hand and steam, having a large modern petrol-propelled float, constructed in London, a large old type steam-float, two 35-ft. old steam-floats, and several small petrol motor-floats or first turnout appliances. The manual-engines, ladders, &c., which are in considerable number, are carried in a large fleet of swift gondolas. Fire-escape work is done with Roman ladders, which are usually planted on two gondolas flung together barge-form, or, if the depth of the canal permits, the lower length is buried in the canal bottom. Hook ladders are also used.

Men are distributed in six companies of varying strength, the headquarters company being stationed at the town hall, with a strength of 22, and most of the steam and petrol floats lie opposite the station. The fire brigade does theatre watch duty. As a fire station of considerable interest, should be mentioned the one at the Doge’s palace; the large vaults occupying a portion of the ground floor facing St Mark’s Square have been adapted for fire station purposes in a very simple yet artistic manner, and the old gear of the brigade has been used to form emblems, &c.

Vienna.—In 1892 the Vienna fire service was reconstituted on modern lines owing to the area of the Vienna municipality having been greatly extended. The professional brigade was somewhat strengthened and entirely re-equipped, and the various existing volunteer brigades of the outlying districts were transformed into suburban volunteer fire brigades, equipped and controlled by the municipality and standing under the general command of the fire brigade headquarters. The principle involved was the utilization of the splendid volunteer force around Vienna for the purpose of strengthening the municipal brigade, a principle of great economic advantage, as the professional brigade would otherwise have had to be materially strengthened, probably trebled. These suburban volunteer fire brigades number no fewer than 34, and have 1200 firemen of all ranks. They are practically independent institutions as far as the election of officers and administration is concerned, but their equipment and uniforms and their fire stations are provided by the municipality, and in certain districts a staff of professional firemen detached from headquarters are attached to their stations as telegraph clerks and drill-instructors.

The suburban volunteer brigades turn out to fires in their own districts, and further, assist in other districts when so ordered by headquarters. They form a strong reserve for great fires in the city proper. Headquarters, of course, renders assistance at large suburban fires. These suburban volunteer fire brigades are very perfectly equipped with appliances, generally of the same type as those used in the central professional brigade. Some of these brigades are equipped with combined chemical engines with 15-metres long ladders attached. They have smoke helmets, and everything that may be termed modern.The men are volunteers in the truest sense of the word,i.e.do not take pay of any description or make any charges for attendance at fires or refreshments at fires.

The Vienna “professional brigade,” as it is generally called, has a personnel (1906) consisting of 8 officers, 5 officials and 475 men. Of stations there is the headquarters, a district station, 4 branch stations with steam fire engines, 9 small branch stations, and 2 “watches” in public buildings. The officers of the brigade consist of the commandant, chief inspector and six inspectors. The officers, of whom four are on duty daily, are all quartered at headquarters. There are three telegraph superintendents. The rank and file is composed of 8 drill-sergeants, 40 telegraph clerks (three classes), 53 foremen (two classes), 22 engineers and stokers, 248 men (three classes). Twenty-four telegraph clerks and engineers are detailed for duty with the suburban volunteer brigades. There are 78 coachmen.

The following are the fire-extinguishing and life-saving apparatus and service vehicles of all kinds standing ready to “turn out”:—2 open and 2 officers’ service carriages (at headquarters), 6 “traps” for the first “turn-out” (5 at headquarters and 1 at the district fire station), each manned by one officer in charge and nine men, and equipped with 3 hook-ladders, a portable extension ladder and jumping sheet, a life-saving chute, an ambulance chest, 3 tool-boxes, a jack, tools, torches, 2 smoke-helmets, with hand-pump and a hose-reel attached; five special gear-carts (4 at headquarters and 1 at the district station), each manned by seven firemen and equipped like the “traps” with the exception that, instead of the life-saving chute, the carts carry with them a sliding-sheet, two petroleum torches each, an extension ladder (15 metres long) and some spare coal for the steam fire-engines; 4 pneumatic extension ladders each 25 metres long, and 3 extension turn-table ladders each 25 metres long (at headquarters and at two of the sub-stations); each of the pneumatic ladders has three men, and each turn-table ladder five men; 18 chemical engines (3 at headquarters and 1 each in the other stations), each having five men with 3 hook-ladders, a jointed ladder (in four sections), a hose-reel, a hand-engine, a smoke helmet, a jumping sheet, an ambulance chest, a tool box, torches, &c.; 8 steam fire-engines (3 at headquarters and one each in the district fire station and the 4 steam-engine stations), each with an engineer and stoker.The reserve of appliances includes 12 manual engines, 15 large chemical engines, 17 steel water-carts (with 1000 litre reservoirs). The total number of oxygen smoke helmets in the brigade is 68, and there are 15 ordinary smoke helmets with hand-pumps. The total number of horses is 132. One electrically-driven trap and two electrically-driven chemical engines are being tried. The fire telegraphic and telephonic installation, including the lines in the volunteer brigades’ districts kept up by the professional brigade, comprises 47 telegraph stations, 249 telephone stations, with altogether 161 Morse instruments and 536 semi-public fire-call points.

The reserve of appliances includes 12 manual engines, 15 large chemical engines, 17 steel water-carts (with 1000 litre reservoirs). The total number of oxygen smoke helmets in the brigade is 68, and there are 15 ordinary smoke helmets with hand-pumps. The total number of horses is 132. One electrically-driven trap and two electrically-driven chemical engines are being tried. The fire telegraphic and telephonic installation, including the lines in the volunteer brigades’ districts kept up by the professional brigade, comprises 47 telegraph stations, 249 telephone stations, with altogether 161 Morse instruments and 536 semi-public fire-call points.

Zürich.—Zürich covers about 12,000 English acres, 1500 of which are built over with some 15,000 houses, the whole of the buildings being subject to the local building regulations and the State Insurance Association’s rules, in which they are compulsorily insured. The brigade is a compulsory militia brigade, placed under the control of the head of the department of police under a law of 1898. The same municipal officer is head of a special municipal committee of nine, entrusted with the safety of the town from fire. The executive officer of the committee is known as the inspector, and acts as captain of the fire brigade. His office is at the fire-brigade headquarters, where he has a small permanent staff both for brigade work and correspondence. Every male inhabitant of Zürich is compelled to do some service for the prevention of, or protection against, fire, from the age of twenty to fifty years. The duty may be fulfilled (1) by active service, or (2) in the case of an able-bodied citizen, who for some reason is not found suited to be a member of the brigade, or has been dismissed from the brigade, by the payment of a tax, which tax is fixed on the basis of his income. Certain citizens, however, areipso factoexempt from active service, namely members of parliament, members of council of the Polytechnic school, of the Cantonal government, of the High Court of Justice, and of the Town Council; also clergymen and schoolmasters, the officials of railways, tramway and steamboat companies, of the post-office and telephone department, students of the Polytechnic school and other educational institutions and municipal officials, with whose duties fire brigade service is incompatible. Exemption from active service can also be accorded on a testimonial of a medical board. Exemption from active service, however, in no case exempts from the tax, the total of which amounts to between £4000 and £5000. In making the selection of men for active service only, men particularly fitted for the work are taken, namely, men who are personally keen, who have a good physique, and who are preferably of the building or allied trades. The officers of the brigade are appointed by the municipal committee. The men’s drills are by the chief officer, and the men are liable to fines and to imprisonment (up to four days) for not attending their drills. The whole of the brigade is insured against accidents and illness with the Swiss Fire Brigade Union at the expense of the city, and the city in addition provides a fund for families in cases of death of firemen on duty. There is also a sick fund provided for the brigade by the municipality, which also accords a scale of compensation.

The fire brigade comprises the very large complement of fifteen companies with 120 men each. Each company has three sections, namely, a fire service section, a life-saving section, and a police section, the last being utilized for keeping the ground and attending to salvage. Each company is supposed to be able, as a rule, to deal with the fire in its own district without calling upon the company of an adjoining district, and it is only in the case of a very serious fire that additional companies are turned out. There is thus a system of decentralization and independence of companies in this brigade not often met with elsewhere. Firemen are paid one franc for each drill of two hours. For fires, two francs for two hours, and fifty centimes per hour afterwards. Refreshments are provided. Any telephone can be used free by law for an alarm. The brigade has at its disposal an extension telephone service, but the men are not all connected up with the telephone of their respective districts, and thus the alarm is given mainly with horns sounded by men who are on the telephone. No section of the brigade has less than ten men on the telephone.The water-supply is of a most excellent character. The appliances in the main comprise hydrants and hose-reels with ladder trucks, and each section has not less than 3000 ft. of hose. They are mainly housed in small temporary corrugated iron sheds with roller shutter doors, to which all the firemen have keys. There are some sixty of these hydrant houses distributed round the city, the larger appliances being at headquarters and at some depots.Apart from the fact of there being the inspector or chief officer for the whole district, with a certain permanent staff, each company might be considered as a separate brigade, having its own chief officer and staff, and independent organization, the organization of the companies, however, being identical. A company comprises 1 chief officer, 1 second officer, 1 doctor, 2 ambulance men and 6 orderlies, a staff in charge, and the three sections have respectively 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 40 men for the fire service section; 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 40 men for the life-saving section, and 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 20 men for the police section. Only in the case of sections 1 and 2 is there some slight variation in the organization, namely, 1 and 2 sections have been combined as a joint section, with an additional senior officer. At Zürich, as in all Swiss fire brigades, there is an extraordinary uniformity of drills, rules, regulations and instructions in all its sections. In 1908 the brigade comprised 2268 in all ranks. There were about 70 fires in that year.

The water-supply is of a most excellent character. The appliances in the main comprise hydrants and hose-reels with ladder trucks, and each section has not less than 3000 ft. of hose. They are mainly housed in small temporary corrugated iron sheds with roller shutter doors, to which all the firemen have keys. There are some sixty of these hydrant houses distributed round the city, the larger appliances being at headquarters and at some depots.

Apart from the fact of there being the inspector or chief officer for the whole district, with a certain permanent staff, each company might be considered as a separate brigade, having its own chief officer and staff, and independent organization, the organization of the companies, however, being identical. A company comprises 1 chief officer, 1 second officer, 1 doctor, 2 ambulance men and 6 orderlies, a staff in charge, and the three sections have respectively 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 40 men for the fire service section; 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 40 men for the life-saving section, and 1 lieutenant, 1 deputy-lieutenant and 20 men for the police section. Only in the case of sections 1 and 2 is there some slight variation in the organization, namely, 1 and 2 sections have been combined as a joint section, with an additional senior officer. At Zürich, as in all Swiss fire brigades, there is an extraordinary uniformity of drills, rules, regulations and instructions in all its sections. In 1908 the brigade comprised 2268 in all ranks. There were about 70 fires in that year.

(E. O. S.)

United States.

Fire service in the United States has developed on so large a scale that in 1902 it was estimated by P.G. Hubert (“Fire Fighting To-Day and To-Morrow,”Scribner’s Magazine, 1902, 32, pp 448 sqq.) that in proportion to population the fire force of America was nearly four times that of Germany or France and about three times that of England. The many fires consequent on wooden construction even in the large cities; the bad effect of sudden climatic changes—drying, parching heat being followed by weather so cold as to require artificial heating; the less safe character of heating appliances; and, especially in tenements, the more inflammable character of furniture, are some of the reasons assigned for greater fire frequency in America. Fire-fighting service in the United States is in no way connected with the military as it is on the continent of Europe; the association of volunteer with paid firemen is uncommon except in the suburban parts of the large cities, and in the smaller cities and towns, where volunteers serving for a certain term are, during that term and thereafter, exempt from jury duty.

New York.—The fire department of New York City is the result of gradual development. The first record of municipal action in regard to fire prevention dates from 1659, when 250leather buckets and a supply of fire-ladders and hooks were purchased, and a tax of one guilder for fire apparatus was imposed on every chimney; in 1676 fire-wells were ordered to be dug; in 1686 every dwelling-house with two chimneys was required to provide one bucket (if with more than two hearths, two), and bakers and brewers had to provide three and six buckets respectively; in 1689 “brent-masters” or fire-marshals were appointed; in 1695 every dwelling-house had to provide one fire-bucket at least; in 1730 two Richard Newsham hand-engines were ordered from England, and soon afterwards a superintendent of fire-engines was appointed on a small salary; in 1736 an engine-house was built near the watch-house in Broad Street, and an act of the provincial legislature authorized the appointment of twenty-four firemen exempt from constable or militia duty. Early in the 19th century volunteer fire companies increased rapidly in numbers and in importance, especially political; and success in a fire company was a sure path to success in politics, the best-known case being that of Richard Croker, a member of “Americus 6,” commonly called “Big Six,” of which William M. Tweed was organizer and foreman. Parades of fire companies, chowder parties and picnics (predecessors of the present “ward leader’s outing”) under the auspices of the volunteer organizations, annual balls after 1829, water-throwing contests, often over liberty poles, and bitter fights between different companies (sometimes settled by fist duels between selected champions), improved the organization of these companies as political factors if not as fire-fighters. So devoted were the volunteers to their leaders that in 1836, when James Gulick, chief engineer since 1831, was removed from office for political reasons, the news of his removal coming when the volunteers were fighting a fire caused them all to stop their work, and they began again only when Gulick assured them that the news was false; almost all the firemen resigned until Gulick was reinstated. The type of the noisy, rowdy New York volunteer fire hero was made famous in 1848-1849 by Frank S. Chanfrau’s playing of the part Mose in Benjamin Baker’s play,A Glance at New York. The Ellsworth Zouaves of New York were raised entirely from volunteer firemen of the city.

In 1865, when the volunteer service was abolished, it consisted of 163 companies (52 engines, 54 hose; 57 hook and ladder) manned by 3521 men (engines averaging 40 to 60 men, hose-carts about 25, and hook and ladder companies about 40); the chief engineer, elected with assistants for terms of five or three years by ballots of the firemen, received a salary of $3000 a year; and three bell-ringers in each of eight district watch-towers, who watched for smoke and gave alarms, received $600 a year. The legislature in March 1865 created a Metropolitan Fire District and established therein a Fire Department, headed by four commissioners, who with the mayor and comptroller constituted a board of estimate.

This organization was practically unchanged until 1898, when the Greater New York was chartered and the present system was introduced. At its head is a commissioner who receives $7500 a year. The more immediate head of the firemen is a chief (annual salary $10,000), the only member of the force not appointed on the basis of a civil service examination; the chief has a deputy in Manhattan (for Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond boroughs) and another for Brooklyn and Queens, each receiving an annual salary of $5000.

In December 1908 there were: 14 deputy chiefs (eight in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and six in Brooklyn and Queens); 59 chiefs of battalion (31 in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and 28 in Brooklyn and Queens); 248 foremen or captains (137 in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and 111 in Brooklyn and Queens), 365 assistant foremen (221 in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond; and 144 in Brooklyn and Queens); 431 engineers of steamers (247 in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and 184 in Brooklyn and Queens) and 2933 firemen (1772 in Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and 1161 in Brooklyn and Queens); and the total uniformed force was 4107. At the close of 1908 there were 88 engine companies—at East 99th St., Battery Park, Grand St. (East River), West 35th St., Gansevoort St. and West 132nd St.; and in Manhattan and the Bronx there were 38 hook and ladder companies; in Brooklyn and Queens there were 70 engine companies, including two fire-boat companies—at 42nd St. and at North 8th St. The appropriations for the year 1906 were $4,777,687 for Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and $3,147,033 for Brooklyn and Queens; and the department expenses were $3,980,535 for Manhattan, Bronx and Richmond, and $2,565,849 for Brooklyn and Queens.The first high-pressure main system in the city was installed at Coney Island in 1905, gas-engines working the pumps. Electrically driven centrifugal pumps are used in Brooklyn (protected area, 1360 acres) and in Manhattan, where the system was introduced in 1908, and where the protected district (1454 acres) reaches from the City Hall to 25th St. and from the Hudson east to Second Avenue and East Broadway, being the “Dry Goods District”; water is pumped either from city mains or from the river, and the change may be made instantaneously. The fire watch-tower system was abolished in 1869; the present system is that of red box electric telegraph alarms, which register at headquarters (East 67th St.), where an operator sends out the alarm to that engine-house nearest to the fire which is ready to respond, and a chart informing him of the absence from the engine-house of apparatus. There are volunteer forces (about 2700 men) in Queens and Richmond boroughs and in other outlying districts.Boston.—The Boston fire department (reorganized after the great fire of 1872) is officered by a commissioner (annual salary, $5000), a chief (annual salary, $4000), a senior deputy ($2400), and a junior deputy ($2200), twelve district chiefs ($2000 each), a superintendent and an assistant superintendent of fire-alarms, and a superintendent and an assistant superintendent of the repair shop. In 1909 the force numbered 877 regulars and 8 call men. There were 53 steam fire-engines, 14 chemical engines, 3 water-towers, 3 combination chemical engines and hose-wagons (one being motor-driven), 3 fire-boats (built in 1889, 1895 and 1909 respectively), 29 ladder-trucks and 49 hose-wagons. The auxiliary salt-water main service was established in 1893. The earliest suggestion of the application of the electric telegraph to a fire-alarm system was made in Boston in 1845 by Dr Wm. F. Channing; in 1847-1848 Moses G. Farmer, then a telegraph operator at Framingham, made a practicable electric telegraph alarm; and in 1851-1855 Farmer became superintendent of the Boston fire-alarm system, a plant being installed in 1852.2Chicago.—The Chicago organization practically dates from the fire of 1871, though there was a paid department as early as 1858. Its principal officers are a fire-marshal and chief of brigade (salary $8000), four assistant fire-marshals, a department inspector, eighteen battalion chiefs, a superintendent of machinery, a veterinary and assistant, and about one hundred each of captains, lieutenants, engineers and assistant engineers; the total regular force in 1908 was 1799 men with an auxiliary volunteer force of 71 in Riverdale, Norwood Park, Hansen Park and Ashburn Park. In the business part of the city there is a patrol of seven companies employed by the Board of Fire Underwriters. Since 1895 all men in the uniformed force (except the chief of brigade) are under civil service rules. In 1908 the equipment included 117 engine companies, 34 hook and ladder companies, including one water-tower, 15 chemical engines and one hose company; and there were 5 fire-boats (4 active and 1 reserve). The first fire-boat was built in 1883. The initial installation of high-pressure mains was completed in 1902, and was greatly enlarged in 1908.

The first high-pressure main system in the city was installed at Coney Island in 1905, gas-engines working the pumps. Electrically driven centrifugal pumps are used in Brooklyn (protected area, 1360 acres) and in Manhattan, where the system was introduced in 1908, and where the protected district (1454 acres) reaches from the City Hall to 25th St. and from the Hudson east to Second Avenue and East Broadway, being the “Dry Goods District”; water is pumped either from city mains or from the river, and the change may be made instantaneously. The fire watch-tower system was abolished in 1869; the present system is that of red box electric telegraph alarms, which register at headquarters (East 67th St.), where an operator sends out the alarm to that engine-house nearest to the fire which is ready to respond, and a chart informing him of the absence from the engine-house of apparatus. There are volunteer forces (about 2700 men) in Queens and Richmond boroughs and in other outlying districts.

Boston.—The Boston fire department (reorganized after the great fire of 1872) is officered by a commissioner (annual salary, $5000), a chief (annual salary, $4000), a senior deputy ($2400), and a junior deputy ($2200), twelve district chiefs ($2000 each), a superintendent and an assistant superintendent of fire-alarms, and a superintendent and an assistant superintendent of the repair shop. In 1909 the force numbered 877 regulars and 8 call men. There were 53 steam fire-engines, 14 chemical engines, 3 water-towers, 3 combination chemical engines and hose-wagons (one being motor-driven), 3 fire-boats (built in 1889, 1895 and 1909 respectively), 29 ladder-trucks and 49 hose-wagons. The auxiliary salt-water main service was established in 1893. The earliest suggestion of the application of the electric telegraph to a fire-alarm system was made in Boston in 1845 by Dr Wm. F. Channing; in 1847-1848 Moses G. Farmer, then a telegraph operator at Framingham, made a practicable electric telegraph alarm; and in 1851-1855 Farmer became superintendent of the Boston fire-alarm system, a plant being installed in 1852.2

Chicago.—The Chicago organization practically dates from the fire of 1871, though there was a paid department as early as 1858. Its principal officers are a fire-marshal and chief of brigade (salary $8000), four assistant fire-marshals, a department inspector, eighteen battalion chiefs, a superintendent of machinery, a veterinary and assistant, and about one hundred each of captains, lieutenants, engineers and assistant engineers; the total regular force in 1908 was 1799 men with an auxiliary volunteer force of 71 in Riverdale, Norwood Park, Hansen Park and Ashburn Park. In the business part of the city there is a patrol of seven companies employed by the Board of Fire Underwriters. Since 1895 all men in the uniformed force (except the chief of brigade) are under civil service rules. In 1908 the equipment included 117 engine companies, 34 hook and ladder companies, including one water-tower, 15 chemical engines and one hose company; and there were 5 fire-boats (4 active and 1 reserve). The first fire-boat was built in 1883. The initial installation of high-pressure mains was completed in 1902, and was greatly enlarged in 1908.

Fire Appliances.

Fire-Alarms.—Most large cities possess a system of electrical fire-alarms, consisting of call boxes placed at frequent intervals along the streets. Any one wishing to give notice of a fire either opens the door of one of these boxes or breaks the glass window with which it is fitted, and then pulls the handle inside, thus causing the particular number allocated to the box, which of course indicates its position, to be electrically telegraphed to the nearest fire station, or elsewhere as thought advisable. Sometimes a telephone is fixed in each call-box. Automatic fire-alarms consist of arrangements whereby an electric circuit is closed when the surrounding air reaches a certain temperature. The electric circuit may be used to start an alarm bell or to give warning to a watchman or central office, and the devices for closing it are of the most varied kinds—the expansion of mercury in a thermometer tube, the sagging of a long wire suspended between horizontal supports, the unequal expansion of the brass in a curved strip of brass and steel welded together, &c.

Fire-Engines.—The earliest method of applying water to the extinction of fires was by means of buckets, and these long remained the chief instruments employed for the purpose, though Hero of Alexandria about 150B.C.described a fire-enginewith two cylinders and pistons worked by a reciprocating lever, and Pliny refers to the use of fire-engines in Rome. In the 16th century (as at Augsburg in 1518) we hear of fire squirts or syringes worked by hand, and towards the end of the same century Cyprien Lucar described a very large one operated by a screw handle. The fire squirts used in London about the time of the Great Fire were 3 or 4 ft. long by 2½ or 3 in. in diameter, and three men were required to manipulate them. The next stage of development was to mount a cistern or reservoir on wheels so that it was portable, and to provide it with pumps which forced out the water contained in it through a fixed delivery pipe in the middle of the machine. An important advance was made in 1672 when two Dutchmen, Jan van der Heyde, senior and junior, made flexible hose by sewing together the edges of a strip of leather, and applied it for both suction and delivery, so that the engines could be continuously supplied with water and the stream could be more readily directed on the seat of the fire. For many years manual engines were the only ones employed, and they came to be made of great size, requiring as many as 40 or 50 men to work them; but now they are superseded by power-driven engines, at least for all important services. The first practical steam fire-engine was made by John Braithwaite about 1829, but though it proved useful in various fires in London for several years after that date, it was objected to by the men of the fire brigade and its use was abandoned. A generation later, however, steam fire-engines began to come into vogue. At first they were usually drawn by horses to the scene of the fire, though exceptionally their engines could be geared to the wheels so that they became self-propelled; and it was not till the beginning of the 20th century that motor fire-engines were employed to any extent. Steam, petrol and electricity have all been used. Such engines have the advantage that they can reach a fire much more rapidly than a horse-drawn vehicle, especially in hilly districts, and they can if necessary be made of greater power, since their size need not be limited by considerations of the weight that can be drawn by horses. Petrol-propelled engines can be started off from a station within a few seconds of the receipt of an alarm, and their pumps are ready to work immediately the fire is reached; steam-propelled engines possess the same advantage, if they are kept always standing under steam, though this involves expense that is avoided with petrol engines, which cost nothing for maintenance except while they are actually working. Motor engines are made with a capacity to deliver 1000 gallons of water a minute or even more, but the sizes than can deal with 400 or 500 gallons a minute are probably those most commonly used.

In towns standing on a navigable water-way fire-boats are often provided for extinguishing fires in buildings, in docks and along the waterside. The capacity of these may rise to 6000 gallons a minute. Steam is the power most commonly used in them, both for propulsion and for pumping, but in one built for Spezia by Messrs Merryweather & Sons of London in 1909, an 80 H. P. petrol engine was fitted for propulsion, while a steam engine was employed for pumping. The boiler was fired with oil-fuel, and steam could be raised in a few minutes while the boat was on its way to a fire. The pumps could throw a 1½-in. jet to a height of nearly 200 ft. In some places, as at Boston, Mass., the fire-boats are utilized for service at some distance from the water. Fire-mains laid through the streets terminate in deep water at points accessible to the boats, the pumps of which can be connected to them and made to fill them with water at high pressure. In cities where a high-pressure hydraulic supply system is available, a relatively small quantity of the pressure water can be used, by means of Greathead hydrants or similar devices, to draw a much larger quantity from the ordinary mains and force it in jets to considerable heights and distances, without the intervention of any engine.

The water is conducted from the engines or hydrants in hose-pipes, which are made either of leather fastened with brass or copper rivets, or of canvas (woven from flax) which has the merit of lightness but is liable to rot, or of rubber jacketed with canvas (or in America with cotton). For directing the water on the fire, nozzles of various forms are employed, some throwing a plain solid jet, others producing spray, and others again combining jet and spray, the spray being useful to drive away smoke and protect the firemen. Various devices are employed to enable the upper storeys of buildings to be effectively reached. A line of hose may be attached to a telescopic ladder, the extensions of which are pulled out by a wire rope until the top rests on the wall of the building at the required height. Water-towers enable the jet to be delivered at a considerable height independently of any support from the building. A light, stiff, lattice steel frame is mounted on a truck, on which it lies horizontally while being drawn to a fire, but when it has to be used it is turned to an upright position, often by the aid of compressed gas, and then an extensible tube is drawn out to a still greater height. The direction of the stream delivered at the top may be controlled from below by means of gearing which enables the nozzle to be moved both horizontally and vertically. The pipe up the tower may be of large diameter, so that it can carry a huge volume of water, and at the bottom it may terminate in a reservoir into which several fire-engines may pump simultaneously.

Another class of fire-engines, known in the smaller portable sizes as fire-extinguishers or “extincteurs,” and in the larger ones as “chemical engines,” throw a jet of water charged with gas, commonly carbon dioxide, which does not support combustion. Essentially they consist of a closed metal tank, filled with a solution of some carbonate and also containing a small vessel of sulphuric acid. Under normal conditions the acid is kept separate from the solution, but when the machine has to be used they are mixed together; in some cases there is a plunger projecting externally, which when struck a sharp blow breaks the bottle of acid, while in others the act of inverting the apparatus breaks the bottle or causes it to fall against a sharp pricker which pierces the metallic capsule that closes it. As soon as the acid comes into contact with the carbonate solution carbon dioxide is formed, and a stream of gas and liquid mixed issues under considerable pressure from the attached nozzle or hosepipe. Hand appliances of this kind, holding a few gallons, are often placed in the corridors of hotels, public buildings, &c., and if they are well-constructed, so that they do not fail to act when they are wanted, they are useful in the early stages of a fire, because they enable a powerful jet to be quickly brought to bear; but it is doubtful whether the stream of mixed gas and liquid they emit is much more efficacious than plain water, and too much importance can easily be attached to spectacular displays of their power to extinguish artificial blazes of wood soused with petrol, which have been burning only a few seconds. Chemical engines, up to 60 or 70 gallons capacity, are used by fire brigades as first-aid appliances, being mounted on a horsed or motor vehicle and often combined with a fire-escape, a reel of hose, and other appliances needed by the firemen, and even with pumps for throwing powerful jets of ordinary water. Large buildings, such as hotels and warehouses, where a competent watchman is assumed to be always on duty, may be protected by a large chemical engine placed in the basement and connected by pipes to hydrants placed at convenient points on the various floors. At each hose-station a handle is provided which when pulled actuates a device that effects the mixing of the acid and carbonate solution in the machine, so that in a minute or so a stream is available at the hydrants.

Automatic Sprinklers.—Factories, warehouses and other buildings in which the fire risks are great, are sometimes fitted with automatic sprinklers which discharge water from the ceiling of a room as soon as the temperature rises to a certain point. Lines of pipes containing water under pressure are carried through the building near the ceilings at distances of 8 or 10 ft. apart, and to these pipes are attached sprinkler heads at intervals such that the water from them is distributed all over the room. The valves of the sprinklers are normally kept closed by a device the essential feature of which is a piece of fusible metal; this as soon as it is softened (at a temperature of about 160° F.) by the heat from an incipient fire, gives way and releases the water,which striking against a deflecting plate is spread in a shower. In situations where the water is liable to freeze, the ceiling pipes are filled only with air at a pressure of say 10 ℔ per sq. in. When the sprinkler head opens under the influence of the heat from a fire, the compressed air escapes, and the consequent loss of pressure in the pipes is arranged to operate a system of levers that opens the water-valve of the main-feed pipe. The idea of automatic sprinklers is an old one, and a system was patented by Sir William Congreve in 1812; but in their present development they are specially associated with the name of Frederick Grinnell, of Providence, Rhode Island.

Fire-Escapes.—The best kind of fire-escape, because it is always in place, and always ready for use, is an external iron staircase, reaching from the top of a building to the ground, and connected with balconies accessible from the windows on each floor. In many towns the building by-laws require such staircases to be provided on buildings exceeding a certain height and containing more than a certain number of persons. Of non-fixed escapes, designed to enable the inmates of an upper room to reach the ground through the window, numberless forms have been invented, from simple knotted ropes and folding ladders to slings and baskets suspended by a rope over sheaves fixed permanently outside the windows, and provided with brakes by which the occupant can regulate the speed of his descent, and to “chutes” or canvas tubes down which he slides. Fire brigades are provided with telescopic ladders, mounted on a wheeled carriage, up which the firemen climb; sometimes the persons rescued are sent down a chute attached to the apparatus, but many fire brigades think it preferable to rely on carrying down those who are unable to descend the ladder unaided. Jumping sheets or nets, held by a number of men, are provided to catch those whose only chance of escape is by jumping from an upper window.

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