Fire Escapes.

349

Chap. 8.]

“ A pin n is fixed in lever N, placed at such distance froip the centre ofspindle M, that it will fit the hole n' of the lever shown in No. 159, whilstn u receives the end of the spindle M. Whenever the blowing apparatusis to he worked bj the engine or by manual force, the connecting rod Pshould be detached by means of the lock at p. The carriage frame shouldbe made of oak, and plated with iron all over the outside and top ; thetop plate to have small recesses, to meet the brackets of the cylinders, asshown in the drawing. The lock of the carriage, axles, and springs to bemade as usual, only differing by having the large springs suspended belowthe axle. The carriage wheels to be constructed on the Suspension prin-ciple ; spokes and rim to be made of wrought iron, and very light.

The principal object of a steam fire-engine being that of not dependingon the power or diiigence of a large number of men, one or two horsesshould always be kept in an adjoining stable for its transportation. Thefire grate and flues should be kept very clean, with dry shavmgs, wood andcoke, carefully laid in the furnace ready for ignition ; and a torch shouldalways be at hand to ignite the fuel at a moment’s notice. To this fire-engine establishment the Word of fire should be given, without interme-diate Orders: the horses being put to, the rod attached connecting the car-riage wheel to the bellows, and the fuel ignited, the engine may on all or-dinary occasions be at its destination, and in full Operation in ten minutes.”

Attempts to supersede fire-engines were formerly common. ZacharyGreyl is said to be the first who, in modern times, devised a Substitute.This consisted of a close wooden vessel or barrel, containing a considera-ble quantity of water, and in the centre a small iron or tin case full of gun-powder: from this case a tube was continued through the side or head ofthe barrel, and was filled with a composition that readily ignited. Whena room was on fire, one of these machines was thrown or conveyed intoit, and the powder exploding dispersed the water in the outer case inevery direction, and instantly extinguished the flames although ragingwith violence a moment before. In 1723, Godfrey, an English chemist,copied this device, and impregnated the water with an “ antiphlogistic”substance. He named his machines “water bombs.” In the year 1734,the States of Sweden offered a premium of twenty thousand crowns for thebest invention of stopping the progress of fires; upon which M. Fuches, aGerman chemist, Introduced an apparatus of the same kind. Similar de-vices have been brought forward in more recent days ; but after makinga noise for a time, they have passed into oblivion. (See London Maga-zine for 1760 and 1761.)

Among the devices of modern times for securing buildings from fire, maybe mentioned the plan of Dr. Haies, of covering the floors with a layerof earth ; and that adopted by Harley in 1775, of nailing over joists, floors,stairs, partitions, &c. sheet iron or tin plate. To increase the effect offire-engines, the author of this work devised in 1817, and put in practiceat Paterson , New Jersey , in 1820, the plan of fixing perf'orated copperpipes over or along the ceilings of each floor of a factory or other build-ings, and connecting them with others on the outside, or at a short dis-tance from the Walls , so that the hose of a fire-engine could be rea-dily united by screws; but the plan had been previously developed by SirW. Congreve. It has recently been brought before the public as a newinvention.

Of the numerous Fire Escapes that have been brought forward in moderntimes, the greater part are such as were employed by the ancients to scaleWalls and to enter fortresses, &c. in times of war. It is indeed obvious