MODERN FIRE-FIGHTING APPLIANCE'S.
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A Description of the Motor Pumps, Light Portable Plant, Turntable Ladders, and other Apparatus by British and Foreign Manufacturers.
A.PPARENTLY, the a-ppreciation of the peculiar and special advantages Conferred by the use ._ of motor-propelled fire appliances wherever they are substituted for horse-drawn apparatus is only now malting itself felt to any great extent. Point to point speed and curtailment of time necessary to-get away from the station are two of the advantages which are almost obvious, and which, in any case, are self-evident immediately the motor is put into service. Other and really Mare important features are only recognized as time passes, except in rare instances where imagination and breadth of visien have revealed them at 'an earler stage. Amongst such benefits many are included in the somewhat vague phrase "increased scope and radius of action." In addition to these, there are the facilities for rapid manipulation of mechanical appliances afforded by the presence of a source, in the engine, of ample ipower, which not only provides means of executing mechanical movements quickly, but by its use liberates much-wanted men from the mere donkeywork, enabling them to devote all their energies with increased efficiency to the more important and directly valuable operations of fire-fighting.
The eventual appreciation of these conditions has resulted in the evolution of such a multitude of new devices and fittings, and in so many improvements in the construction of existing types of fire-engines, that it is no exaggeration whatever to say that the progress which has recently been made in this direction, and which is still proceeding at a. great pace, is revolutionary. .
Amongst the various machines Which may be mentioned as typifying this trend the outstanding one is 'without doubt the trailer or hand-drawn type of portable inot:o' r fire-engine. This usually embodies a petrol engine and a small. light, high-duty pump, the capacities varying from 100 gallons to 250 gallons per minute in the different sizes which are made. Intended first as suitable equipment for small localities which could not justify the expense involved in the purchase of an ordinary motor fire-engine of more or less standard size, or for factory use, this type of machine has already so considerably widened its scope that its
possibilities, a few of which only are mentioned below, seem almost unlimited. . It may be employed as a stand-by in stations where a, large engine is kept, and, in such cases, is particularly useful in instances where, after a fire is subdued, it may be necessary. to watch for outbreaks from smouldering clumps. In such circumstances, the portable machine ean he left on the site in charge of one or two men, while the main engine is released and may be hold in readiness for action in case of another outbreak of fire in another part of the same district, an eventuality which, although not probable, is not impossible.
They are useful when the fire brigades of towns undertake to serve outlying districts—which service, incidentally, is only possible as one outcome of the advent of the motor.
The availability of this type of machine, for use in places to which no ordinary fire-engine could possibly be taken, is a big asset, which would justify the purchase of' one of these pumps by any municipal authority which has to deal with slum or congested areas or within the districts of which there are oldfashioned factories, access to the rear of which is frequently only available through narrow passages. The steadily increasing demand for machines of comparatively small capacity, all coming from smaller towns, urban district councils, and other bodies, shows that the apnreciation of the motor fireengine is spreading downwards from the large towns and cities—which would, naturally, be the first to purchase modern apparatus—to the smaller centres. The reouirements in such caSe8 are naturally more
modest-,, and this demand for a smaller type of machine, which is now being so keenly felt amongst manufacturers', is the natural result. It is being met in various ways. Nearly every maker has, within recent months, produced a new, small model of about 200 gallons to 300 gallons capacity. Many, again, are making suitable pumps and equipment which can readily be fitted tip car or light lorry chassis, the combined unit thus constructed being in effect an economical but most efficient fire-engine. The range of sizes is thus completed from the 100-gallon portable or trailer set to the 1,000-gallon h.p. or 80 h.p. fire-engine. In accessory apparatus the most important development is to be noted in connection with the design of turntable fire-escapes, which are now being offered by the various, makers, designed so that all the different operations of lifting, lowering, swivelling, and plumbing may be executed by power and not manually.
A special case is the Tilling-Stevens' machine, this is unique on account of the fact that the petrol-electric chassis affords an ample supply of electric current which is available when the vehicle is standing, not only for the subsidiary operations in connection with the manipulation of the turntable, but for other uses which may not so readily be accomplished without its aid.
Dennis Brothers, Ltd.
So, far as Dennis Brothers., Ltd., of Guildford, are concerned, there can be no doubt that the outstanding item of interest is the new Dennis patent turbine pump, which, chiefly as the result of the ingenious design of the passages between the compartments of the pump—by which delivery from one stage in one direction and that from the second stage in the apposite direction both take place at the same diameter, the water passing over the central partitipn between the stages--,-gives certain important advantages which so reduce the weight and bulk that, with the same efficiency, one of the new-type pumps, weighing 4 cwt. to 4 cwt., can deliver 500 to 600 gallons a minute, for which service a pump sealing 12 cwt. has hitherto been used.
In the first ease this pump was applied to the Dennis hand or trailer-drawn_ turbine motor fire-engine. This machine has a capacity of from 200 to 250 gallons per minute and weighs 046 complete only 12 cwt. Air pumps are piavided in order to create the necessary vacuum to charge the pump. They are in duplicate and may be used either both together or singly, so that if one of them becomes inoperative the other is still available for use. These pumps are clutch -driven from the main gearing, finger pressure on a small lever being sufficient to hold the clutch engaged for the few seconds which are all that is necessary to charge the pump. When the finger is removed, the clutch automatically disengages.
The aciantation of this patent pump for user as a turbine pumping outfit 'capable of being fitted to any make of motorcar was merely a process of natural evolution. Its capacity in the standard model is 150 to 200 gallons per minute, and the whole outfit, which can be fitted to any car in a few hours, -weighs only 110 lb. The same unit is proving very useful and acceptable as a means of increasing the scope and usefulness of existing fire tenders, since its application converts such machines into small fire-engines at very lots, cost Besides these machines Dennis standard products include a 60-70 h.p. turbine motor fire pump, with a capacity of 500 to 600 gallons per minute, a fire' tender and escape-carrier, mounted on a cnassis of the same horse-power, a 44-45 300 to 350-gallon turbine motor fire pump, and a 40-45 h.p. motor fire tender escape-carrier.
Leyland Motors, Ltd.
The Leyland portable fire pump is, perhaps, the smallest on the market. It has an 8 h.p. two-cylinder engine and drives a Bees-Retail:al two-stage pump, which has a capacity of about 100 gallons a minute. This handy little outfit is mounted on a tubular frame, with four legs and feet, upon which it may be stood when in use. The frame is extended, forming handles, and the whole apparatus, which weighs only 21 cwt., can be carried by two men. A small two-wheeled carriage is provided at a slight extra charge. This maker's second string, reckoning upwards, is the Stanley fire-engine. This embodies a light turbine pinup, waioh may be mounted either on A Ford touring chassis or on a Ford 1-ton ohassis. The former is called the Stanley Junior, the latter the Stanley. The capacity of the pump is up to 200 gallons a minute.
In addition to these there are, of course, the more orthodox fire-engines manufactured by this company. There are three standard models, all of which embody the Rees-Roturbo twin impeller multi-stage pump. This is gear-driven from the engine at from 1 times to twice engine speed, according to the model. Its operation is controlled by a lever located at the left-hand side of the driver, whilst the provision for priming consists of a rotary positive-acting air pump driven by frictional gearing either from the rear end of the turbine shaft or from the gearbox. The pump is connected by a large pipe to the delivery side of the main pump, and is operated by means of a hand lever at the rear of the machine. It is thrown out of gear automatically.
The three sizes are model FE., which has a capacity, of 300-to 400 gallons and an engine of 36-40 h.p. model F.E.2, with a capacity of 500 to 700 gallons and a 55 -h.p. engine. The engines of both these Models are of the four-cylinder type. The third and largest model, F.E:3, has a. capacity of up to 1,000 gallons a minute with an 80 h.p. six-cylinder engine.
The Leyland Co.'S.'progra,mme includes the usual auxiliary fire-fighting apparatue; tenders, and other equipment, and also turntable escapes, gas-operated, the necessary compressed gas being carried on the engine in steel bottles.
Tilling-Stevens Motors, Ltd.
Tilling-Stevens Motors, Ltd., of Maidstone, manufacture a fairly complete range of fire-engines, and they. are particularly notable on account of the suacess whic14 they have bad with their petrol-electric turntable ladder, of which a large number is in use. It is interesting to note that a new and a considerably improved model of his turntable is well on the way, the design embodying electrical operation for every single movement of the mechanism, including plumbing.
As has. already • been :noted, the availability., Of ample electric current puts the petrol-electric fire-engine in a. class by • itself, and,. as an example el the special advantages which are conferred by the ease cif obtaining. current, referenee may be made to that ingenious design of fire-engine in which the pump and its driving motors were carried on a separate two-wheeled trailer, which could be detached from the machine and taken some distance away to the source of water supply; which in many easesis surrounded by ground so soft that it is inaccessible to a full-size fire-engine. With an equipment such as that .embodied in this special machine, the engine can be on the highway; the pump at the water's edge, and soft ground between. Only a cable conveying the current from the dynamo on the machine to the motor for driving the pumps is necessary to connect the two.
The Holden and Brook turbine pump is standardized in connection with the Tilling machine. It is placed with its spindle vertical, below the motor. The direct .drive from electric motor to pinup is convenient in that higher pump speed is practicable, with consequent increased efficiency. The petrol-electric model is known as the T.S.F.1 type, and has a capacity of 300 gallons a minute.
The company also make a 400 to 500-gallon fire-engine with 'direct gean drive, special features of which are the location of the pump off the centre of the chassis, which has the advantage that it allows the driving shaft, and consequently the pump itself, to be located much lower than is ordinarily the case, as the driving shaft has only to clear the tubular , portion of the vehicle axle and not the main central casing. This has the effect of lowering the centre of gravity of • the machine, improving its stability on corners, and reducing, although only by a few inches, the height to which it is necessary to draw water, into the pump. Another important feature of the Tilling gear-driven fire-engine is that all the controls for the pump are located at the near of the chassis_
The demand for smaller and lighter fire-engines, to Which we have already referred several times, is reflected in the newest Tilling niodel, which has a capacity of 150 to 250 gallons and is equipped with an engine of 26 h.p. • It goes without saying that a machine of the trailer or
portable type is also manufactured at Maidstone. This machine, which has a capacity of 100 to 150 gallons, is known as the Bantam, and is'clriven by an engine having a bore and stroke of a its, and 3a ins. respectively. The weight of the complete outfit is 12 cwt. .
. Halley Motors, Ltd.
• The outstanding feature of the Halley fire-engine (Halley's Industrial Motors, Ltd., Yoker, Glasgow) is the employment of six-cylinder engines on the majority of their models, particularly . the smallest. There are six such models di capacities and. horse-posvers as follow . to_ 20 gallons, ,35 h.p. six-cylinder ; 250 to 300 gallons, 40 h.p., six-cylffider; S50 to 400 gallons, 50 h.p., four • ylincler ;' 450 to 500r gallons, 60 h.p., four-cylinder ; 500 to 550 'gallons, 75 h.p., six-cylinder; 750 to 1,000 gallons, 100.h.p., eix-cylinder.. It is claimed that a six-cylinder engine has the advantage from the point of view of steadiness and length of' jet, due to the more even torque when pumping. The turbine-type pump is used, andi is, of course, equipped with a suitable exhauster or primer.