FIRE ENGINE, a machine for throwing water or extinguishing chemicals upon fires. As it is commonly understood it is a portable pumping apparatus designed to throw water; but it applies equally to the so-called °chemical engine') in which no pump is needed, the neces sary propelling energy being derived from chemical action within strong containers.
In their earliest form fire engines were large syringes, which were filled with water to be squirted on the fire by the united exertions of three or four men. Later they were in the form of reciprocating pumps connecting with a pres sure chamber from which hose was employed to conduct the water to the place where it was needed. This idea passed through many devel opments, and even before the application of steam as a motive power some very efficient hand-pumping apparatus was in use, operated by a double acting rack with 25 to 30 men on a side. This machine is still in vogue in several parts of the United States, chiefly in the South and the Middle West. These early'types of fire engine were, as a rule, drawn by hand. With the advent of steam as a motive power for working the fire pumps, the long familiar up right boiler with its duplex or triplex pumps came into use, and, being very heavy, was drawn by horses. The next step forward was to make them self-propelling, using their own steam to get them to the fire, and afterward to do the pumping. A great stride in efficiency was thus achieved, for the time in getting to the fire was practically cut in two, and this, in the case of a newly starting fire, meant often an enormous saving in the fire loss.
The development of the gasoline motor car led to the production of a new type of fire engine which is gradually displacing the gsteamer,” both horse-drawn and self-propel ling. The motor engine requires no heavy boiler, and no fire has to be kept up when the engine is waiting a call. It is ready to start on the instant, to travel to the fire at a speed of 35 miles per hour and to go instantly to work with its pumps when arrived. The same en gine drives the car and operates the pumps.
A favorite type with city fire companies hag 6-cylinder motors of 70 horse power, with a maximum speed of 60 miles an hour,. and a water delivery of 700 gallons per minute. This truck carries also 1,000 feet of 2Y2-inch hose and two 3-gallon chemical extinguishers, with pikes and axes, and a crew of seven men.
In many cities the steam pumping engine is still in use, the horses having been done away with by installing a motor traction drive on the front of the truck. A flash type of boiler, burn ing kerosene, has supplanted the coal-burner, in some cases.
In small towns the motor chemical engine has found great favor, and its success has given this type place even in large cities as engines. It has been found by experience that these small trucks are able to handle 80 per cent of all fires for which alarms are sent out. They carry a 30-gallon or 60-gallon chemical tank, 150 feet of chemical hose, an extension ladder of 24 feet and a roof ladder of 12 feet. They are easily operated by a crew of three men or by two in case of emergency. In some cities they are scattered all about the protected area, and are depended on for quick work.
The saving of motor-driven engines over horses varies from $160 to $200 per year for each horse displaced, and even the first cost of motor apparatus is somewhat lower than the older types. The motor engine will take care of three times the area that can be covered by the horse-drawn engine, and entirely outclasses the latter in deep snow or on muddy roads in the suburbs.
The chemical engine, motor-driven, is com ing more and more into favor. The damage done by water in this case is but a small frac tion of that done by the large water pumps, and the low first cost makes them available even for the smallest towns. A novel outfit of this type is mounted on a sea-plane, and forms part of the fire equipment of the city of San Diego, Cal. It flies to the fire at a speed of 75 miles an hour with its crew of two men besides the pilot. It is intended only for use on water-front fires, as it must °Ian& on the water.