MODERN FIRE FIGHTERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 5 November 1930, Page 2

MODERN FIRE FIGHTERS

HOW BRITAIN BURNT HER FINGERS WHERE SHE' LEADS TO-DAY It is a well-worn joke about fire brigades requiring a postcard to give them notice of a fire. There may once have been some basis of fact for it, because it lias been said that there is no smoke without fire. Hut the efficiency of the fire fighters of to-day has completely extinguished that joke. Tile recent performance of a Lancashire volunteer fire brigade in reaching the scene of the outbreak —four miles away—in ten minutes, is a typical example of modern fire fighting methods. Before the Great Fire of London in 1668, there was no organised provision for fire protection, and when that tremendous outbreak occurred the only “lire engine” that London possessed was one brass hand squirt, about 30 inches long. That histoiic outbreak taught Britain a lesson and ever since she has had a very wise fear of fire. In the early days fire brigades were kept by the insurance companies, aiid the first real brigade of the modern type was instituted in Edinburgh in 1824. To-day there are nearly 1700 fire brigades throughout Britain. The greatest revolution in fire fighting methods was the introduction of the motor engine. Until the coming of the motor, the development of pumping apparatus and the amount of equipment carried was limited by the load that two horses were capable of hauling at a fast pace. The modem motor fire engine is' a remarkable piece of machinery, with its six-cylinder 75 b.h.p. engine and its 600 gallons per minute pump. British manufacturers have specialised in fire engines, and their vehicles may be seen in many countries throughout the world. The design of an efficient fire engine is a specialised task, and engineers are constantly experimenting with various types of engines. It is necessary to have a powerful engine, capable of hauling heavy loads, yet one that has lively acceleration and high speed. It must have an adequate cooling system, as it has to work the pump when the vehicle is stationary. The bodywork must be designed to carry the maximum of equipment and men in the smallest space; and the chassis must be low built, with powerful brakes, for rapid cornering.

It is obvious, therefore, that a fire engine must be, in effect, a perfect combination of file characteristics of touring car and commercial vehicle, and it is the British manufacturers’ aptitude at combining these factors that not only make British fire engines the speediest and most reliable in the world, but has created Britain’s reputation for commercial vehicles. There was recently a case of a smaller village that was so keen to purchase a fire engine made by a prominent British manufacturer, that a request was sent, asking if the manufacturer could accept payment on the instalment plan. The London Fire Brigade alone deals with an average of 5000 outbreaks a year, and maintains at a cost of threequarters of a million pounds more than 60 stations, which house 90 fire engines. All these vehicles are of British manufacture, as, indeed are those of over 95 per cent, of all the brigades in the country. As important as the fire brigades are the salvage corps, who save hundreds of pounds’ worth of goods every year from burning buildings. Another section of the fire fighting organisations that is almost unknown to the public, but which is held in high esteem by the firemen, is that which equips and sends out to big fires a motor coffee stall. This is stocked with nourishing food and hot drinks for the firemen who may have been strenuously engaged for many hours fighting a roaring fire, possibly during a winter’s night, when the water freezes on their coats. Yeaston Tablets have imitations. Genuine Yeastons are stamped R.O.X. Obtainable Nees, Chemist (Wharton’s Pharmacy).