FIGHTING PETROL FIRES.
Page 21
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A Description of the New Fire Suds Machine Built by Merrvweather and Sons, Ltd,
WIIEREYER PETROL or other volatile spirits are employed there is the eVel-present danger of fire, and if the quantities be great this risk is considerably Magnified, although modern methods of Storage in underground tangs have done much to prevent the frequent occurrence of anything in the' nature of disastrous outbreaks. At'. the same time it is essential-that suitable fire-fighting,• appliances be provided to reduce stilt further the risks which have
tG be rim, • .
'The ordinary fire-engine employing wateris practically useless and may even in itself be a'source of.danger, as the burning liqsiid Merely floats Upon. the water and may flow for some distancu. What is required is a material which will blanket out the. flarries by cutting off the supply of air, so that combustion is smothered. . Such Ian appliance if niniv to be seen at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, on the stand of Merryweather and Sens, Ltd., the well-known fire engineers, of Greenwich Road, Landon, S.E.10.
This machine, which is stated to be the first of its class constructed in this country, is designed primarily for dealing with oil fires, and carries ingredients for the production -of a large quantity of Fire Suds—a thick, semi-liquid froth,' in which carbon-dioxide gas is held in suspension,. It is now a well-established fact that a compound of this kind is a really effective antidote for fires caused by oil, tar, or other substances having a lower specific gravity than that of Water.
The chassis employed is the .company's 50 b.h.p. type of the C size, the
• superstructure consisting of mahogany with panelled sides, whilst the rear half is constructed to carry a galvanized steel tank holding a solution of bicarbonate of soda, with the Suds-producing material. There are also six separate, lead-lined compartments, carrying aluminium sulphate in solution. Each of these compartments has a valve-con
trolled outlet cennecting it with the Suction pipe of a double-chamber rotary pump, each chamber dealing with a separate solution.
The pump is driven from an extension of the first-motion Shaft of the gearbox, and delivers the two liquid ingredients through separate parallel lines of hose wound on a reel, to a single-delivery branch, where they mix and form the Eire Suds. This being delivered under pressure on to the surface of the burnmg liquid quickly overspreads it, thus preventing the access of oxygen. So soon as one of the aluminium-sulphate compartments is exhausted, the others are brought into operation seriatim, in accordance with the size and nature of the fire to be extinguished.
The solution carried will make a total quantity of 1,800 gallons of the firefighting material, which may be considered an ample supply for a combustion of average dimensions.
In addition to this apparatus, there is a tank containing 50 gallons of plain water, which is carried for first-aid use at ordinary fires, there being a separate rotary delivery pump operated from the transmission gear arid a reel carrying 150 ft, of rubber hose of 1-in, diameter.
In another locker there is no supply of canvas delivery hose for use in conjunction, with street hydrants, and large boxes are fitted at each side of the chassis, between the wheels, for the stowage of other necessary fire-fighting gear, whilst overhead is carried a set of light telescopic ladders.
It will be seen that a. fire brigade equipped with such an apparatus would
be in .a positio.n to deal effectively with any description of outbreak to which it might be called, other than such necessitating the use of powerful pumping apparatus. We certainly consider that the makers are justified in their confidenc,e as to the large demand existing for an appliance of this comprehensive nature.