Fire-Brigade Equipment.
Page 18
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Motor Vehicles are Essential to the Due Preservation of Life and Property.
Progress has been rapid since the days of the hand-manual, but there is no end to it. The increasing size and weight of fire-engines have put their draught beyond the limits of animal power. One may still witness, in those cities which have not moved with the times, the splendid efforts of men and horses to get along with speed and safety ; both are handicapped, and they know it. The officers long for the day when valuable tiMe will he saved, when larger pumps can be utilized, when steep gradients or far-distant calla will not matter. That happy situation, of course, can only be found after motors have replaced horses, or, at least, after motors have been purchased to a sufficient extent to augment the now-deficient resources.
The beginning of British "motorization " of fire-stations dates back to the year 1902, but the earliest machines were not thoroughly reliable. Gradually, however, the obvious and undeniable advantage, of using for propulsion the same power that is employed to throw the jets of water, has been recognized universally. It is hesitancy about the expenditure, and that. alone, which holds back the smaller and poorer authorities in England. All those which have the means at their callor disposal are hastening a substitution which is demanded alike by expediency and public opinion, except in the case ef new brigades. They, as one would expect, are taking up motors exclusively horsed outfits cut a poor figure in estimates and performances alike. We do not contend, of course, that horsed outfits are the dearer in first cost, for that is not the case. It is in annual main• tenance, on the cost side, that mechanical oufits score heavily : they virtually look after themselves in the station, and their low annual mileages, in the practice or real calls, keep down the running -costs—inclusive of rubber tires—to a matter of, usually, less than £30 per annum for a 450-gallon pump equipment. Competent firernasters already, both by careful inquiry and practical 'experiences, have assured themselves that a saving of well over /1100 per annum per machine can be effected by the aubstitution of motors for horses.
In view of the rapid strides with which the commercial-motor vehicle has " come into its own ' in so many other braothes of industrial activity, it is 'quite futile to deny that, the horsed fireengine has definitely had its day. We 'can confidently say good bye to the horse in the very near future, so far as all up-to-date installations are concerned. It will here be of use briefly to consider the reasons why there is actually no advantage which can accrue from the employment of the horse-drawn machine, in preference to the motor-propelled equipment. The prime cost of the motor fire-engine is higher, admittedly, but that, of eourse, is merely a question of slightly-increased annual capital charge, A petrol-propelled 450-gallon fire-pump of proved capacity, such as the Dennis, for example, costs in England in the neighbourhood of £925. In the matter et' maintenance, we have already men tioned the remarkable superiority of the mechanically-propelled equipment. Its greatly-higher capacity in the matter of speed, of course, is a self-evident fact. Ease of starting, ease of control, capacity for hill-climbing, rapid acceleration and powerful braking are characteristics in which the horse-drawn machine is enormously outclassed. The low mileage required from a motor fire-engine, compared with that of almost all other classes of motor road-vehicles, is sufficient assurance, in itself, that maintenance costs will be low. Such machines are not " eating their heads off in idleness," the best part of their time, as are the horses attached to a fire-brigade station. The capacity of the motor for undertaking comparatively-long journeys at high speed places a greatly-increased area within reach of its assistance, and this is a factor that will ultimately enable the haphazard multiplication of small local fire-stations to he much restricted, whilst it should bring in votes of money from the wider areas protected.
In the home country and in many parts of the Continent-, the steady process of substitution and extension by the acquirement of motor propelled equipment has been taking place for some time. In Paris, the horse has disappeared from the fire-brigade service, and in Berlin, Vienna, and other large cities the same goal is being quickly approached. Interest, in Great Britain, has now been roused to such an extent, that practically no new purchases of equipment are made by district authorities without previous careful inquiry into the relative advantages of horse and motor. It may safely be concluded that orders for horse-drawn machines are gradually becoming fewer, and are even now, only issued where low first cost has primarily to be considered. Of the reliability of the motor vehicle, in such remarkably-easy employment as that of fire-prevention, there is no shadow of doubt--provided, of course, that. no short-sighted attempt he made to experiment with converted pleasurevehicles, or machines of unknown origin and reputation. Several of the large manufacturers of commercial-motor vehicles have now, for some time past, specialized in the production of satisfactory self-propelled pumps, hose-carts, escape-carts, first-aid wagons, and general-service wagons, and their productions are finding a ready market. The manufacturer, who has done most pioneer work, in order to develop a successful type of power-driven automobile pump, is. undoubtedly, Dennis Bros., Ltd., of Guildford, Surrey, and it. is the machine, which, as the result of careful design and prolonged experiment, has been standardized by this maker that is proving so formidable a rival to the herse-drawn steamer in Great Britain. Fully-equipped fire-cngines of this pattern have already been despatched to Bradford and Rowley Regis, and machines are now being put through the shops at Guildferd for Glasgow, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Christchurch, N.Z., Kingston-on-Thames (two pumps), and for Fremantle (Australia). As an example of the development that is taking place in the production of the Dennis machine, it is of interest to note that the Fire-Board of Auckland, New Zealand, has just placed an order for an automobile pump, which is to have a capacity of 800 gallons per minute, at a pressure of 150 lb. per sq. in. The standard chassis embodies a four-cylinder vertical petrol engine, which drives through a special form of gearbox, either to the roadwheels—by the usual form of changespeed gear, or direct through to a special Gwynne-Sargeant centrifugal pump. Another maker, who is producing a similar machine, is Leyland Motors, Ltd. The pump is a Mather and Platt. The London Fire Brigade, which is now beginning to wake up in the matter of the application of motor appliances to its far-reaching service, now owns a small fleet of motor escape wagons and hose carts, constructed by Commercial Cars, Ltd., Cambridge Circus, London, W., whose works are at Luton, Bed ford. This successful maker's compre hensive experience in th4 production of heavy types of commercial-motor vehicles for all manner of employment has been of assistance in the design and construction of reliable and soundly-built chassis for various fire-brigade purposes. The " Commer Car " fool-proof gearbox is a feature which appeals to superintendents. Argylla, Ltd., whose extensive works are at Alexandria, near Glasgow, is specializing with a first-aid model of machine. In some cases these vehicles, besides serving as a hose cart and chemical engine, also carry a full-sized escape. A handsome example of this comprehensive first-aid model is illustrated on the opposite page.
On the same page will be found an illustration of the application of Allen Liversidge front-wheel brakes to an escape cart which was constructed by Lloyd and Plaister. Ltd., for the Cor poration of West Ham. The greatly increased control, and the almost total elimination of sideslip, which resulted from the fittings of these brakes, render it likely that., in future, many specifications for self-propelled fire-engines will include these specialities; the maker's address is 196, Old Street, London, E.C.
An interesting little machine of unique capabilities is illustrated on page 297. We refer to the " Auto-Carrier," supplied by F. B. Goodehild and Co., Ltd., of Craven House, Kingsway, to the Cleethorpes Brigade. This little three wheeler carries two firemen, six lengths of hose, stand pipe, scaling ladders, smoke helmet and chemical extincteurs. Truly a milltuni in parvo.
John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., of Basingstoke, has supplied several tenders and hose carts for brigades at home and abroad, and we illustrate one such machine supplied to Auckland, N.Z.
At the time of going to press, we have been unable to secure detailed particu lars of the many excellent types of motor fire appliances supplied by Morris and Sons, Ltd., of Salford. We must content ourselves with referring our readers to its business announcement which appears elsewhere in this issue.