Such a scene may be witnessed any afternoon at the London Fire-Brigade Headquarters, when the horse-escape drill is being practised; and the superiority of the new machine over the old seems so obvious, that you exclaim: "I wonder it has not been done before!"
The men's positions are all assigned to them. The "crew," as it is called, consists of four firemen and a coachman. When hurrying to a fire, No. 1 takes his place on the near side in front, No. 2 is at the brake on the off side, No. 3 at the brake on the near side, while No. 4 takes his seat on the off side.
Arrived at the scene of the fire, each man springs to his appointed duty. When the escape is quite clear, No. 1 goes to the fire, No. 3 is seen busy with the gear, and the coachman is occupied with his horses. He removes them from the van if necessary, and is ready to ride with a message if required to do so.
Moreover, the van carries five hundred feet of hose, and all the necessary gear for using a hydrant at once; so that water can be thrown on a fire directly, even without the arrival of an engine.
Life-saving is, however, the special use of the escape itself; and looking at it superficially, you will say that the ladder of this machine is not nearly long enough to reach the upper windows of a high house.
But if you watch the men at work, you will see that the ladder can be cleverly and quickly extended to a much greater height.
You will observe that the escape is made on the telescopic principle, and on a sliding carriage; and though when not extended it only measures about 24 feet over all,—as when riding on the van,—yet when the extending gear is set to work, it can be made to reach a height of 50 feet, or more than double its usual length.
This gear for extending the ladder is fitted to the levers on each side, and is easily worked by two men. The 50-feet escapes are in three lengths, the middle ladder being worked by two separate wires, and the top ladder by one wire.
The van carrying the escape is specially built for the purpose; and, as we have seen, the machine can be instantaneously detached, the van being thus free for other uses if necessary.