One Iron Crow-bar.—This should be about two feet long. It is used in opening doors, breaking through walls, &c.
One Portable Cistern.[P]—This is made of canvas on a folding iron frame, and is used in London placed over the street-fire plugs, a hole is left in the bottom through which the water enters and fills the cistern, the escape between the canvas and the plug box being trifling. Two and sometimes three engines are worked by suction-pipe from one plug in this manner. The portable cistern is also used when the engine is supplied by suction, from water conveyed in carts or buckets, and is greatly preferable to any plan of emptying the water directly into the engine. By this latter method there is always a considerable waste of water, arising both from the height of the engine, and the working of the handles; and, in addition to these objections only one person can pour in water at a time. When the water is poured into the engine from carts, it must stop working till the cart is emptied. All these objections, are in a great measure removed by placing the portable cistern clear of the engine; when used in this manner there must of course be no hole in the bottom.
One Flat Suction Strainer, made to screw on to the suction pipe, to prevent anything being drawn in that would not pass through the jet-pipe, and made flat, with no holes in the upper surface, for use in the portable cistern.
One Standcock, with stem to insert direct in the fire-plug, and used principally with hose to throw a jet for cooling ruins.
One Canvas Sheet.—This, when stretched out and held securely by several men, may be jumped into from the window of a house on fire with comparative safety.
One Hand-pump, as described at page [130], and used with the canvas buckets.
FIRE ANNIHILATOR
With regard to the Fire Annihilator, I have seen several experiments with this machine, and heard of more which were not successful; and if an invention fails when experiments are tried, it is open to the impression that it might fail when brought into active operation. There have also been many cases where these machines have met with accidents, one at Drury Lane Theatre amongst the number.
Water, properly applied, will do whatever the Annihilator can accomplish, and also many things which the latter cannot do. As it is, there are some forty or fifty different articles to carry with each fire-engine, and to add to them such unwieldy things as Fire Annihilators, would be to encumber the men more than they are at present, with a very doubtful prospect of advantage.