The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-09 00:00:00

FIRE EXTINGUISHING.

On Saturday afternoon an interesting experiment 'Was
made at Welwyn, Herta, in connection with the rapid and
easy extinguishing of fires. This was done by means of a
machine newly invented, the process be_i_ug as foLlows

In a small field attached to the White Hart Hotel
were a couple of stacks of dry faggots, rendered more
inflammable by being smeared with tar. Standing
by was a small tank, holding 6:3i gallons of water,
fitted above with a pumping apparatus, something
like an ordinary hand fire-engine, and wilt an at-
tached furnace for burning charcoal. Carbonic acid,
being generated by means of the stove, was com-
bined with the water in the proportion of ten cubic feet
of gas to one of water, and forced into an iron receiver at
a pressure of 150 lbs, to the square inch. An Mills-
rubber tube, one inch in diameter, with a rose attach-
ment, led from this receiver, and was used for the pur-
pose of extinguishing the tire. One of the stacks of
faggots was then ignited by lighting a stratum of
shavings at the base, and when in a state of full com-
bustion, with flames leaping twelve or fifteen feet into
the air, the mixture of gas and water was brought to
bar in the shape id fine spray, little more formidable
in appearance than what a lady might employ to 'cleanse
the leaves of a rose tree. The effect, however, was
niagical; the flames were beaten down instantane-
ously, and the glowing branches became at once
blackened, semi-carboniaed sticks, no fire being visible
except in the centre of the stack, where, from the
mechanical obstacle offered by the faggots, the fire
spray could not penetrate, the combustion being finally
extinguished when the rose was introduced between
the faggots no as to reach the interior. Two or three
gallons of the gas-saturated water was all that was
used to do work that the contents of the tank would
have been insufficient to effect. It was contended
that the principle of super-saturating water with
carbonic acid gas renders it possible to extinguish
fire with infinitely greater rapidity, and with
so lanall a quantity of water as to be out of all com-
parison with the quantity required by the ordinary
process. The chemistry of this invention is simply the
fact that fire cannot exist where carbonic acid gas is
present. A simile experiment satisfactorily demon-
strates this; for a bottle of soda water will do far
more execution than a pail of water. It was stated
that shortly a limited liability company would be
formed for the purpose of bringing the invention
before the public, and storing gas in a state ready for
We in various parts of London.

TURNING THIS TA/MRS.—It is told of Lord
Palmerston thairhaving appointed six o'clock to dine
with the civic magnates of a country town, he had not
made his appearance when ten o clock struck. In
despair the assembled company sat down to such
dinner as was left to them, and were still engaged on
the fish when the great mall was ushered in. They
looked for an apol7lgy, but with bland smiles and
serenest courtesy he knew how to put them all in tfik
wronf,, simply observing, '1 am glad you did not
wait. If anybody felt uncomfortable and as if good
manners had been violated, it was not Lord Pahnerston.