The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1877-07-03
A sUCCEssFUL INVENTION.
The Crucial Test Of Fire Indicator Yes
fcrssny Afteru0Ou.

The Crucial Test Of a Fire Indicator Yes
terdsy Afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon committee OF the Board
Of Underwriters. together with humber OF in
vited guests. visited the premises OF the Babcocl
salvage corps for the purpose OF witnessing q
trial OF Dol. A. Gerard's new automatic fire indi.
Gator.
The wires and eletrc connections had been pre-.
pared during the day, and all the apparatus
adjusted for the afternoons trial. small instru.
ments called thermoscopes were placed In the
rooms OF the dwelling occupied by Capt. Ka-
linsky, Of the salvage corps, adjoining the yard,
which were connected with an improved annun.
cissor come distance of. When fire starts in
any room where there ia one OF these instruments q
an alarm is ins SANITY sounded
The therm ,soope, which gives notice of the
proximity, of iire 10 very simple and ingenious
device. The two poles Of an electric circuit are
inserted into two thermometer tubes within
short distance of the mercury. Just below the
mereuryis a large copper globe connecting with
the lower line OF the mercury When even AZ little
au increase al two degrees in temperature takes
place the air in the copper globe expands, forcing
the mercury upwards. and at once the circuit is
establiehed and an alarm is sounded. This alarm
is rung on bell in central Office, where the
operator immediately approaches dial plate on
the annunlcator exposed automatically by the
current and taking hold Of q swinging crank he
turns IL around the dial elowly. When IL reaches
point opposite where the namo of the place
where tho fire is burning another signal 10 given
70 indicate tho locality, no that the operator can
tell exactly what house on the line is on fire.
Yesterday Afternoon TO test the reliabiit of the
Invention, after all the guests had been notified
to time the experiment, Capt. Kainski entered
his house, and setting fire to single newspaper
on the floor gave notice that the fire had started.
In only ten seconds, 80 delicate was the instru-
ment, an slarm bell ruug, and the room At once
designated. The next trial was placing a tber-
mosoope near the roof OF an open stable In build
not unlike that Of cotton shed, aud below a
small fire was started on the ground,
In just afty-hve seconds the thermnscope an
noanced the existence Of the fire, lotwithstand.
ing the fact that the front of the stable was
entirely open and the air had a full draueht
inwardly. The difference in temperature between
the time OF starting the fire aud when the alarm
was sounded was enly two degrees Fahrenheit,
Next Ia order was test at q greater distance.
Mrs. Knowlton of No. 204 Camp street had kindly
allowed thermoscope to be placed in one Of her
rooms and connected with the annunciator by
wire. number of gentlemen. among whom
was Paul Fourchy, Esq., sited the chamber
and lighted lamp and for few minutes held
it near the Gerard thermoscope.
The heat must have been but very slight, yet
the instrument communicated the alarm at oace
to the annupciator across the street and some
distance off. Even to an amateurs eye the trial
was more than successful, and was 80 pronounced
by the gentlemen connected with the Board of
Underwriters. The simplicity OF the mechanism,
the certainty of it's operation and impossibiiy of
failure OF action make IL desideratum in every
hotel, warehouse, ship aud dwelling.
hrost, the well-known caterer Of beer on
Gravier street, has already purchased the instru.
ments exhibited yesterday, and he proposes to
have in every room in his building thermos-
scope. to show the first indications Of fire.
Whilst the experiments with the alarm ap-
paratus were going on surprise for al present