The record-union., 1893-06-15
AN OBJECT LESSON.

About one-half of the Fire Department
of San Francisco, supplemented by two
fire tugs, labored for hours on Saturday
to extinguish fire in a cargo of sulphur
in a huge ships hold. But the more
water that was pumped into the hold, the
hotter became the fire. So much water
was pumped in that the big steel ship
was in danger of sinking. The firemen
and the ships officers were completely
beaten. No one seemed to know what to
do and the ship was about to be aban-
doned, when a man appeared whose
knowledge of chemistry was superior in
its application to the fire to the efforts
of all the water pumps San Francisco
could muster.
At glance the chemist saw the error of
the firemen, and he then and there sug-
gested that all commanding officers in
fire departments ought to be instructed
in the principles of combustion with diff
ferent substances for fuel. Here" said
he, you are endeavoring to extinguish
fire with water, that actually feeds the
flames. Science teaches that sulphur
will burn on water. The more water you
put in, the more the sulphur will be
noated and the greater the fire. Pres
emily the gases generated will cause an
explosion, and you will all go up higher.
Possibly the burning sulphur will soon
reach the steel sides. when it will eat
holes through the ships walls as easily
as sulphuric acid would go through
paper, and then the ship would be good
only for old junk. Take away your en-
gines and apply chemical knowledge and
the fire will be put out and the ship
saved"
Then the scientist was put in charge by
common consent. He at once sent in an
alarm for the chemical engines, and in
the meantime had all the matches bat
tened down, and all openings tightly
closed. When the chemicals arrived
they led their pipes into small apertures,
closely packed, and began TO inject car
bonic acid gas. But the fire had gained
such intensity and volume that the en-
gines could not generate gas enough to
conquer it. A dozen large wine casks
were then sent for, lot Of lead pipe, a
ton of marble dust and several carboys
of the requisite acids. In an hours time
the scientist had seven cask retorts in
operation, each generating more carbonic
acid gas than the largest chemical engine.
All the afternoon and all the night the
gas was poured into the hold, and all day
Sunday, too.
The result was that the fire was con-
quered, the ship saved and good part of
the cargo also-simply because a little
scientific knowledge was happily ap-
piled. The lesson of it all is that every
ship carrying combustible cargoes ought
to have an outfit for the generation of
gases to smother fires; the means of ap-
plying gases that will not support combus-
ton TO any fire that may break out in the
hold: that every head of a fire depart
ment ought TO be informed how to gener-
ate rapidly and apply such gases to all
fires where the situation will permit it to
be done; that more chemical engines
should be added to ire departments, and
that there should be some of increased
capacity, that less damage may be done
by water in case of blind fires, fires in
cellars, vaults and where the external air
can be in large part excluded from feed
ing the flames.
Another lesson is this; that it would be
well to add to the Sacramento Fire De-
partnent large chemical engine. We
have in mind now half dozen large fires
within comparatively recent times that
might have been but small fires had there
been a good chemical engine on the
ground. Just how the chemical engine
is to be procured with fire fund ade-
ouate only for the support of the present