IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO BUILDINGS, IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE EXTINGUISHING OF ANY CONFLAGRATION WHICH MAY HAPPEN THEZEIN
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Podmore Bayliss
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th November 1861.
I, WILLIAM PODMORE BAYLISS, of The Lloyds, in the. Parish of Madeley, in
the County of Salop, Civil and Mining Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO BUILDINGS, IN ORDER
TO FACILITATE THE EXTINGUISHING OF ANY CONFLAGRATION WHICH MAY HAPPEN
THEZEIN," to be as follows:-
The nature of this Invention consists in constructing buildings with each
apartment or compartment into which the building may or should be divided,
with an aperture, or opening apertures, or openings at the upper part of the
apartment or compartment, which shall be at one extremity of a tube or
channel (or the extremities of tubes or channels), which shall open into the
nearest chimney or flue (chimneys or flues); or the tube or channel (tubes or
channels) aforesaid may, instead of being carried into the said chimney or
flue, be continued, and open-into-the- external--atmosphere. -Hence, if a con--
flagration should take place, it will only be necessary to close the apartment
or compartment, and the fire will find vent by the said channels, flues,
or pipes.

page_text: Also, for the purposes aforesaid, I provide a cistern or receptacle at the
upper part of the building, from which pipes descend, which reach from the
said cistern to the basement of the building, and may form supporting columns
or pillars to it. The tops of the said pipes, where they open to the cistern,
have proper valves, and from these pipes at every floor of the building, other
pipes or channels branch out in such manner that valves may be applied to
stop the first-mentioned pipes at the level, or nearly so, of such branching
pipes, causing the flow of water from the cistern to run into the said branching
pipes or channels, and thence through suitable apertures into the apartment
or compartment, or any two immediately adjoining, or contiguous apartments
or compartments, and this without allowing the entry of the water into any
other apartment or compartment.
The floors and
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Podmore Bayliss, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PODMORE BAYLISS, of the The Lloyds, in the Parish of Madeley, in the County
of Salop, Civil and Mining Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Podmore Bayliss, Her special licence that I, the said William
Podmore Bayliss, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Podmore Bayliss, my exccators, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time, and
at all times thereafter, during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise,-and-vend, within the United Kingdom-of-Great-
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO BUILDINGS. IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE Ex-
TINGUISHING OF ANY CONFLAGRATION WHICH MAY HAPPEN THEREIN," upon the con-
dition (amongst others), that I, the said William Podmore Bayliss, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing, under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be

page_text: performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next, and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Podmore Bayliss, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
The nature of my said Invention, as hath been in words or in effect hereto-
fore stated in my Provisional Specification, left and recorded on application
for the said Letters Patent, consists in constructing buildings, with each
apartment or compartment into which the building may be divided, with an
aperture, or opening apertures, or openings at the upper part of the apartment
or compartment, the said aperture, or opening apertures, or openings being in
(or communicating with) a tube, or channel tubes, or channels opening into
the nearest chimney or flue, or chimneys or flues; or the tube or tubes,
channel or channels aforesaid may, instead of being carried into the said
chimney or flue, be continued, and open into the external atmosphere. Hence
if a conflagration should take place, it will only be necessary to close the
apartment or compartment, and the smoke and fire will find vent by the said
channels, flues, or tubes. Also for the purposes aforesaid, I provide a cistern
or receptacle at the upper part of the building, from which pipes descend;
which reach from the said cistern to the basement of the building, and may
form supporting columns or pillars to it. The tops of the said pipes where
they open to the cistern have proper valves; and from these pipes at every floor
of the building, other pipes or channels branch out in such manner that valves
may be applied to stop the first-mentioned pipes at the level, or nearly so, of
such branching pipes, causing the flow of water from the cistern to run into
the said branching pipes or channels, and thence through suitable apertures
into the apartment or compartiment, or any two immediately adjoining or con-
tiguous apartments or compartments, and this without allowing the entry of
the water into any other apartment or compartment. The floors and roofs
should be fireproof..
Having thus far described the nature of the said Invention, I will now
describe in what manner the same is to be performed, wherein I shall refer to
the-accompanying-Drawings-by-the words, figures, and letters following.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Drawing No. 1, Figure 1, plan of valve box' or' case with slide valve
therein; Figure 2, sectional view through valve box at A, B, (that is taken

page_text: longitudinally), shewing the arrangements of the channels and pipes in con-
nection therewith; Figure 3, sectional view through valve box at C, (that.
is taken transversely), also shewing the arrangements of the channels and
pipes as aforesaid. A, upright passage through slide valve; B the solid part
of slide, which has a passage through from side to side thereof (see Figure 3);
C, top orifice of valve, there being similar orifices at each side, and at the
bottom (see Fig. 3). If the slide valve is placed in the position as shown at A,
the water will pass through the opening in each side down the side pipes, the
whole length of the hollow beam, and be scattered through the holes in the
beam across the room. If the valve is placed in the position as shewn at B,
the water will pass through the valves and pipes into the culvert underneath
the building without doing any injury to any of the rooms. If the valve is
placed in the position as shewn at C, the water will pass through the side and
bottom openings. Supposing, therefore, a building five or six stories high, and
a fire breaks out in the first and third, or fourth story, the water may be
turned along the beams or pipes into each of these rooms without going into
either of the intermediate. ones. These valves are fixed in a case of iron or
other metal, and are from the outside of the building or otherwise moved
along to the required position by means of screws, levers, or any other method
which will be most suitable to the situation in which they are placed, the
pipes are continuous from the cistern pipes or other means of supply at the
top of the building to the bottom, and empty into a channel under the floor.
If, therefore, any accident occurred from leakage or otherwise no injury
would be done in any of the rooms. I propose fixing a cistern with a valve
and seat at the top of each series of pipes, to be supplied by hydrants, engines,
or other means most convenient. It will be seen by Drawing No. 2 that
there are apertures or openings marked "fire flues," leading as. aforesaid to a
flue or chimney, and I prefer to have this flue carried above the top of the
building, and covered with an iron plate or fire brick made removeable, so that
in case of a fire taking place this covering may be removed, and the flame,
smoke, and steam caused by the water would be drawn to this flue, and
prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining room or compartments.
Drawing No. II-A is a cistern at the top of a building: B is a valve and
seat fixed on the bottom of the cistern, and this valve is raised or fastened
down by means of the handle anditscrew fixed to it; Cand C are slide valves
fixed at the top of each pillar in each floor, and connected by the rods D to a
wheel or lever to be fixed outside the building; F is a section of the beam,
the bottom flange of which is hollow and full of holes; H is a hollow pillar
leading to a culvert or drain, under. the bottom of the building, branch drains

page_text: being taken from the bottom of each pillar. If by means of the wheel or
levers all the slide valves were put in the position of the upper one C, upon
the valve B in the cistern being lifted, the water would pass through the
valves and pipes into the culvert under the building; but if a fire were to
break out in any room, say the bottom room, then by the same process place
the valve in that pillar nearest the fire in the position as shewn at C¹, and the
water would be stopped at that place and flow down the passages into the
hollow beams as shown by the arrows (see section B), and would be thrown
immediately over the fire, which, in all probability, would be stopped at once
without extending further; but if needed the water may be thrown over the
entire room. These hollow beams may be made of cast or wrought iron. In
this Drawing Fig. 1 side elevational section; Fig. 2, end elevational section.
The valves in all the pillars, in line with each other, are moved and put in
position at the same time, as the same wheel or lever moves them all, but no
water will come down until the valve in the cistern is lifted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I
claim the means of conveying water into or shutting it off from any room or
rooms, compartment or compartments at the time required by the adoption of
valves as aforesaid, with the necessary apparatus attached for working these
valves in conjunction with hollow beams, pipes, or other channels as may be
found suitable, which arrangements may be applied to buildings generally,
including ships. Such rooms or compartments to have fire flues or apertures
communicating with the nearest flues or chimneys. or opening into the
external atmosphere as aforesaid.
In witness whereof I, the said William Podmore Bayliss, have hereunto
set my hand and seal this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
THOMAS GRIFFITHS,
Timber Merchant.
Coalport.
WILLIAM PODMORE BAYLISS. (L.S.)