Improved Means for the Extinction of Fires in Dwelling Houses, Factories, Warehouses, and other Buildings, and in Mines and Ships.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for the Extinction of Fires in Dwelling Houses,
Factories, Warehouses, and other Buildings, and in Mines and
Ships.
I, GEORGE BARNLEY, of the Manor House, Wigston Magna, in the County of
Leicester, Wesleyan Minister, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
I provide an apparatus consisting of a combination of pipes, which are furnished
with taps, & by means of which a fire extinguishing fluid other than water, is
conveyed into the various apartments of any building, & there discharged immediately
upon the contents of such apartment in the event of a fire breaking out in it.
I do this so as not to injure the contents of other rooms, & I effect the discharge by
the action of any person who may not be able otherwise to gain access to the scene of
the conflagration.
.
Having the fluid always ready for use, & in far larger quantity than could be
contained in any portable vessel, I either pour, or sprinkle it, on the fire through
perforations in the terminal service pipe.
I may use for the purpose either such Ammoniacal Liquor as is produced in the
manufacture of Coal Gas, or any other Chemical agent. And I store such fluid in a
reservoir in the upper part of the building, or, preferably, in some general storage
from which main pipes may be laid down. In the latter case, I introduce Standard
Hydrants from whichfordinary Fire Engines may obtain their requisite supply.
Dated this 28th day of February 1888.

page_text: I, GEORGE BARNLEY, Manor House, Wigston Magna, Leicestershire, Wesleyan
Minister, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
I prevent the spreading of fire, when it has broken out in any Building, or in a
Mine, or Ship, by dealing with it at once, and in any part of the premises in which it
may have originated, so as to extinguish it at the very outset; or so as to arrest its
further progress speedily & surely, should it have obtained a firmer hold before
its discovery. And I thus provide against the sacrifice of property & life, with
greater promptitude and certainty than heretofore. This I do, by employing a
variety of forms of mechanical arrangement, for discharging upon burning materials,
some fluid, other than water, which possesses the power of extinguishing fire. The
fluid may be either Ammoniacal Liquor, such as is produced as a so-called "Waste
product," in the manufacture of Coal Gas, or it may be any other Chemical substance,
or Chemical compound, suitable for the purpose.
One form of the apparatus consists of a central, or general, storage of the fluid, from
which main pipes are laid down along public thoroughfares, so that they may be
tapped, in the manner in which gas, & water, mains are tapped, for the supply of
separate buildings. When such provision of mains is possible, I furnish them, at
intervals, with standard hydrants, so that hose may be fitted to them, or that ordinary
fire engines may thence obtain a supply of liquid, much more effectual than water, in
dealing with a conflagration.
Having carried my supply, so as to have it brought to the inside of any building,
I connect it, first, with a chamber, which I call the "primary reservoir chamber,"
& from it, there are as many pipes conducted, as the number of floors, or stories,
to be protected. Each of these pipes is fitted with a stop cock, so as to admit, or
to check, the flow of fluid at pleasure. Every one of these pipes, on reaching the
floor it is designed to serve, is connected with a secondary reservoir chamber, similar
to the first, but that, out of it, there proceed smaller service pipes, also fitted with
stop cocks, and these are so disposed that one of them enters every room.

page_text: My tubes being so arranged that each room has its own provision, I further dispose
the said tubes so as to place them in angles formed by the junction of side walls, or by
junction of walls, & ceiling, or I carry them to a centre in the ceiling, or to various
portions of the ceiling. They are perforated through a part of their length, or are
made to terminate in perforated rose forms, and I may conceal them by placing them
behind ornainental mouldings, or bosses.
The secondary reservoir chambers I prefer to place_on landings where they are
easily accessible. And the primary reservoir chambers I may so fix as to make them
accessible from outside the building altogether, so that a duly authorized person,
furnished with a key, may be able to operate the apparatus, where a fire is discovered
in the night, and where there are no residents sleeping on the premises.
If the fluid to be employed contain ingredients which would corrode the metal
substance of the tubes, I may use a duplication of the whole tubular arrangement, to
provide for such a mingling of ingredients as would be effective so that they only
unite after their escape from their respective conduits. Or I may keep a supply of
any strong chemical substance near the points of discharge, and cause water, or any
other liquid to act upon it only when the necessity for its use may arise.
Another arrangement I use is designed to meet such cases as do not admit of a
supply of suitable extinguishing fluid from some general storage. And then
I provide a cistern, or tank, which is placed in the upper part of a building, and,
from it, a downcast supply pipe communicates with the primary Reservoir chamber.
The other tubes, taps, and provisions for discharging spray, or jets of fluid, are the
same as before described.
The Drawings on Sheet I. are made so as to shew the mode of applying this second
form of the Apparatus.
I further provide for introducing a Fire extinguishing fluid from the outside of a
building, where there is no service of pipes in the interior. To do this, I make a
moveable tank, attached to which is a force pump, and it is mounted lightly on
wheels, for convenience of transport. It may be stationed in some public place, ready
for use, on an alarm of fire being given. I keep, in close connection with this tank, a
jointed rod, or ladder, which may be strengthened by girders, and this I arm with
wheels so that it may freely traverse an outer wall in a vertical direction. Near to
these wheels I fasten a block & running sheave, which carries a cord reaching to the
ground. Having so raised the block as to place it in position, opposite to the window
of a room in which a fire has been discovered, I attach one end of the running cord to
an apparatus which I call the "Window breaker," and so lift it into position, opposite,
& near to, the window.
This Window breaker consists of a lever, to which a quick, & forcible movement
may be given by the action of a cord, or chain, communicating with the ground level.
The lever is made so as to have a passage through it. At one end of this passage
I fix on, a flexible tube, through which the fire extinguishing fluid is made to flow by
use of the force pump in the tank: And the other end of the orifice terminates in a
nozzle, so constructed as to have sufficient strength to break in the glass, or the
sashes of the windows; And having such perforations as to distribute a stream, or
spray, when it is protruded into the chamber, and the force pump is brought into
action.
In fitting a ship with this apparatus, I may place a cistern, or tank, supplied with
suitable fluid, on some part of the deck, or I may use a pump by means of which
I obtain a supply of sea water for the purpose. And I carry my perforated pipes
into all the principal parts of a vessel, especially, in the case of ships of war, or of
vessels carrying explosives,-into the parts where explosives are stored, and 1 use
a series of stop cocks, so as to deliver the fluid into places where fire has to be
subdued, whilst it is restrained from reaching other parts.
In providing for the extinction of fire in mines, I make my storage of fluid at the
ground level, or at any lower level of the workings, and I use a combination of
perforated tubes, and stop cocks, as in the case of buildings, or of ships.

page_text: The following letters & figures, refer to the Drawings which shew the nature of
the Invention, and which are deposited herewith:-
Sheet I. A cross section of a house, as fitted with the apparatus.
A. A cistern, or reservoir, placed above the ceiling of the highest rooms in the
house, for the storage of such fluid as is to be used for the extinction of fire.
B. B. B. A downcast pipe, passing through all the floors, & conducting the fluid
to its lowest level.
C. A reservoir chamber, from which the fluid ascends, through other pipes, to the
several floors, so as to be ready, there, for further distribution.
D. A series of stop cocks, by means of which the fluid is admitted to any one
floor, or to as many of the floors as may be necessary.
E. E. E. Secondary Reservoir chambers, for more detailed distribution of the
fluid.
F. F. F. Smaller tubes, inserted in the Secondary Reservoirs. These are carried,
so that each room has its own supply pipe. Stop cocks are used to control the
admission of the fluid, so that it may escape only where its effect is required.
G. G. G. Perforated pipes, from which jets of fluid may be thrown from all sides
of a room, or from its corners. These may be made in the form of, or concealed
behind, an ornamental moulding.
H. H. H. Another method of distributing the fluid, in which a perforated rose is
placed in the ceiling, & which may be concealed within an ornamental boss.
Sheet II. Shews the apparatus, as designed for injecting the Fire extinguishing
fluid from the outside of a building :-A transverse section through the front wall,
& windows, being exhibited.
A. A. A. The front wall of a house.
B. The floor of an upper room, in which a fire is supposed to have been discovered.
C. C. A jointed rod, which may be strengthened by a girder arrangement.
D. Wheels, fitted at the top end of the rod, & so made as to traverse the face of tho
wall, in a vertical direction.
E. A Lever, which is suspended from F, and which moves upon a centre. This
is called the "Window breaker."
a. A projecting end, or nozzle, in which the lever terininates, & which, at its
extremity, is perforated, so as to allow the fluid to escape into the room, when it has
been forced into its ultimate position.
,-as when forced through the window, and
b. The lever, shewn by a dotted line,-
discharging jets of fluid.
c. A flexible tube, connecting the lever with the tank, & force pump; and through
which the fluid passes to the burning material.
d. A cord, by which the lever is operated from below.
F. A block, & running sheave, with a cord passing through it, and by means of
which the lever E. is placed, & held in position.
Having now particularly described, & ascertained, the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
I. The devising of an apparatus, by which dwelling houses, and other buildings
may be supplied with a fire extinguishing fluid, other than water, and more effectual
for its purpose; and, in quantity, far exceeding the capacity of any "hand grenades,"
or other portable vessels, which need to be carried, and so placed in immediate
contact with burning material.
II. A supply, to ordinary fire engines, whether locomotive, or stationary, of a fluid,
other than water, by which they may, more speedily, and certainly, perform the work
for which they are employed.
III. A provision for protecting buildings, separately, from fire, by fitting up,
within them, a complete, & self contained apparatus, by means of which a copious

page_text: discharge of such fire extinguishing fluid may, at any moment, be brought to bear
upon any part of the interior.
IV. The ability to direct such discharge of the said fluid, upon parts of the interior
of a building, or other place, when the operator may be unable to gain personal access,
on account of intervening obstacles, such as unremovable fastenings, or heat, or
smoke.
V. The extinction of fire by such methods as have been described, while parts of
the building, & property, not actually involved in the conflagration, remain exempt
from injury by saturation, or from any chemical action of the fluid employed.
VI. The discharge, into the upper rooms of a house, of a fire extinguishing fluid of
any kind, so that persons who are altogether outside the building may deal quickly,
& effectively with the burning structure, & property within.