IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREMAN'S DRESSES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Christian Wraa, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of
Surrey, Retired Lieutenant of the Imperial German Navy, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREMAN'S DRESSES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Christian Wraa at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th March 1881.
CHRISTIAN WRAA, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, Retired
Lieutenant of the Imperial German Navy. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREMAN'S
DRESSES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH FOR PROTECTING HIM AGAINST
FIRE AND SMOKE."
-
The object of this Invention is to provide the fireman with such a dress and
appliances as to enable him with ease and safety to enter any place or space where
fire is raging or which is filled with smoke; also to give facilities for entering such
place at a moment's notice and remain therein a short time unhurt, so as to, if
possible, quench the fire at its beginning or to examine minutely its source or
nature, and subsequently if required to re-enter it with a more permanent and
efficient protection against fire and smoke, and with means for extinguishing the
fire, and then to remain in it any required length of time.
I make the helmet of a steel wire framing, so as to combine lightness and
strength, and covered with waterproof material, and I rest the helmet on the
shoulders so as to give the head perfect freedom; the helmet is provided with a
reservoir, by preference on the top, containing compressed oxygen; it has a mouth-
piece fitted with valve appliance, say two ball valves, one of which opens and
admits oxygen to the mouth when the fireman draws a breath, and another ball
valve through which the vitiated air is exhaled. The reservoir may be of flexible
or other suitable material; it has an inlet for charging it. The helmet may be
provided with mica sight holes, and has in front a hollow metal disc with openings
through, and a disc valve with corresponding openings, and capable of being turned
more or less open; the disc is hinged so that it can be let down; water from the
water supply hose, presently to be described, passes through the hinge into the
.

page_text: hollow metal disc, and thus keeps it and the face and head cool. The water passes
from the hollow hinge by a tube to the top of the helmet, where it enters a snob
or valve piece in connection with passages on the outside of the waterproof helmet
covering, which is in one with the also waterproof dress; both have an outer
covering made of moleskin or other strong but porous material or fabric; the
aforesaid passages extend down the shoulders, arms, back and front; the passages
are made of a similar material as the exterior porous covering, and the water will
thus exude from their whole surface and percolate through the outer covering
keeping it wet. The aforesaid snob or valve piece on the helmet may be provided
with a jet ring or piece which enables me to project a series of jets like a shower
bath over the helmet and dress. The latter is made to fasten behind and may be
in the form of a long overcoat. The left sleeve terminates in a glove, but the right
sleeve terminates at the wrist where it has an elastic wristband; the glove for
the right hand I attach to the dress so that the hand can be put in it as required,
or left bare if need be for an instant to enable the fireman to turn a key or perform
any other operation which he could not conveniently do with a thick glove on.
With the dress ordinary fireman's top boots or bluchers may be used, or in case
he has to pass through burning oil or such like I provide hose of same material as
the dress, and reaching about to the knee, and having strong cork and felt soles
protected by wire netting.
In order to enable the fireman to enter the fire or smoke for a few minutes only,
as above first described, he puts on the dress and helmet which must then be
thoroughly drenched with water first, which may be done in any suitable manner,
say, by the so called fireman's pump.
But in order that the dress may be wetted more readily, and especially so that it
may resist the influence of the fire in a far higher degree than if wetted with
ordinary water, I prefer to wet the dress by means of chemically prepared water
contained in a closed vessel ready for use, and arranged for immediate connection
with the water supply pipe to the helmet. The pail may have a capacity of, say,
five gallons, and contains a pump which should be placed in a slanting direction
for the readier use of it, and fastened to the bottom and to the cover of the pail ;
it terminates above in a globular air vessel, having a lateral delivery hose con-
nection and a stuffing box for the hollow plunger. To arrange this pail pump ready
for the above named purpose I unscrew the stuffing box, pull out the pump plunger
therewith, place the plunger in a step and staple on one side of the pail, and close
the stuffing box aperture and the bottom aperture in the air vessel by means of a
packed valve or stopper, which closes the first named aperture gas tight, and which
can be screwed up so as to open the last named aperture, thus connecting the
interior of the pail with the lateral hose connection. I charge the pail with water
through a gas tight lid in the cover, and put about two pounds of bicarbonate of
soda and about one pound of sulphuric acid (about 66° strength) into it; the lid
is then closed, the connection made with the hose to the helmet, and the aforesaid
stopper screwed back a little; the water impregnated with the chemicals will now
acquire gas pressure and ascend to the helmet, whence it will be distributed through
the outside of the dress and wet it thoroughly. When the pail has been thus used
it may be charged with water alone, and when the plunger has again been inserted
it can be used as an ordinary pail pump, where it may often be of great use to the
fireman at the first outbreak of a fire.
When the dress has been thus wetted the fireman can enter the fire and examine
the nature and source of the fire, so as to ascertain where the hose should be used
and directed; while in the fire or smoke he supplies himself with oxygen by taking
the aforesaid mouth piece in his mouth and inhaling from the reservoir in the
helmet. Meanwhile the hose and water supply are got ready, and he can then
enter the fire a second time for a longer time equipped as follows:-
The hose with. which he is to operate consists of an inner hose, which is supplied
with air from an air supply pump worked separately or in connection with the fire
engine, and an outer annular hose, say; of canvas or similar material, so as to keep wet

page_text: outside. This compound hose terminates in the jet pipe which the fireman carries
in his hand, and which has a branch with bayonet joint to connect with the water
supply pipe to the helmet face valve piece already described.
The important feature in this part of my Invention is that the hose attachments
are in part of the dress, so that the fireman has it in his power to connect and
disconnect as he requires.
Between the jet outlet and the branch there is a throttle or other valve which I
call the adjuster, and whereby the fireman is enabled to direct more or less or the
whole of the water to the helmet; by means of the jet he can not only extinguish
the fire, but also as occasion might require direct the water against himself while
examining the locality. In case the air supply at this or any time should fail he
has the helmet reservoir to fall back upon.
Supposing he has not been able to quench the fire or to remove objects to be
saved, he will now in the course of, say, 5 or 10 minutes retire out of the fire and
smoke, and should now disconnect the jet pipe and connection with the water pipe
to the helmet, and provide the air and water hose with another fitting consisting
of a kind of T piece with a branch with bayonet joint to connect with the water
pipe to the helmet, and with a water surrounded bayonet joint connection to the
pipe which supplies air to the interior of the dress, and passing up to the helmet
where it is partly inhaled and partly expelled along with the exhaled air through
the openings in the helmet face valve or the opening for that valve, thus driving
the smoke away from the immediate neighbourhood of the face. All the water
(supplied by a fire engine or hydrant) will thus be used to cool the air and to wet
and cool the helmet and dress, and the fireman thus equipped will be able to
remain in the fire and smoke as long as it may be desired. Being perfectly and
permanently protected against the fire and smoke, he is able to move about freely,
and may carry an ordinary fire engine hose with jet pipe with him, so as to direct
the water in the most advantageous manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Christian Wraa in the Great Seal. Patent Office on the
16th September 1881.
.
CHRISTIAN WRAA, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, Retired
Lieutenant of the Imperial German Navy. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREMAN'S.
DRESSES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH FOR PROTECTING HIM AGAINST ·
FIRE AND SMOKE."
The object of this Invention is to provide the fireman with such a dress and
appliances as to enable him with ease and safety to enter any place or space where
fire is raging, or which is filled with smoke; also to give facilities for entering such
place at a moment's notice and remain therein a short time unhurt, so as to, if
possible, quench the fire at its beginning or to examine minutely its source or
nature, and subsequently if required to re-enter it with a more permanent and
efficient protection against fire and smoke, and with means for extinguishing the
fire and then to remain in it any required length of time.
Figure 1 is a vertical section through the helmet; Figure 2 is a half size horizontal
section of the hinged front part of same covering the face; and Figure 3 a face view.
of that part.
Figure 4 represents a fireman with helmet open and otherwise equipped
according to this Invention, and Figure 5 a similar view with front of helmet.
and of upper part of his dress removed, so as to show the means of air supplied to
the mouth.
I make the helmet A of a steel wire framing a, so as to combine lightness and
strength, and covered with waterproof material a¹, and I rest the helmet on the
shoulders, so as to give the head perfect freedom; the helmet may be provided with
a reservoir, by preference on the top, containing compressed oxygen; or I arrange
such reservoir as a tubular belt B round the man's body under his outer dress and
connect thereto a mouth piece b fitted with valve appliance, say, two ball valves,
one of which opens and admits oxygen, or it may be air, from the reservoir B to
the mouth, when the fireman draws a breath and another ball valve through
which the vitiated air is exhaled. The reservoir B may be of flexible
material, such as thick rubber, or of other suitable material, such as thin
sheet copper; it has an inlet for charging it. The helmet A may be provided
with sight holes c, which are arranged in a hollow metal front disc C, with
openings c¹ through, and a disc valve c² with corresponding openings and capable
of being turned more or less open; the disc C is hinged, as here shown, at one
side, so that it can be opened, or it may at bottom to let down water from the
water supply hose D, presently to be described, passes through the hinge c** into
the interior of the hollow metal disc C, and thus keeps it and the face and head
cool. The water passes from the hollow hinge c²x by a tube to the top of the
helmet, where it enters a knob or valve piece d in connection with passages e¹,
Fig. 5, on the outside of the waterproof helmet covering a¹, which is in one with
the also waterproof dress; both have an outer covering E made of mole skin or
other strong but porous material or fabric; the aforesaid passages e extend down
the shoulders, arms, back and front; the passages are made of a similar material
as the exterior porous covering, and the water will thus exude from their whole
surface and percolate through the outer covering, keeping it wet. The aforesaid
knob or valve piece d on the helmet may be provided with a jet ring & or piece,
which enables me to project a series of jets like a shower bath over the helmet
and dress. The latter is made to fasten behind and may be in the form of a short
or long overcoat with or without trousers of the same material. The left sleeve

page_text: terminates in a glove F, but the right sleeve terminates at the wrist, where it has
an elastic wristband f; the glove F¹ for the right hand I attach to the dress, so
that the hand can be put in it as required or left bare if need be for an instant to
enable the fireman to turn a key or perform any other operation which he could
not conveniently do with a thick glove on.
With the dress ordinary fireman's top boots or bluchers may be used, or in case
he has to pass through burning oil or such like I provide hose of same material as
the dress and reaching about to the knee and having strong cork and felt soles
protected by wire netting.
In order to enable the fireman to enter the fire or smoke for a few minutes only,
as above first described, he puts on the dress and helmet, which must then be
thoroughly drenched with water first, which may be done in any suitable manner,
say, by the so-called fireman's pail pump.
But in order that the dress may be wetted more readily, and especially so that it
may resist the influence of the fire in a far higher degree than if wetted with
ordinary water, I prefer to wet the dress by means of chemically prepared water
contained in a closed vessel ready for use and arranged for immediate connection
with the water supply pipe to the helmet. Figure 6 is a vertical section of such a
pump, and Figure 7 an outside elevation of same. The pail G may have a capacity
of, say, five gallons, and contain a pump H which should be placed in a slanting
direction for the readier use of it, and fastened to the bottom and to the cover g of
the pail; it terminates above in a globular air vessel h, having a lateral delivery
hose connection h¹, and a stuffing box h³ for the hollow plunger. To arrange this
pail pump ready for the above named purpose, I first by means of the hinged
claw i fasten the plunger h³, so that it cannot be forced out by the gas pressure in
the pail, I also close the outlet cock j. I charge the pail with water through a gas
tight lid g¹ in the cover g, and put about two pounds of bicarbonate of soda and
about one pound of sulphuric acid (about 66° strength into it), the lid g' is then
closed. When the pail pump is to be used as an exstincteur, the connection is
made with the hose h¹ to the helmet by opening the cock j, and the stopper or
rod k screwed down a little, thus breaking the vitriol bottle and mixing with the
water, and the bicarbonate of soda cause gas to be developed; the water
impregnated with the gas will now acquire pressure and ascend to the helmet,
whence it will be destributed through the outside of the dress and wetted
thoroughly. When the pail has been thus used it may be charged with water
alone, and when the stopper / has again been removed it can be used as an
ordinary pail pump where it may often be of great use to the fireman at the first
outbreak of a fire.
When the dress has been thus wetted the fireman can enter the fire and examine
the nature and source of the fire, so as to ascertain where the hose should be used,
and direct it; while in the fire or smoke he supplies himself with oxygen by
taking the aforesaid mouth piece b in his mouth and inhaling from the bell
reservoir B, or from a reservoir in the helmet (when the smoke is not very dense I
may connect the mouth piece b with a smoke filter placed inside the helmet and to
breath therethrough instead of from the reservoir B); meanwhile the hose and
water supply are got ready, and he can then enter the fire a second time for a
longer time, equipped as follows, viz., provided with a water supply and air supply
hose of the following construction:-
Figure 8 is a part section through the jet pipe which is connected to the hose
with which he is to operate; the hose consists of an inner hose m which is supplied
with air from an air supply pump worked separately or in connection with the
fire engine, and an outer annular hose M, say, of canvas or similar material, so as
to keep wet outside.
This compound hose M, m, terminates in the jet pipe N which the fireman
carries in his hand and which has a branch D¹ with bayonet joint to connect with
the water supply pipe D to the helmet face valve piece, already described.
The important feature in this part of my Invention is that the hose attachments

page_text: are in front of the dress, so that the fireman has it in his power to connect and
disconnect as he requires.
Between the jet outlet n and the branch D', there is a throttle or other valve n¹
which I call the adjuster, and whereby the fireman by means of the handle n³ on
the valve spindle is enabled to direct more or less or the whole of the water to the
helmet; by means of the jet he can not only extinguish the fire, but also as
occasion might require direct the water against himself while examining the locality.
In case the air supply at this or any time should fail ho has the belt reservoir B, or
it may be a helmet reservoir to fall back upon.
All the water (supplied by a fire engine or hydrant) will thus be used to cool
the air and to wet and cool the helmet and dress, and the fireman thus equipped
will be able to remain in the fire and smoke so long as it may be desired.
Being perfectly and permanently protected against the fire and smoke, he is
able to move about freely, and may carry an ordinary fire engine hose with jet
pipe with him so as to direct the water in the most advantageous manner.
I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to construct a fireman's dress
for enabling the fireman to enter fire and smoke, the hose for supplying air and
water to the dress and for the fireman's use being connected to the back of the
dress so that the fireman had always to drag it after him, the construction being
also in other respects faulty and not very useful, but I claim,-
Firstly. A fireman's dress having an outer part which is kept wet from within
and from without, and having an inner waterproof part, so as to form an inter-
mediate reservoir for air supplied by a pump, as set forth.
Secondly. A fireman's dress constructed as firstly claimed, and having the hose
attachment in front, so as to be when required instantly connected and disconnected,
as set forth.
Thirdly. A fireman's dress having an outer part which is soaked in water and an
inner waterproof part, and provided with a reservoir for compressed oxygen or air,
or with a smoke filter which will enable the fireman to enter and remain a
short time in fire and smoke without the water and air supply hose, as set
forth.
Fourthly. The construction of jet pipe and fittings connected therewith, as set
forth.
Fifthly. The adaptation of the pail pump, herein described, so as to be used as an
extincteur, as set forth.
Sixthly. A helmet resting on the shoulders and having a hinged hollow disc
with sight holes and air holes and hollow hinges for water circulation, all arranged
substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christian Wraa, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight bundred and eighty-one.
ATTAMY
CHRIST
STIAN WRAA. (N.).