IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Ambrose McEvoy at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd January 1875.
I, CHARLES AMBROSE MCEVOY, of 4, Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE," to be as follows:-
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At the present time apparatus for extinguishing fire of the kind
known as fire annihilators, is formed of a strong close vessel nearly
filled with water in which is contained carbonate of soda or such like
material. At the upper part of the vessel is supported a bottle
containing acid.
When the apparatus is required for use the bottle within the upper
part of the vessel is broken by striking inwards a small plunger which
rises up through the cap by which the top of the vessel is closed;
carbonic acid is thereby generated and the contents of the vessel put
under pressure. The lower part of the vessel is fitted with a small tap

page_text: and hose, by which the water may be drawn off and thrown violently on
to the fire wherever desired.
The object of my Invention is to improve the construction of such
apparatus, and to form it in such manner that the materials used for
generating the pressure within the vessel shall not mix with the water
contained in it, whereby much damage to the contents of a room or
building will be avoided whenever it is requisite to use the apparatus
for extinguishing a fire. For this purpose the upper part of the vessel is
formed with a long neck having a screw thread cut around it for a
corresponding screw cap to screw on to. A tube closed at the bottom is
let down into the vessel through the neck, and there is a flange around
the top of the tube to rest on its mouth. At the bottom of the tube is
placed the carbonate of soda or other material used, and in the upper
part of the tube is placed the bottle which contains the acid. The bottle
rests on a stand the height of which can be adjusted by a screw or
otherwise.
When the apparatus is charged the screw cap is only partially screwed
on to the neck, and whenever it is required to be used the screw cap is
screwed down hard until it bears upon a collar at the bottom of the neck
and hermetically closes the vessel. At the same time as the cap is thus
screwed down, it presses against the stopper or upper part of the bottle
or vessel containing the acid, and presses the bottle against the stand
upon which it is supported, whereby the bottle is broken and the acid
allowed to fall on to the material at the bottom of the tube; carbonio
acid is thereby generated and escapes into the vessel through openings
in the upper part of the tube.
The sides of the tube or the bottle may be fluted vertically to afford a
free passage for the gas. The water contained in the vessel being by
this means put under pressure may be used for extinguishing fire
without the materials used for generating the pressure becoming mixed
with it.
When it is required to recharge the apparatus the cap is unscrewed,
so as to be able to remove the tube containing the broken bottle, and the
vessel is again filled with water, and when the tube has been emptied
and replaced into the vessel and again recharged, the screw cap is again
partially screwed on to the neck of the vessel, the apparatus will then be
again ready for use whenever required,

page_text: The placing of the bottle containing the acid within a tube which can
readily be removed, and which shall retain the several pieces of the
bottle whenever it may be broken, is also advantageous in cases where
the carbonate of soda or other material is contained in the water with
which the apparatus is charged. In this case perforations must be made
in the bottom of the tube for the acid to pass into the vessel.