IMPROVED HYDROSTATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHING Apparatus
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Neill at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
July 1874.
I, WILLIAM NEILL, of Eccleston Street, Pimlico, in the County of
Middlesex, Dealer in Works of Art, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVED HYDROSTATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHING Apparatus,'
to be as follows :—
99.
My Invention consists in means of extinguishing fires in whatever
part of dwelling-houses, warehouses, banks, theatres, or other buildings
the fire may originate, by means of water led from cisterns (or street
mains where continuous service is supplied at high pressure) to the
exact spot, apartment, or compartment where the fire originates, by
means of valves and of perforated pipes placed in the ceilings, walls, or
floors of such buildings in such wise that on a valvo being opened by
the aid of a wire, pulley, or other means, the pipe communicating with
and proceeding from such valvo becomes charged with a great pressure
of water, which is discharged with great force (as in a shower) over the
whole area of the apartment, compartment, or locality where the fire

page_text: originates. Take for example a cistern situated at the top of a house
and furnished with an adequate supply of water by means of the high
service hydraulic force pump, or even by hand. This cistern once filled
remains charged for a very long period, the water not being brought
into use except for extinguishing fire. From this cistern a main pipe 5
(the same may serve to charge the cistern and bo then shut off) passes
downwards to the street. At various parts or places in this pipe (which
is not perforated) junctions are made with valves, tho said valves being
acted upon by a wire and crank precisely as a house bell is worked.
Perforated pipes are led from these junctions to every room, place, or 1
compartment of the house. These pipes are perforated with numerous
holes, in fact as many as they will conveniently and safely admit of; they
are always, except in case of fire, quite empty, and may be concealed
under openwork cornices of rooms, be laid along or above the ceilings
(the concealed parts of such pipes being solid and not perforated), and 1
may be curled round above room in openwork centres (such worm or
curled part being furnished with as many holes as possible), or be let
into the walls, and have perforated rosettes behind the paper hanging.
Alarm of fire being given, and locality ascertained, the wire
communicating with the proper valvo is pulled, the valve opens, the 2
pipes become charged, and the room or compartment is at once deluged
in showers of water from the perforated pipes.
It will be observed that when a valve is opened the rush of water only
takes place into the pipes connected with the junction of said valve with
the main pipe, so that only the room or compartment provided with the 2
perforated pipes connected with this valve is inundated.
Gutter pipes may be inserted under the skirting boards or elsewhere
to carry off the water to the drains.
The wires communicating with all the valves may be led towards a
common centre, say a box with two compartments, one of which faces 3
the street, the other the inside of the premises.
On opening the door of compartment next the street the wires will be
seen, cach furnished with a ring hanging over the designations of the
rooms the names of which are painted on the dividing plate. Under
these rings and at the required distance below (that is, the full pull 3
required to open the valves) are pins, on which, when a valve is opened

page_text: to allow the water to rush from the cistern to the perforated pipes, the
ring or rings are placed, thus causing the to valve to remain open as long
as required, the release of the ring from the pin causing the valve to
close firmly. The same arrangement may be made at the ground floor
(or elsewhere) inside the premises; or the box may serve both for inside
and outside. Keys for the outer compartment may be lodged with the
police and at the fire stations.
It is obvious that the arrangement of cistern, main supply pipe valves,
and perforated pipes may and must vary to suit different buildings, the
object thereof being always the same, namely, to place each room and
every part of a building in connection with a water supply in such a
manner that upon the discovery of a fire in any room or part of building
a shower of water may be projected into that particular room, or that
part only from any convenient position previously selected within or
without the building.