IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Julius Hall at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents on the 31st May 1876.
JULIUS HALL, of No. 90, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE EXTINGUISHERS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in fire extinguishers, such im-
provements being particularly applicable to the extinction of fire on board ships, at
the same time that they are equally well adapted for use in theatres, warehouses,
stores, and other similar buildings, and also to private dwellings.
I proceed as follows:-I place around cach tier or floor of the ship or building, so
as to completely encircle it, and in any convenient position between the beanis or
rafters, a belt of metal piping, such piping being of a sufficient diameter to ensure an
abundant supply of either water, or chemical liquids, or gases when needed, and I
connect such belts together by vertical pipes so placed in the sides of the ship or
building as at all times to be easily accessible. I provide these vertical side pipes
with proper junctions, so that when required a pump may be connected thereto to
pump in either water, chemical liquids, or gases, and when not in use I cover such
junctions with screw caps.
In applying my Invention to ships I also provide the belt of piping on the top-
most tier of the vessel with similar junctions, it being very desirable in the case of
a fire occurring on board ship to close all the hatches and other openings to exclude
draught, and pump either water, chemical liquids, or gases on the flames from the
deck; but in applying my Invention to buildings I reverse such arrangement, and
provide the pipes encircling the ground floor with a junction which is placed on the
exterior or interior of the building near any one of the doors and encased in an
iron box so as to keep it in working order. Around or across the ceiling of ench
cabin or compartment of the ship or building I place a cornice of piping, the lower
part of which cornice I perforate with two or more rows of holes to allow of the water
or other liquid or gases when turned on being distributed in the form of spray or
rain, this being the most effective node of extinguishing fire; but if preferred slits
may be formed in such pipes instead of such perforations, in which case the water
or chemical liquids will fall down in sheets, or in the case of gases will issue forth
in a body. Such cornices or pipes are connected to the main belts of piping by taps,
and in the case of a ship all the handles of such taps are accessible from the deck;
but when applied to buildings they are all placed on the ground floor within easy
reach. Such taps are so arranged that when the water or other liquid or gas is
[Price 2d1

page_text: turned on in any one of such cabins or rooms the others may remain perfectly dry.
Or if necessary any of such taps may be partially turned on in any of the cabins or
roons other than those were the fire is immediately located and thereby prevent
all risk of the flames spreading by rendering them and their contents damp and
uninflammable. Having so applied this system of pipes and connections throughout
the various compartments of the ship or building I take care, in the case of a ship
when such pipes are placed in the lower compartments in order that the tap
communicating with such pipes may still be on deck and therefore readily accessible,
to have a connecting rod between such pipes and the tap itself of a suitable length,
and in such cases if necessary 1 turn on such taps by means of a lever key in the
same manner as the ordinary water mains are turned on. To supply such pipes
with water or other liquid or gas, when iny Invention is applied to a ship, I place
an hydraulic or other suitable pump in any convenient position in the ship (pre-
ferably on deck), and connect it to any of the before-mentioned junctions. Such
pump is furnished with a suitable inlet pipe to permit of the water or other liquid
or gas rushing in and being conveyed to the pipes before described. Where it is a
steam ship the steam may be diverted to work it by any of the ordinary and well
known methods. In the event of any fire occurring it is only necessary to shut up
all hatches and openings as far as practicable so as to exclude the draught, connect
the pump to any one of the junctions before-mentioned, pump in the water, or chemical
liquid, or gases, and turn on the tap communicating with the pipes across a cornice
fixed along the ceiling of the cabin or room wherein the fire is located, when a
plentiful supply of water, chemical liquid, or gas is at once secured and the fire
casily extinguished.
In applying my Invention to warehouses and other buildings on land it is
desirable that a connection with the water main be provided, so that a sufficient
supply of water may be at command whenever required. To connect the water in
main I use the ordinary fire engine in the usual manner, fixing the end of the fire
engine hose to the before-mentioned junction, conveniently placed on the exterior
or interior of the building, and so force the water through the junction pipe into the
various warerooms or compartments.
In applying my Invention to such buildings as churches, theatres, warehouses,
and elsewhere, the belt of supply pipe around each tier or floor, as previously
described, may be dispensed with by fixing a perforated cornice of piping around
each room or floor, and connecting each such perforated cornice to a vertical supply
pipe placed in any convenient position to ensure a sufficient supply of water.
Leather, india-rubber, or any other suitable material may, if desired, be used for the
piping instead of metal.
Another method of applying my Invention is as follows:-In place of the ordinary
hose, hitherto attached to the engine for the purpose of conducting the water, I fix
any suitable lengths of piping fitting into each other in a similar manner to the
joints of a fishing rod. To the topmost length of piping I connect a horizontal arm
of piping perforated around its entire diameter with holes or slots, as before-described.
The vertical piping is made to move to and fro by means of a ball-and-socket joint
furnished with a suitable handle and placed in any convenient position at the base
of the pipe. To work this arrangement it is only necessary to force the perforated
horizontal arm into the window of the room where the fire is burning, when by
working the ball-and-socket joint by means of the handle before described the
vertical pipe, and also the perforated horizontal arm attached thereto, are caused
to work to and fro, thus effectually distributing the water over the entire area of
the burning room.