Anonymous

“ England deserves the credit for invention of the steam fire engine, but to America goes the distinction of having perfected it. Nowhere was the steam fire engine more widely used than in the United States, with its preponderance of highly inflammable wooden buildings. Certainly nowhere else were the caretakers of the glittering engines so zealous in exhibiting their machines’ amazing qualities at every opportunity. ”

“ Hodge’s engine never had a fair chance. For a long time not a single volunteer company in New York would undertake to man the cumbersome machine, fearing it would replace the volunteers’ beloved hand-pump engines and spoil what had become their favorite pastime—fighting fires in the rough and tumble old-fashioned way. After a little pressure, however, one fire company agreed to operate the machine, and a trial period of several months followed. Almost immediately, the firemen began grumbling about the engine’s awkwardness. They also claimed it didn’t produce enough steam. ”

“ When a horse grew too old for the demanding fire department life, his departure from the firehouse for a less arduous job, such as pulling a delivery wagon, was usually a touching occasion and a trying one, too, since it meant another long breaking-in process for his successor. It is no myth that former firehorses seldom forgot their original training. Stories are still heard of how the owners of former fire horses were dragged unwillingly to fires in their buggies and delivery wagons by horses which heard the alarm and immediately responded to their old training. ”

“ As the trend to steam fire engines grew to landslide proportions, manufacturers of the new machines mushroomed all over the eastern United States. Almost every heavy machine shop which had had any experience with steam brought out an engine. Some erstwhile manufacturers never built more than one machine; others produced hundreds. Moses Latta, the pioneer in the field, enjoyed only a few brief years with minor competition, eventually selling his business. ”

“ By now, conversion to steam was taking place throughout the United States. The steam fire engine, often called a “bulljine,” could run for hours without tiring. It made its debut in cities large and small, and firehouses began to assume some of the aspects of livery barns, since the steamers were usually too heavy to be pulled by men. Hay and oats soon came to be as much a part of fire department supplies as hose and axes, although just as firemen had opposed steamers as an insult to their strength, so they opposed at first the use of horses to pull equipment 15 to the fires. ”

“ Most of the great cities of the world at one time or another have been totally destroyed or badly damaged by fire. The number of lives lost to flames down through history will never be known, but it has been of staggering proportions. ”

“ It was during the pre-Civil War period of strife, and only forty miles southwest of Dayton, that an unknown mechanical genius named Moses Latta was perfecting the steam fire engine. Although the Cincinnatian’s 9 development would one day make the old hand pumpers as obsolete as the fire buckets which preceded them, it would still be some time yet before the full significance of his work was realized.
Intense rivalry among volunteer companies in the era of the hand pumpers frequently resulted in street fights. One battle began when two companies argued over use of a fire hydrant. ”

“ Although the steam fire engine brought great gains in fire-fighting efficiency and ended many of the evils inherent in the old volunteer system, it was not a panacea for all the fire-fighting problems of the time. In most cities, politicians recognized a good thing when they saw it, and were quick to take an interest in the newly created paid departments. ”

“ The steam fire engine on display in Carillon Park represents the third, and perhaps most colorful, phase of man’s long battle against fire. During the time of the bucket brigade, fire-fighting was carried on without the help of machinery. A great step forward occurred with development of hand-operated pumping machines in the early 18th Century. Later, the steam fire engine replaced human muscle in the operation of the pumps. The modern era of fire-fighting began with use of the internal combustion engine for both motive and pumping power. ”

“ Training fire horses to pull the heavy engines was a long and complicated task. The setting off of the fire gong, which often automatically opened the stable doors, was the signal for the horse to take his proper place without guidance under the swinging harness which hung from the rafters of the engine house. ”

“ The development of fire-fighting machines cannot be claimed exclusively by recent generations. As early as the reign of the Ptolemies in Egypt, some 200 years before the Christian era, a hand-pump fire engine was constructed which was similar to those later used in the 19th Century. This first known fire engine was described by the Greek writer Heron, who reported that the machine operated through a pump and air-chamber mechanism which forced water out of a spout by means of compressed air. ”

“ The city or town which wanted to replace its old hand-pump engines and modernize its fire-fighting facilities had a wide choice in steam fire engines. If funds were low and the needs modest, an engine could be purchased for as little as $800. One such economy engine, built by the Knowles Steam Pump Works at Warren, Massachusetts, was as plain and homely as it could be ”

“ Combination steam-gasoline fire engines bridged the gap between old-time steamers and present-day equipment. This Dayton engine depended upon an internal combustion engine for motive power, but used steam to drive its pumps.
There was one big advantage to gasoline mechanization, however, that could not be shouted down. Dependable as they were, the fire horses cost money. A few gallons of fuel, it became apparent, were much cheaper than the constant drain on the supply of hay and oats needed for the horses. ”

“ The cities and hamlets of America will not witness again the drama of plunging horses speeding to a fire with a heavy, smoke-belching engine clattering behind; the piercing alarm of the steam fire whistle has been stilled. The era to which these things belonged lives now only in memory, pictures and words.
This booklet has been prepared to help recapture for present-day readers at least a segment of that vanished world.
2 Leather Buckets and “Musheens”
Although fire is one of man’s most useful servants, it has also been one of his deadliest enemies. ”

“ Richard Newsham of London is generally credited with invention of the first successful fire engine of more recent times. One of his hand-pump machines, an early model in a long line of “musheens” (machines) , was imported by the City of New York in 1731 and was the first fire engine to be used in that city. In 1743, the first successful American hand pumper was built by Thomas Lote. For the most part, however, fire-fighting in colonial America was accomplished largely through the centuries-old “bucket brigade.” ”

“ The ancestry of the Ahrens engines can be traced all the way back to Moses Latta, who accomplished what the world’s mechanical geniuses had hitherto failed to do by devising a boiler which not only generated a lot of steam but in addition produced the steam quickly. Once this milestone had been passed, the road to widespread and successful usage of steam fire engines broadened, and progress became correspondingly rapid. ”

“ Benjamin Franklin’s broad genius was to make itself felt in the field of fire-fighting as in others. The inventor-statesman was a co-founder of the first fire-fighting company in Philadelphia, in 1736, and also co-founder of the first successful fire insurance company in the United States, in 1752. ”

“ Running at full speed over rough and often poorly lighted streets with a several-ton engine rolling behind required perfect coordination with the other horse or horses in the team. Animals were often badly injured in falls and had to be destroyed. Like race horses, fire horses had to be kept in top condition. ”

“ Early attempts in America at doing something about this constant peril consisted mainly of making the best of a bad situation, since technical knowledge was so limited that development of efficient fire-fighting machines was slow. Thus, in the first fire society, organized in 1718, members were charged with salvaging what they could when a neighbor’s house caught fire. Each man in the society carried a large bag, into which he stuffed the householder’s personal effects before they were consumed by the flames. ”

“ The earliest aerial ladders were made of wood and mounted on horse-drawn trucks, with ladders being raised or lowered by hand-operated cranks. Today’s aerial ladder truck, as shown above, embodies tremendous improvements in safety and efficiency.
The modern pumper pictured above has an output of 1,500 gallons of water per minute, more than four times the pumping capacity of the Carillon Park steam fire engine. In addition, it carries 1,600 feet of hose.
A 275-horsepower motor provides instant and dependable power. ”

“ Handicapped by an inefficient engine, men in danger of being washed would often speed up their pumping to the rate of 120 strokes a minute, a pace that could be maintained for only a few minutes even by the most rugged. 8 When thoroughly fatigued, a volunteer would drop off the pump handles and another man would rush in to take his place. ”

“ Many fire horses could actually tell by the first digit of the alarm whether the fire would be a run for their own company, and most soon came to realize that a burning building was always their destination. ”

“ The spirit of the day was “Go as you please” and “Hit a head wherever you see one.” If fists wouldn’t do the job, wrenches and axes were called upon. If they were insufficient, even firearms were sometimes employed. ”

“ Although they date back much farther, more of the hand pumpers perhaps have been preserved than their successors. In many older towns throughout the United States the old “musheens” are still operated at firemen’s festivals and other civic events similar to the old-time firemen’s musters. ”