Firebox

“ Hilliard nodded and Mr. Coburn went on:
“On the other hand, we are doing better in what I may call ‘sideshows.’ We’re getting quite a good price for our fire-wood, and selling more and more of it. Three large firms in Bordeaux have put in wood-burning fireboxes and nothing else, and two others are thinking of following suit. Then I am considering two developments; in fact, I have decided on the first. We are going to put in an air compressor in our engine-room, and use pneumatic tools in the forest for felling and lopping. I estimate that will save us six men. ”

“ In thus removing the drivers from the proximity of the fire-box, abundant facility is afforded for widening the fire-box, so as to obtain a grate area as large as that of the Wootten engine or of a stationary boiler. It seems to me the increase of grate area can be obtained only by widening; for a length of more than six or seven feet is very hard upon the fireman. You certainly cannot get more power by deepening present fire-boxes, except by an enormously increased waste of fuel, which all will concede is already sufficiently extravagant. ”

“ The interior portion of fire-box is of fire-brick, and can readily be removed from the front without disturbing any other portion of the grate. The back leans forward, deflecting the radiant heat into the room, and contracts the throat of the flue so as to quicken the draught directly the fire is lighted, which flue then expands and is again contracted at the top by means of the damper. Less than half the quantity of fuel is required to warm any given space, and more than double the quantity of heat is given off than from an ordinary grate with the usual supply of fuel. ”

“ The danger consists in the draught which comes through to feed the fire; but the risk can be lessened by using very thick glass, in small squares, and taking care that no broken panes are allowed to remain in the windows. If anyone takes the trouble to notice such a thing, he will scarcely find a warehouse without some broken squares, which will admit air enough to fan a fire to the temperature of a blast-furnace in a very short time.
Iron sashes should be used; and iron shutters may be also used to cover the windows, capable of being opened easily on the outside by firemen if required. ”

“ Every fire-place should have a hearth of bricks or tiles at least two feet wide, and the fire should be protected by a wire screen. If there are young children in the household, there should also be a fender to keep them at a safe distance from the flames. Some kinds of light wood, especially chestnut and hemlock, will snap and produce many sparks. These sparks fly out in all directions unless the fire is covered with a wire screen. Do not build a roaring fire in the fire-place, as it may carry sparks to the roof. ”

“ A building, let us say, in which workmen, with sleeves rolled up, are busily engaged in shovelling heaps of gunpowder. How many know that a firework factory consists of dozens of small buildings, the construction of which is exactly defined by law, separated by spaces also specified by law; that workmen may not roll up their sleeves in the danger buildings; or that the amount of gunpowder in each building is strictly limited to a small quantity? All of these restrictions being enforced with the view, of course, of limiting the effects of any explosion that may occur. ”

“ We want a different sort of a fire in these days—one that will burn with a steady, constant blaze or glow, conserving most of its heat, which the back and sides of the fire chamber will reflect out into the room.
Such a fireplace will not necessarily be a large one. It is amusing to hear how [9] universally the demand goes up for large fireplaces—“great big fellows that will burn full cord wood.” It is hard to see just why this is. It may be based on the assumption that if a small fireplace is desirable a large one is more so. ”

“ The fire must have air, and as cracks exist around windows and doors the air enters through them. The volume entering is equal to that passing up the chimney. This air comes from outside at a low temperature. Figure 18 illustrates how a fireplace fire supplies its needs. When it grows colder outside a bigger fire is made. The bigger the blaze the greater the quantity of outside air drawn into the room through every crack and crevice until, when the outside temperature gets below the freezing point, there is no comfort in the room beyond the immediate vicinity of the fire.
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“ Whatever system of construction is adopted, there are three things not yet mentioned of high importance to the fireproof quality of the building; namely, the communication between the various floors, the style of window, and the construction of the roof. With regard to the first of these, there is little doubt that the ordinary staircase and the open lift are important aids to the spread of fire; by them the various floors of a warehouse are, when combustion begins, converted into so many furnaces with a connecting flue, and the extension of fire is accelerated by the draught rushing upwards. ”

“ The fire-alarm boxes are large, ornate-looking affairs, placed on the corners of the principal boulevards and streets and in the public squares, 153 and directions on the outside of these boxes inform you that, in addition to breaking the glass door (which automatically transmits the number of the box to the nearest fire station) , you must also use the telephone inside and give a description of the fire, its character, size, and location (street number if possible) ; and it is necessary to go through all this proceeding before the sending of an alarm is considered complete. ”

“ This is drawn to show that when a fire is kindled on the hearth the warm air current, which is generated immediately, begins to rise through the throat (the opening between the fire chamber and the smoke chamber) and at once induces a down-draft of cold air. If the back of the fireplace were on the same continuous plane with the rear side of the chimney flue, this downward current of cold air would strike directly upon the fire itself and force smoke out into the room. The smoke shelf is built just where it will prevent this action. ”

“ No regulations for fireproof building can be complete without most stringent rules for using the best fire resisting doors, for what the door of a boiler-furnace is to the fire within, the door of a room is to combustion going on inside: it will, if insecure, allow air in to feed the flames so long as there is fuel to burn. ”

“ Everything is redolent of coaching days, for the cheery glow of the fire shows a spotlessly clean floor, old high-backed settles, a gun hooked to one of the beams overhead, quaint chairs, and oak stools, and a fox's mask and brush. A gamekeeper is warming himself at the fire, for the evening is chilly, and the firelight falls on his box-cloth gaiters and heavy boots as we begin to talk of the loneliness and the dangers of the moors, and of the snow-storms in winter, that almost bury the low cottages and blot out all but the boldest landmarks. ”

“ It is many years since I had occasion to work with Bickford’s fuse, so I forget its rapidity of burning. It does not signify; when you have got your fuse you can try an experiment with any convenient length, timing the rapidity of burning by a watch.
Quickmatch consists of a paper tube with a rapidly inflammable wick running through it, the intention being that flame applied to one end of the match shall flash to the other, and instantaneously. The actual fireworks I recommend you to get are some blue-lights, some Roman candles, a few Catherine wheels, crackers, and maroons. ”

“ Some engineers will charge one side of the fire box lightly and then the other, this being done so as to keep up the temperature in the fire box. Others will fire first the front and then the back of the box, which answers the same purpose, but in no case should the charge be heavy.
A fireman may become so accustomed to the road and his engine, that under some conditions he may fire when he reaches certain points on the road, regulating it like clockwork. ”

“ Fasten many gay-colored streamers of tissue-paper on one end, making them fully a yard in length. When all is ready, place the stick with streamers uppermost in the tube, draw back the rubber band with the stick (Fig. 310) , and fire (Fig. 311) . The sky-rocket goes swiftly through the air, carrying a stream of paper fire in its wake. As with the real fireworks you must be careful not to aim any of these in a direction where they will strike anyone. ”

“ Mats, screen-partitions, and even the board ceilings can be quickly packed up and carried away. The roof is rapidly denuded of its tiles and boards, and the skeleton framework left makes but slow fuel for the flames. The efforts of the firemen in checking the progress of a conflagration consist mainly in tearing down these adjustable structures; and in this connection it may be interesting to record the curious fact that oftentimes at a fire the streams are turned, not upon the flames, but upon the men engaged in tearing down the building! ”

“ The interior of each compartment is so constructed that it will not be damaged by the combustion of its contents. It is assumed that it will be subjected to intense and continued heat; and the same precautions are taken to secure the stability of the structure and protect it from injury as would [138] be adopted in building a furnace or in setting a boiler. Each compartment is lined with fire-brick, which is here and there attached to the walls to keep it in position, but not sufficiently to communicate the heat it may receive. ”

“ Another pyrotechnic invention responsible for the saving of many lives is the Hale’s Light apparatus. This apparatus is fitted to a lifebuoy, which is arranged for launching from a vessel’s bridge; the act of launching ignites a flare, enabling the person in the water to see the buoy and the rescuing boat to pick them up.
The practical use to which fireworks have been put on land are many. Probably that which comes most readily to the mind is the sound signal or alarm. Many fire brigades whose members are volunteers and therefore scattered use aerial maroons to warn and call them for duty. ”

“ Shut all doors and windows immediately; every effort must be made to exclude air. By this means fire may be confined to a single room for a sufficient period to enable all the inmates to be aroused and escape; but if the doors and windows are thrown open, the draught will instantly cause the flames to increase. Moments are precious at the commencement of a fire, and not a second should be lost in tackling it. In a room a table-cloth can be so used as to smother a large sheet of flame, and a cushion, coat, or anything similar may be successfully used to beat it out. ”

“ The effect produced is the opposite of that with which we are familiar in a railway carriage, for the change is one from darkness to light rather than from light to darkness. The front of the fire-box, foot-plate, and the tender, which had been rather hazily perceived in the whirl of surrounding objects, now strike sharply on the eye, lit up by the blaze from the fire, while overhead we see a glorious canopy of ruddy-glowing steam. The speed is great, and the flames in the fire-box boil up and form eddies like water at the doors of an opening lock. ”

“ In many of the first-class houses recently erected, ‘fire-place shutters’ are provided, which, when partly drawn down, act as powerful bellows or ‘blowers’ and which, when wholly drawn down, so as to touch the hearth-stone, entirely close up the fireplace, and instantly extinguish the combustion of the fuel in the grate, or that of the soot in the chimney. ”

“ If you can send some one else to ring the alarm, telephone to the nearest fire station. The number of this station should always hang in a conspicuous place near your telephone. If there is no fire alarm system, and you have no telephone, shout "Fire!" and arouse the neighbors.
If you leave the house to summon help, be sure to close the door. Fresh air will make the flames burn faster, and spread more rapidly. If the fire is in one room, try to keep it there by closing the doors and windows. If it is in a closet, shut the door until you can get help. ”

“ A man was fixing the curved stick which forms the pivot upon which a tourbillion rotates to one of those fireworks. The wire nail used for the purpose penetrated the composition and fired it. The remaining goods in the shed were ignited, and communicated to the neighbouring buildings, one of which was a magazine containing 3,000 lbs. of partially manufactured fireworks, including a number of rockets. These being without sticks and becoming ignited flew in all directions, setting fire to other buildings. ”

“ Immediately in front of the screen which divides the nave from the choir, the engine already alluded to was playing directly upon the fire, but with little effect, owing to the magnitude of the space over which the flames had spread themselves. From the screen to the altar the vast area had the appearance of an ignited furnace; and the men who were employed in working the engines, and in various other ways endeavouring to stop the progress of the flames, resembled beings of another world rather than inhabitants of this material globe. ”

“ Great Firework Display near Stockholm, July, 1669. To celebrate the Investiture of Charles XI, King of Sweden, with the Order of the Garter by King Charles II.
“After this was heard another ratling sound of Cannons, almost covering the ayre with fire and smoke, and forthwith appeared, out of a hill of earth made upon the water, a very strange fire, flaming upright like unto a blazing starre. After which flew forth a number of rockets so high in the ayre, that we could not chose but approve by all reasons that Arte hath exceeded Nature, so artificially were they performed. ”