NEW FIRE-EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

Evening Star, Issue 4287, 22 November 1876, Page 4

NEW FIRE-EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

The %ft r a#d' splendid building btlonging to the sNew York Tribune* newspaper i» one of the largest and most substantial structures in this city. It is eleven stories high, built of fireproof materials, with' iton beams and hollow brick arches for the floors; and it would almost l be deemed unnecesaaxj to parotide, special apparatus for. the prevention of fires. -But the proprietors, with a commendable desire to protect the , property of their many tenants* as well-as their own, have lately put in a novel fire-extinguishing : apparatus, which is ingeniously arranged and e^ttve', in operation. . It,,was made sj&., the Champion Eire Extinguishing Company of Louisville; 'Ky. A numta^Qf. .gentleman., r^ently,asfiembleajin thß 'Tribune'/ composin*toom the first trial ofli.t. The in a:.sub-cellar of,.the building, and consists of a cylindrical tank, "holding about 180 gallons of water, a&4, hung on pivots in such a way as to be (inverted on the lifting of it latch rdd.; About 6Glbs sub-carbonate soda are mixed with the water, and in the tank is a jar containing 281bs sulphuric acid. When the tank is inverted the chemicals are 1 mfxed together, and produce carbonic acid gas, by the expansive force of which the waste.water is driven out with a pressure of 15Qlbs to the square inch. Prom the tank to the top of the'building runs a standpipe, to which ia attached a stop-cock and hose in,, eaoh story. A wire rope, connecting with ttietrip, also runs through the builclihg.' ' In case of a tire it is only necessary to pull the wire rope on any flddr, 'open the stock-cock and direct the-stream on the fire, the whole Seconds. * In the first trial, the trip was pulled from the composing room, oleven stories above the engine, and twenty afterwards a stream of water charged with carbonic acid gas was pouring I Jrom the nozzle of the fifty-foot \xm;h

With an elevation of 176 ft, and a length of pipe and hose amounting to 251 ft, a stream of water was thrown horizontally 75ft from the nozzle against a stiff wind. It -was estimated by those present that the stream of water could be kept up about half-an-hour.. Several interruptions were made, as the stream was directed from different windows. After the force of the. enginewas exhausted, the spectators went to the. basement and witnessed thij. gripping „of the tank.. The tank wasthen refilled and made ready for us*, the work occupying about ten minutes. The main point in iwhgdh this apparatus is believed to be superior to • a?f cithers is the quickness with which the stream can be directed on the fire after it is discovered. A single poison in any story, on discovering the flames,.'(can immediately do the work, other engines, requires the aid 6i additional persons, and,:usually a journey to another room : and back jftgain. In an ordinary building, fiereraljstpries in height, before a person, could descend from the top to the basement, or warn the. engineer, of the danger, the fire might gain such f. headway thatHHro r power could extinguish it.' The apparatus is, moreover, simple |n construction, and so made that it will not fail to act at a moment's notice, though allowed to stand ten years without a change of chemicals. Another important advantage is that the action of chemicals, come up mingled with the water, is such as to aid materially in stopping t|ie nre. They do not seem to extinguish so much as instantly to smother Ip, and so render the charred wood incombustible. The fire does not return --even if it continues to rage a foot or tvo away—to the spot on which the spray has once touched it.—'Scientific American.', _.