Today being #inventorsday, we take a look back at the invention and evolution of the fire extinguisher throughout the years. Numerous lives have been saved thanks to the invention of the fire extinguisher, which has undergone a number of design changes to further improve its effectiveness and capacity to put out a fire.
The renowned chemist Ambrose Godfrey patented the first fire extinguisher in history in England in 1723. It was composed of a pewter chamber containing a can of gunpowder and a cask of liquid fire retardant. This was attached to a set of fuses that, when lit, caused the gunpowder to explode and the solution to be dispersed. Many extinguishers were developed after this one, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that a modern extinguisher was developed.
The modern fire extinguisher was created in 1818 by British Captain George William Manby, about 100 years later. It was made of a copper vessel filled with 3 gallons of pearl ash (potassium carbonate) solution and compressed air. About 70 years after the first fire extinguisher was created, a soda-acid extinguisher was patented in the U S. in 1881 by Almon M. Granger. His fire extinguisher ejected pressurized water onto a fire by reacting sodium bicarbonate solution with sulfuric acid. In the cylinder, a vial of concentrated sulfuric acid was suspended. One of two methods could be used to break the acid vial, depending on the kind of extinguisher. While the second opened a lead stopper holding the acid vial closed, the first used a plunger to open the vial. When the acid and bicarbonate solution were combined, carbon dioxide gas was released, pressurizing the water. Through a nozzle or short piece of hose, the canister’s pressurized water was forced out.
Read also created the cartridge-operated extinguisher at the same time. Later, they created the “Petrolex,” a carbon tetrachloride model marketed for use in automobiles. Soon after, Alexander Laurant of Russia created a chemical foam extinguisher around 1905. He first used it to put out a pan of naphtha fire. Similar in function and appearance to the soda-acid type, but with different internal components A mixture of water, sodium bicarbonate, and foam material (typically made from licorice root) is found in the main tank. A cylindrical metal or plastic chamber holds about a quart and a half of 13% aluminum sulphate and is capped with a lead cap The chemicals combine when the unit is turned over, creating CO2 gas. Some of the CO2 bubbles are trapped in the liquid by the licorice and are released onto the fire as a thick, whitish-brown foam.
The Pyrene Manufacturing Company of Delaware submitted a patent application in 1910 for a fire extinguisher that used carbon tetrachloride (CTC) to put out fires. By producing a thick layer of fumes that excludes oxygen and puts out the flames, the CTC stops the chemical reaction. They obtained a patent for a small, portable extinguisher using the chemical in 1911. This was a brass or chrome container with a built-in hand pump that was used to spray liquid into the fire. It had a capacity 1. 1 Liter or 0. 6 Liter, but they were also available in sizes up to 9 Liters. The container could be refilled with fresh CTC through a filling plug after use because it was not pressurized.
Germany created liquid chlorobromomethane (CBM) in the 1940s for use in aircraft. It was utilized until 1969 and was more efficient and slightly less harmful than carbon tetrachloride. In Europe, methyl bromide was widely used as an extinguishing agent after it was discovered in the 1920s. It is the most toxic of the vaporizing liquids and is a low-pressure gas that suppresses the spread of fire. It was used up until the 1960s. All vaporizing liquids had highly toxic vapor and combustion byproducts that could be fatal in enclosed spaces.
The Walter Kidde Company developed the carbon dioxide (CO2) extinguisher in 1924 in response to Bell Telephone’s request for an electrically non-conductive chemical to put out the previously challenging fires in telephone switchboards. It consisted of a tall metal cylinder containing 7. 5 lbs. of CO2 with a wheel valve, a hose made of woven brass and cotton, and a composite funnel-shaped nozzle. Since CO2 is a clean agent that doesn’t harm the ozone and can be used to put out a fire, it is still widely used in movies and television.
Our more aesthetically pleasing extinguisher that we are accustomed to first appeared in 1928 thanks to DuGas, which was later acquired by ANSUL. It had a dry chemical extinguisher that operated with a cartridge and used sodium bicarbonate that had been chemically treated to make it free-flowing and moisture-resistant. It consisted of a copper cylinder with an internal CO2cartridge. The cartridge was punctured by turning a wheel valve on top, and the chemical was released by pulling a lever on a valve at the hose’s end. Prior to the 1950s, when small dry chemical units were marketed for home use, this was the first agent available for large three-dimensional liquid and pressurized gas fires. In the 1950s, ABC dry chemical was imported from Europe; Super-K was created in the early 1960s, and Purple-K was created by the US Navy in the late 1960s.
Halon 1211, a gas used in Europe since the late 1940s or early 1950s, arrived in the US in the 1970s. In 1954, DuPont and the US Army created Halon 1301. Both 1211 and 1301, in the case of halon 1211, work by cooling class A fuels and preventing the spread of the fire, respectively. Halon is still used today but its environmental impact is making it less popular for many applications. Its use is severely restricted in Europe and Australia, but it is still widely accessible in North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
There is an extinguisher for every type of fire available today, and they come in a variety of designs and colors, but their internal mechanisms have remained the same for a while. It’s amazing how evolution affects everything, including fire extinguishers, which are now widely available and have saved countless lives and valuable property. We can’t wait to see what the future holds!.
The Importance of Fire Extinguishers in Daily Life
One of the most essential items for your home or place of business to have is a fire extinguisher.
They play a vital role in every company and household.
They can be utilized to extinguish small fires or even assist you in escaping a burning room.
Fire extinguishers are made to put out fires of all sizes, including those caused by large oil tank explosions and small grease fires.
When the device is turned on, pressure-stored firefighting chemicals in them are released.
The chemical is released under pressure into the fire, dousing the flames.
There are various kinds of fire extinguishers, and each one serves a specific function. Extinguishers for Class A, B, and C fires are available for various fire types:
See what questions about the development of fire extinguishers our readers had the most.
Foam Extinguishers
Foam Extinguishers are commonly used on class A fires, with AFFF foams also being suitable for class B fires (burning liquids). Foam extinguishers are mainly water-based, with a foaming agent so that the foam can float on top of the burning liquid and break the interaction between the flames and the fuel surface. Ordinary foams are designed to work on non-polar flammable liquids such as petrol, but may break down too quickly in polar liquids such as alcohol or glycol. Facilities which handle large amounts of flammable polar liquids use specialised “alcohol resistant foam” instead. Alcohol foams must be gently poured across the burning liquid. If the fire cannot be approached closely enough to do this, they should be sprayed onto an adjacent solid surface so that they run gently onto the burning liquid. Ordinary foams work better if poured but it is not critical.
Up until the 1960s, when “light water,” also known as “Aqueous Film-Forming Foam” (or AFFF), was developed, protein foam was used to put out fires in airplane crashes. Extinguishers that contained carbon dioxide (later sodium bicarbonate) were used to put out the flames, and foam was used to keep the fuel fumes from igniting again. Although FAA regulations forbade reliance on its use for suppression, “foaming the runway” can reduce friction and sparks in a crash landing. Protein foam continued to be used for that purpose.
Most foam extinguishers are safe around electricity if they have been certified to 35kV and the operator maintains a safety distance of 1 meter from live electrical equipment. Foam extinguishers cover the majority of risks found in offices.
AFFF is being phased out due to harmful chemical components. AFFF are being replaced with water extinguishers and water mist extinguishers, both of which are capable of putting out class A fires, as the B rating is not necessary in the majority of applications. The most popular extinguishing method today is water mist extinguishers with de-ionized water, which cannot conduct electricity due to the amount of electrical equipment in homes and workplaces.
Who Invented the Fire Extinguisher and Why?
The fire extinguisher was created by renowned English chemist Ambrose Godfrey, who received a patent for it in 1723.
He received a patent for his creation, which included a trigger mechanism and a barrel filled with gunpowder and a slow match.
Over the fire, the barrel would be opened, and the gunpowder would be lit by the match.
Because it took too long for the heat from the fire to rise through the barrel and ignite the gunpowder, this early extinguisher was ineffective at putting out fires.
He had experimented with a number of fire-fighting techniques, including one that used a powder made of potassium nitrate.
Godfrey invented a chemical fire extinguisher in 1723, and he patents it as “A Mechanical Fire Engine.”
Modern fire extinguisher. American engineer and inventor John Ripley Freeman is credited with creating it.
With more than 80 patents under his belt, including the one for the contemporary portable fire extinguisher that bears his name, he had a long career as an inventor.
Modern fire extinguishers work by misting the flames with a liquid chemical solution.
In homes and offices, this type of extinguisher is most frequently used.
Captain George William Manby created the first iteration of the contemporary portable fire extinguisher in 1819.
Manby created a wooden cylinder or barrel that contained a water and potassium carbonate solution.
While grasping the bottom handle, the user would break open the glass bulb at the top, which contained the chemical agent.
The solution would combine with water when the glass bulb broke, producing carbon dioxide gas that put out the fire.
Philip Pratt created the fire extinguisher sprinkler system in the 1870s.
The system consisted of a tank full of water and a series of pipes connected to it.
The pipes were connected to a device that, when heated up, sprayed water on the fire.
The Opera House in Boston, Massachusetts, received the first automatic fire sprinkler system in 1874.
Aleksandr Loran, a Russian chemist and engineer, created the foam extinguisher in 1902.
To put out fires, this kind of fire extinguisher uses pressurized foam. It can do this by spreading foam around a fire, which smothers it and removes its oxygen source.
You have to go all the way back to England’s pre-industrial era to find out when the first fire extinguisher was created.
In the first half of the eighteenth century, fire extinguishers were created.
The fire extinguisher was invented by Ambrose Godfrey in 1723. He was an English priest who studied chemistry and other subjects related to firefighting.
Two leather bags filled with water and saltpeter (potassium nitrate) were used as the first fire extinguisher. This device was called a “fire extinguisher. ”.
A French inventor named Jean-Baptiste Denis invented an air-propelled fire extinguisher in 1632, marking the first known attempt to develop a useful fire extinguisher.
It functioned by blowing out flames from burning wood or cloth with pressurized air.
A hand-pumped chemical sprayer that could be used to extinguish small fires on ships, trains, and other vehicles was created by John Gamgee in 1804.