Fires have long been one of the greatest disasters of mankind. It has now become possible to preserve most of the property in the event of a fire, and hundreds, even tens, years ago, a fire meant the inevitable loss of not only things, but also the house. Fire extinguishers, invented about three hundred years ago, help to prevent a fire in many ways.
Fusches fire extinguisher
2014 marks 280 years since the invention of the first fire extinguisher. The German physician M. Fushes is officially considered its creator. The first fire extinguisher was a glass jar filled with brine. These cans were to be thrown into the fire.
But some records indicate that the first fire extinguishers were not glass jars at all, but wooden barrels with water and a charge of gunpowder. These barrels were also rolled into the fire. Under the action of the fire, the porosity exploded, and the water splashed out and extinguished the fire around it. These barrels were invented several centuries before 1734, when the invention of Fouches saw the world.
Unlike his predecessors, Fouches was an enterprising man. He launched an extensive advertising campaign in which periodicals printed images of happy families throwing cans of solution into the fire. These images were printed until the First World War.
Fire extinguisher Menby
Any invention that has seen the light of day will certainly be improved and modernized. The fire extinguisher was no exception. The first automatic fire extinguisher was created by British inventor George Menby in 1816.
This fire extinguisher was a metal cylinder 0.6 m high, containing 24 liters of water. Under the action of compressed air, water flew out of the bell.
Other fire extinguishers
In 1846, the engineer Kuhn proposed using boxes filled with a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter and coal as a fire extinguisher. When released into a fire, this mixture burned, releasing gases that extinguished the fire.
In 1898 N. B. Chefal in the Russian Empire also created a fire extinguisher based on a fire-extinguishing mixture consisting of either bicarbonate of soda, alum and ammonium sulfate. When they hit the fire, these extinguishers, called Pozharogas, exploded. Such devices weighed 4, 6 or 8 kg.
After 1904, the scientist Laurent suggested using fire extinguishing foam instead of water, which led to the emergence of water foam fire extinguishers.
A year later, Russian inventor Alexander Lavrentyev came up with the first chemical fire extinguishing apparatus. Foam was pumped out of the fire extinguisher, which was an excellent means for extinguishing open flames. The foam was formed as a result of a chemical reaction between acidic and alkaline solutions.
Based on these inventions, modern fire extinguishers are created - small, lightweight and easy to use.
