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Fire Engine Photos
Dennis Braidwoods, West Ham Fire Brigade
Silvertown Fire Station East London. AN1220 was the first motorised appliance delivered to WHFB in 1911; I guess this is an N type; the other one is AN4363 the escape carrier. This photo hangs on the wall of the modern fire station which is due to close January 2014 as part of the cuts in London. Silvertown is an industrial area and the Victorian fire station was destroyed in January 1917 when 50 tons on TNT exploded in the Brunner Mond munitions works opposite the station with loss of life. Thanks to Watch Commander Mark Arnott for giving me access to the station.
Photo with permission of London Fire Brigade.
Silvertown Fire Station East London. AN1220 was the first motorised appliance delivered to WHFB in 1911; I guess this is an N type; the other one is AN4363 the escape carrier. This photo hangs on the wall of the modern fire station which is due to close January 2014 as part of the cuts in London. Silvertown is an industrial area and the Victorian fire station was destroyed in January 1917 when 50 tons on TNT exploded in the Brunner Mond munitions works opposite the station with loss of life. Thanks to Watch Commander Mark Arnott for giving me access to the station.
Photo with permission of London Fire Brigade.
AN 4363 is carrying suction hose so is almost certainly a Pump Escape. It was new in 1913.
Added by Dusty on 05 November 2013.
Added by Dusty on 05 November 2013.
Les - it is carrying suction hoses, which is a very good indication that it does indeed have a pump.
My copy of the London Fire Brigade Notebook for the year 1913 makes it clear that "escape vans" were not equipped with pumps, although all of them (including horse-drawn vans) had a tank and CO2 operated hose reel system. But London could have decided to adopt the "dual-purpose" or "pump escape" shortly afterwards.
In fact, the pump and escape ladder van combination does go back to the very first British gasolene-engined motorized fire pump in 1904 (Merryweather supplied it to Finchley CB) - but many brigades took years to combine the two roles in to a single vehicle. There were Dennis "pump-escapes" as early as 1812, but I believe it was quite a few years later than London introduced them.
In 1913, the escape van fleet included horse-drawn, battery electric, petrol-electric (yes, hybrid!) and gasolene, although most of the gasolene-powered units were Merryweather and Dennis pumpers.
Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2013.
My copy of the London Fire Brigade Notebook for the year 1913 makes it clear that "escape vans" were not equipped with pumps, although all of them (including horse-drawn vans) had a tank and CO2 operated hose reel system. But London could have decided to adopt the "dual-purpose" or "pump escape" shortly afterwards.
In fact, the pump and escape ladder van combination does go back to the very first British gasolene-engined motorized fire pump in 1904 (Merryweather supplied it to Finchley CB) - but many brigades took years to combine the two roles in to a single vehicle. There were Dennis "pump-escapes" as early as 1812, but I believe it was quite a few years later than London introduced them.
In 1913, the escape van fleet included horse-drawn, battery electric, petrol-electric (yes, hybrid!) and gasolene, although most of the gasolene-powered units were Merryweather and Dennis pumpers.
Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2013.
Rob, very interesting, can you tell us more about the Dennis pump escapes from 1812? I thought Dennis wasn't founded until 1895 and their first fire appliance being produced in 1908?
Added by Michael G. on 06 November 2013.
Added by Michael G. on 06 November 2013.
Michael - a typo explains it! I meant to say that the Dennis pump escape combination was on the scene in 1912, although one of our expert Dennis historians may be able to unearth records of an earlier one. The 1904 Merryweather was the first, as I mentioned.
The British wheeled escape ladder was invented I believe in the 1830s or 1840s, and the idea of carrying it on a horse-drawn "van" only came about in the 1880s or 1890s. Before that, they were kept at "street stations", and wheeled by hand to the fire. In 1913, a handful of these street stations remained in use in London. They were staffed by one fireman, who relyed on members of the public to help wheel the ladder into place.
Sorry about the error - only 100 years off!
Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2013.
The British wheeled escape ladder was invented I believe in the 1830s or 1840s, and the idea of carrying it on a horse-drawn "van" only came about in the 1880s or 1890s. Before that, they were kept at "street stations", and wheeled by hand to the fire. In 1913, a handful of these street stations remained in use in London. They were staffed by one fireman, who relyed on members of the public to help wheel the ladder into place.
Sorry about the error - only 100 years off!
Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2013.
Rob thanks, that clears it up! Your encyclopaedic posts are written with such conviction, that i'd disregarded it as a typo!!
Added by Michael G. on 06 November 2013.
Added by Michael G. on 06 November 2013.
after further research I now know that AN1220 was not West Ham's first motorised appliance. They ordered in 1909 a Lloyd and Plaister escape carrier AN878. David Spicer and John Murray have kindly pointed me to an advert in Commercial Motor in 1909 with a picture. You can find this by going on to the Commercial Motor online archive and putting in the word Plaister. They were a short lived vehicle manufacturer in Wood Green, North London and in total they supplied three EC to WHFB. I do not think they had pumps and were to carry the wheeled escapes. Sadly I cannot find the registrations of the other 2 one from 1909 and one from 1914. If you are interested in L&P pl email me below as I have an info sheet.
Added by Peter Williams on 07 November 2017.
Added by Peter Williams on 07 November 2017.
Dennis
Added by Les Davis on 05 November 2013.