Fire Engines Photos

The later Magirus ladders were on Dennis chassis, although badged Morris Magirus.

Added by Rob Johnson on 14 February 2018.

I love the reference to grenades. It is a little know fact that for a short time a few fire brigades embraced the idea that a water filled hand grenade might be a very quick way of extinguishing small fires, as they could be deployed instantly and thrown through a window or doorway, without the fireman needing to enter the burning room. Needless to say, this idea was very short- lived, because they simply did not actually work most of the time, and often caused additional unnecessary damage!

Added by Rob Johnson on 01 June 2025.

The grenade technology was rather primitive, as it relied on a glass container full of water (or brine, for some reason) which would hopefully smash easily on contact with the burning material, and thereby succeed in extinguishing the fire. It is not hard to see why these were not often effective, as the quantity of water had to be sufficient and - even more important - the range had to be quite short and the aim very accurate! It seems they were understandably cheaper than early fire extinguishers, but of course a lot less effective. In their day, they were however quite extensively bought by members of the public and by businesses, as well as being used by fire brigades. Probably, like today’s cheap but tiny dry powder extinguishers, they were more to provide reassurance than to actually do anything very useful if a fire really needed to be dealt with.



Added by Rob Johnson on 02 June 2025.

Hi Rob, surely carbon tetrachloride in the fire “grenade”. The predecessor to BCF / Halon.

Added by Peter McCombie on 02 June 2025.

Yes I believe later versions were indeed CTC, which was of course potentially more effective but also pretty nasty stuff too, if inhaled.

Added by Rob Johnson on 03 June 2025.

Apparently CTC grenades were used until 1910, when the first CTC extinguisher was invented . The water grenade goes all the way back to 1721, when the earliest version was actually a wooden container of water with a gunpowder charge to explode it! The types being pedaled later by firms like John Morris were a lot safer, relying on the glass container breaking on impact - but still not very predictable as far as effectiveness is concerned.....

Added by Rob Johnson on 04 June 2025.

Rob, you've forgotten your school science. Brine won't freeze to a much lower temperature and boils at a much higher temperature.

Added by Neil on 07 June 2025.

Thanks Neil. Amazing what a person can forget after a few years. My last science course was in 1957.

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 June 2025.

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