We’re guessing you might not know, but today is the 300th anniversary of the first-ever, patented fire extinguisher!
This fire extinguisher was designed and created by a highly-regarded chemist of the time called Ambrose Godfrey in 1723 and actually contained gunpowder!
When ignited, the gunpowder scattered a fire extinguishing liquid to put out the fire. What could possibly go wrong I hear you ask?! Funnily enough, this fire extinguisher wasn’t used to a full extent but it was obviously a massive step in the development of the fire extinguishers we know, and use, today.
Following Godfrey’s invention, the fire extinguisher was further developed by George William Manby, a British Captain, where he was able to create a portable pressurised fire extinguisher that used compressed air to scatter 3 gallons of pearl ash to extinguish fire.
Using the combination of water and sodium bicarbonate to produce propellant CO2 gas was patented by Francois Carlier from France in 1866, so really not that long ago. This too involved a volatile substance, sulphuric acid, to activate the chemical reaction. It took until 1881 for the cartridge-operated extinguisher to be invented by Read and Campbell in England and this meant water or water-based solutions could be used. It wasn’t until 1904 that Russian, Aleksandr Loran, created the chemical foam system.
It can be so easy to under-appreciate the concept of fire extinguishers and how much work and innovation it has taken to get to our modern-day solutions that work so effectively, and so safely.
In 2003, a survey found that, when a portable extinguisher was used, 80% of fires could be safely dealt with and that fire extinguishers actually save £5.1 million in fire service cost (and the savings to the UK economy were over £500 million a year).
Fire Extinguishers are also thought to have prevented around 1,500 injuries and 25 deaths each year.
These are pretty powerful statistics and acutely highlight how important extinguishers are to both health and safety and financial implications. We do owe the fire extinguisher pioneers a great debt.
To make sure you benefit from the science of fire extinguishers, it is crucial that you:
- Have the right number, and type, of extinguishers in your premises
- Ensure your fire extinguishers are regularly serviced and replaced
- Your Fire Wardens and Employees are trained in fire extinguisher use
Saracen Fire Protection are here to help with all of these.
If you have any doubts at all, the 300th anniversary of the first patented fire extinguisher, would be the perfect day to get in touch and double, double check you have everything sorted and up-to-date.
To contact one of our friendly team simply call 01675 628999
or click here to send us a message .
Saracen Fire Protection – your local fire protection experts.
With over 30 years of experience and a growing number of highly satisfied customers, in terms of service and savings, Saracen Fire Protection is one of the leading fire protection and security supply, maintenance businesses; locally and nationally. We provide a comprehensive online service portal to ensure our clients have 24/7 access to all of their fire and security information. We are fully accredited and our engineers are highly skilled and qualified.