which striking against a deflecting plate is spread in a shower. In situations where the water is liable to freeze, the ceiling pipes are filled only with air at a pressure of say 10 ℔ per sq. in. When the sprinkler head opens under the influence of the heat from a fire, the compressed air escapes, and the consequent loss of pressure in the pipes is arranged to operate a system of levers that opens the water-valve of the main-feed pipe. The idea of automatic sprinklers is an old one, and a system was patented by Sir William Congreve in 1812; but in their present development they are specially associated with the name of Frederick Grinnell, of Providence, Rhode Island.
Fire-Escapes.—The best kind of fire-escape, because it is always in place, and always ready for use, is an external iron staircase, reaching from the top of a building to the ground, and connected with balconies accessible from the windows on each floor. In many towns the building by-laws require such staircases to be provided on buildings exceeding a certain height and containing more than a certain number of persons. Of non-fixed escapes, designed to enable the inmates of an upper room to reach the ground through the window, numberless forms have been invented, from simple knotted ropes and folding ladders to slings and baskets suspended by a rope over sheaves fixed permanently outside the windows, and provided with brakes by which the occupant can regulate the speed of his descent, and to “chutes” or canvas tubes down which he slides. Fire brigades are provided with telescopic ladders, mounted on a wheeled carriage, up which the firemen climb; sometimes the persons rescued are sent down a chute attached to the apparatus, but many fire brigades think it preferable to rely on carrying down those who are unable to descend the ladder unaided. Jumping sheets or nets, held by a number of men, are provided to catch those whose only chance of escape is by jumping from an upper window. (X.)
FIREBACK, the name given to the ornamented slab of cast
iron protecting the back of a fireplace. The date at which
firebacks became common probably synchronizes with the
removal of the fire from the centre to the side or end of a room.
They never became universal, since the proximity of deposits
of iron ore was essential to their use. In England they were
confined chiefly to the iron districts of Sussex and Surrey, and
appear to have ceased being made when the ore in those counties
was exhausted. They are, however, occasionally found in other
parts of the country, and it is reasonable to suppose that there
was a certain commerce in an appliance which gradually assumed
an interesting and even artistic form. The earlier examples
were commonly rectangular, but a shaped or gabled top eventually
became common. English firebacks may roughly be separated
into four chronological divisions—those moulded from more
than one movable stamp; armorial backs; allegorical, mythological
and biblical slabs with an occasional portrait; and copies
of 17th and 18th century continental designs, chiefly Netherlandish.
The fleur-de-lys, the rosette, and other motives of
detached ornament were much used before attempts were made
to elaborate a homogeneous design, but by the middle of the 17th
century firebacks of a very elaborate type were being produced.
Thus we have representations of the Crucifixion, the death of
Jacob, Hercules slaying the hydra, and the plague of serpents.
Coats of arms were very frequent, the royal achievement being
used extensively—many existing firebacks bear the arms of
the Stuarts. About the time of Elizabeth the coats of private
families began to be used, the earliest instances remaining
bearing those of the Sackvilles, who were lords of a large portion
of the forest of Anderida, which furnished the charcoal for the
smelting operations in our ancient iron-fields. To the armorial
shields the date was often added, together with the initials
of the owner. The method of casting firebacks was to cut the
design upon a thick slab of oak which was impressed face downwards
upon a bed of sand, the molten metal being ladled into
the impression. Firebacks were also common in the Netherlands
and in parts of France, notably in Alsace. At Strassburg and
Metz there are several private collections, and there are also
many examples in public museums. The museum of the Porte de
Hal at Brussels contains one of the finest examples in existence
with an equestrian portrait of the emperor Charles V., accompanied
by his arms and motto. When monarchy was first
destroyed in France the possession of a plaque de cheminée
bearing heraldic insignia was regarded as a mark of disaffection
to the republic, and on the 13th of October 1793 the National
Convention issued a decree giving the owners and tenants of
houses a month in which to turn such firebacks with their face
to the wall, pending the manufacture by the iron foundries of a
sufficient number of backs less offensive to the instinct of equality.
Very few of the old plaques were however removed, and to this
day the old châteaux of France contain many with their backs
outward. Reproductions of ancient chimney backs are now not
infrequently made, and the old examples are much prized and collected.
FIRE BRAT, a small insect (Thermobia or Thermophila furnorum) related to the silverfish, and found in bakehouses, where it feeds upon bread and flour.
FIREBRICK.—Under this term are included all bricks, blocks
and slabs used for lining furnaces, fire-mouths, flues, &c., where
the brickwork has to withstand high temperature (see Brick).
The conditions to which firebricks are subjected in use vary very greatly as regards changes of temperature, crushing strain, corrosive action of gases, scouring action of fuel or furnace charge, chemical action of furnace charge and products of combustion, &c., and in order to meet these different conditions many varieties of firebricks are manufactured.
Ordinary firebricks are made from fireclays, i.e. from clays which withstand a high temperature without fusion, excessive shrinkage or warping. Many clays fulfil these conditions although the term “fireclay” is generally restricted in use to certain shales from the Coal Measures, which contain only a small percentage of soda, potash and lime, and are consequently highly refractory. There is no fixed standard of refractoriness for these clays, but no clay should be classed as a fireclay which has a fusion point below 1600° C.
Fireclays vary considerably in chemical composition, but generally the percentage of alumina and silica (taken together) is high, and the percentage of oxide of iron, magnesia, lime, soda and potash (taken together) is low. Other materials, such as lime, bauxite, &c., are also used for the manufacture of firebricks where special chemical or other properties are necessary.
The suitability of a fireclay for the manufacture of the various fireclay goods depends upon its physical character as well as upon its refractoriness, and it is often necessary to mix with the clay a certain proportion of ground firebrick, ganister, sand or some similar refractory material in order to obtain a suitable brick. Speaking generally, fireclay goods used for lining furnaces where the firing is continuous, or where the lining is in contact with molten metal or other flux, are best made from fine-grained plastic clays; whereas firebricks used in fire-mouths and other places which are subjected to rapid changes of temperature must be made from coarser-grained and consequently less plastic clays. In all cases care should be taken to obtain a texture and also, as far as possible, by selection and mixing, to obtain a chemical composition suitable for the purpose to which the goods are to be applied. The Coal Measure clays often contain nodules of siderite in addition to the carbonate of iron disseminated in fine particles throughout the mass, and these nodules are carefully picked out as far as practicable before the clay is used.
A firebrick suitable for ordinary purposes should be even and rather open in texture, fairly coarse in grain, free from cracks or warping, strong enough to withstand the pressure to which it may be subjected when in use, and sufficiently fired to ensure practically the full contraction of the material. Very few fireclays meet all these requirements, and it is usual to mix a certain proportion of ground firebrick, ganister, sand or clay with the fireclay before making up. The fireclay or shale or other materials are ground either between rollers or on perforated pans, and then passed through sieves to ensure a certain size and evenness of grain, after which the clay and other materials are mixed in suitable proportion in the dry state, water being generally added in the mixing mill, and the bricks made up from plastic or semi-plastic clay in the ordinary way.
The proportion of ground firebrick, &c., used depends on the nature of the clay and the purpose for which the material is required, but generally speaking the more plastic clays require a higher percentage of a plastic material than the less plastic clays, the object being to produce a clay mixture which shall dry and fire without cracking, warping or excessive shrinkage, and which shall retain after firing a sufficiently open and even texture to withstand alternate heatings and coolings without cracking or flaking. For special purposes
