Fire Engines
More complex and imposing than any other vehicle in the British emergency services, the fire engine has a long and interesting history. The earliest water pumps had been developed by the eighteenth century—basic manual pumps that had to be hauled around by people or horses, and were often only used on fire-insured premises. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries horse-drawn, steam-powered fire engines, and eventually motorized fire engines, came to revolutionize firefighting, offering far greater versatility and the brigades came to be run by the municipalities. In this beautifully illustrated introduction, Eddie Baker charts the history of fire engines and their variants, and the increasingly complex equipment they have carried, such as high-rise ladders and high-pressure hoses. He also explains the wider history of the fire service and how the engines have been shaped by its needs and, most importantly, those of the firefighters themselves.
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Fire Engines
More complex and imposing than any other vehicle in the British emergency services, the fire engine has a long and interesting history. The earliest water pumps had been developed by the eighteenth century—basic manual pumps that had to be hauled around by people or horses, and were often only used on fire-insured premises. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries horse-drawn, steam-powered fire engines, and eventually motorized fire engines, came to revolutionize firefighting, offering far greater versatility and the brigades came to be run by the municipalities. In this beautifully illustrated introduction, Eddie Baker charts the history of fire engines and their variants, and the increasingly complex equipment they have carried, such as high-rise ladders and high-pressure hoses. He also explains the wider history of the fire service and how the engines have been shaped by its needs and, most importantly, those of the firefighters themselves.
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Fire Engines

Fire Engines

by Eddie Baker
Fire Engines

Fire Engines

by Eddie Baker

Paperback

$14.00 
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Overview

More complex and imposing than any other vehicle in the British emergency services, the fire engine has a long and interesting history. The earliest water pumps had been developed by the eighteenth century—basic manual pumps that had to be hauled around by people or horses, and were often only used on fire-insured premises. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries horse-drawn, steam-powered fire engines, and eventually motorized fire engines, came to revolutionize firefighting, offering far greater versatility and the brigades came to be run by the municipalities. In this beautifully illustrated introduction, Eddie Baker charts the history of fire engines and their variants, and the increasingly complex equipment they have carried, such as high-rise ladders and high-pressure hoses. He also explains the wider history of the fire service and how the engines have been shaped by its needs and, most importantly, those of the firefighters themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781784423001
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication date: 08/21/2018
Series: Shire Library , #852
Pages: 64
Product dimensions: 5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Eddie Baker joined the fire service in 1960 when he enrolled in the Croydon Auxiliary Fire Service. He was promoted through the ranks to Sub Officer prior to amalgamation with the London Fire Brigade. He continued to serve in the AFS until it disbanded in 1968. By 1970 Eddie had moved home and joined the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Fire Brigade. After local government reorganisation in 1974, he served with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service before retiring in 1995 as a Leading Firefighter. Since his retirement Eddie has continued his interest in the Fire Service and has previously written six books on the subject. He has also written a number of articles which have been published in Fire Service related magazines and gives talks to local groups on the history of the UK Fire Service. He lives in the UK.

Table of Contents

Early Days

1900-1920

1921-1939

The Second World War

1945-1959

The 1960s and 1970s

The 1980s and 1990s

The Twenty-first Century

Airports and Industrial Brigades

Glossary

Places to Visit

Further Reading

Index

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