Report on Steam Fire Engines

New York Chamber of Commerce

New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry Records collection

Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University

eng

Box: 230 Folder: 20

RBML_NYCCC_100131044

1856-11-06

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nnc-rb

eng

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The Committee appointed at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held on the 2nd of October “to consult upon the best means for procuring the use of a Steam Fire Engine, and also to confer with the Directors of the Union Ferry Company as to the Fire Apparatus of their boats,” have directed their attention to the two matters embraced in the solution, and beg now to report:
Before considering, however, the means of supply, your Committee have thought proper to inquire into the need of such an auxiliary to the fire department, and they find that in the lower part of the city, within a few years, dwelling houses have every where given way to spacious stores, deep and high, filled with the most costly merchandise; so that at the present time, the amount of property exposed to destruction bears a vastly greater proportion to the population of the district than hitherto.
Should a fire break out at night, and not be subdued immediately, the want of men might be seriously felt. But despite every endeavor to subdue it, the conflagration will sometimes extend, and while the arm of man tires, the devouring element continually gathers strength. It needs then to be opposed by an agent as powerful and unwearying as itself, and the superiority of steam over manual labor, it is believed, may be made to appear as conspicuous and decided in this as in any other way. The value of such an agent is indeed obvious enough, but there are difficulties in the way of its application; the difficulty of acquiring a sufficient head of steam in a short time, and that of uniting safety with a sufficiently compact construction (new page).
Your Committee have been called to discuss the working of an engine built by Messrs. Lee and Larned, which is considered to combine these properties more successfully than any other, and yet during the experiment witnessed by them, the requisite head of steam was not maintained owing to some temporary malfunction. Good results are said to have been obtained in Cincinnati, Louisville, and New Orleans – such as to warrant your Committee in urging by their recommendation the introduction of similar machines here. If important any where, they are so in the city of New York, and especially in the lower wards. If in the places referred to merchants and boards of trade have contributed to so important an acquisition, and the need of such a stimulus is felt by our Common Council, the example is worthy of imitation, an your Committee commend it to the consideration of the Fire Companies, who have a direct interest in the matter.
The Union Ferry Company, alive to the importance of this subject, have, it appears, in addition to the ordinary fire department of their boats, recently added two Steam Fire Engines, constructed especially with reference to the extinguishment of fires amongst the sipping and along the shore. Communicating with the water through the bottom of the boat, and with cylinders so large that they can be worked with a pressure of five pounds to the inch, these Engines are always in readiness for action, and in many cases have proved their efficiency. Five copious streams of water can be ejected simultaneously from one boat, and the strength of the hose yields before the power of the Engine is exhausted. Through the courtesy of the Directors of the Ferry Company, your Committee have been permitted to witness the (new page) operation of one of these pumps, and they were much impressed with the importance of the application. Nothing but the expense prevents the extension of it to the other boats of the Company. The cost in each of engine + hose would not exceed $2000 or about one fourth the price of a fire engine on shore.
But the advantages of ferry boats as an auxiliary to the fire department are manifold. Always warm and receiving water from beneath out of the reach of ice, they are available in the coldest weather, when hydrants and hose are sometimes rendered useless. Fully manned, with pilots ever on the watch, possessing within themselves the means of locomotion, and ready on the instant to repair to points and places otherwise inaccessible, they have at the same time the power to withdraw ships exposed to peril to a place of safety. In the outlay incurred by the company, your Committee believe the Directors have been moved by a simple desire to serve the public. They are understood to be willing to render still invaluable and gratuitous service, and to extend their mans of usefulness by adding new pumps to other boats, if those who are to be benefited will bear the necessary expense.
They cannot of course subject their boats to the control of the Corporation of New York, or Brooklyn, nor pledge any assistance that is incompatible with the paramount duty of keeping the communication between the two cities always open, yet, under all necessary limitations, your Committee cannot fail to recognize the importance of securing the cooperation of such an agency for the protection of our shipping. A million of dollars have been destroyed in a single night and if timely measures are not adopted, a similar loss of property may again occur amongst the shipping at our wharves.
The Marine Companies of this City are interested in the adoption of every measure that will tend to the preservation of property in the harbor; and your Committee feel that they will have performed an important duty, if they succeed through the action of this chamber, in commending their attention to that now considered.

Respectfully submitted,