Equipment
The
engine selected by Broadway Parish Council, and supplied by Merryweather
& Sons, was a Greenwich Manual (see illustration below). By the end
of the 19th Century steam powered fire pumps were preferred by larger
fire brigades. But for parish brigades like Broadway a manual pump was
still the best option. The purchase price and running costs of a manual
machine were much less than those of a steamer. The Greenwich Manual,
an improved version of their 1851 London Bridge pattern, could, according
to Merryweather, deliver 146 gallons of water per minute, and project
a jet to a height of 125 feet. As a comparison a modern fire pump will
deliver approximately 400 gallons per minute. It was described as being
for 26 men. This number was presumably made up of three crews of eight
who took turns in pumping, leaving two men to deal with the hoses. The
body was constructed of mahogany with a large locker for hoses and other
equipment. Two gunmetal pumps were operated by the side handles via wrought
iron levers. Riding on four large wooden wheels with steel leaf springs
it was light enough to be hauled at a gallop by two horses.
A
comprehensive set of equipment was also purchased with the engine including
suction hose with a basket strainer for drawing from open water, four
lengths of delivery hose and one branchpipe. There were twelve canvas
buckets which were probably used as an alternative method of supplying
water to the pump. A pair of ladders was attached to the sides of the
engine. (list of equipment)
The pump was put through its paces in November 1901 when Edgar Flower, who had given the money to buy the engine, asked the brigade to bring it to his home, Middle Hill House. It proved powerful enough to direct a jet over the highest chimney of the house. There was insufficient suction hose to reach his basement water tanks, so Mr. Flower asked the Parish Council to order further lengths for which he agreed to pay. Mr. Flower, understandably, wanted to ensure that the equipment he had so generously provided for the village, would be able to fight a fire at his home, should the need arise.
The pump was put through its paces in November 1901 when Edgar Flower, who had given the money to buy the engine, asked the brigade to bring it to his home, Middle Hill House. It proved powerful enough to direct a jet over the highest chimney of the house. There was insufficient suction hose to reach his basement water tanks, so Mr. Flower asked the Parish Council to order further lengths for which he agreed to pay. Mr. Flower, understandably, wanted to ensure that the equipment he had so generously provided for the village, would be able to fight a fire at his home, should the need arise.
A Merryweather Greenwich manual, similar
to the one supplied to the Broadway brigade.
Various
other small items of equipment were added over the years, including an
axe, shovel, and hand lamps. In 1902 James Martin, captain of the brigade
at the time, asked for a hand cart, but the request was refused by the
Parish Council on several occasions due to cost. As Martin must have pointed
out, the brigade could have turned out with the hose and other equipment
on a hand cart much more quickly than with the fire engine. This may,
at first, seem like a backwards step, but for small incidents close to
the station where the hose could be connected directly to a hydrant it
would have been especially useful. A cart was eventually purchased in
1919 for the sum of £3:15s.
From Merrweather's catalogue c.1900
Soon
after the formation of the brigade attention turned to providing some
method of calling out the crew in the event of a fire. A bell was thought
to be of little use due to the difficulty of distinguishing it from the
many other bells in the village. John Morris, the clerk to the Parish
Council wrote to Merryweather asking them to send a powerful foghorn on
approval. Merryweather & Sons replied that a fog horn would not be
suitable. This would have been because of the lack of any power supply.
They suggested instead a large bell, or an electric telegraph connected
to the firemen’s homes.
The
clerk then canvassed the opinion of other brigades in the area. All those
who replied were currently using a hand operated bell situated, in most
cases, on top of their station. The general feeling of the other brigades
was, that although not an ideal way of raising the alarm, a bell served
the purpose fairly well. The Moreton-in-Marsh captain suggested the use
of electrical alarms connected to the men's homes. He found that their
bell, when sounded, attracted a crowd of onlookers, who in his words,
"Are at times a hindrance to prompt work". Finally, though,
the council decided on a bell rather than the electric telegraph, presumably
because the latter would have been too expensive. A quote of £4:16:6d
was obtained from T.W.Coke of Sheerness for a 14" bell and 40' of
tufted rope, and it was agreed it should be ordered. Gill Brothers of
Bourton-on-the-Hill quoted £7:15s to construct a tower on the fire
station to house the bell; this quote was also accepted by the council.(see
proposed bell tower)
Providing
horses to haul the fire engine was as much a problem for the Broadway
brigade as it was for other small brigades. It would have been prohibitively
expensive to buy and keep horses solely for this purpose. Instead, they
had to rely on having an agreement with someone to supply horses as and
when required. The Broadway brigade’s horses were at first supplied
by Robert Cordell, proprietor of the Lygon Arms, who was captain of the
brigade at the time. Charles Stuart Drury of Mill Hay in Snowshill Road
provided them from about 1901 until 1904 when John Cotterell, one of the
firemen, assumed responsibility. John Cotterell continued to provide horses
for the next fifteen years, until 1919.
There then followed a period when it was not possible to get anyone to make a definite commitment to supply horses to the Brigade. Mr. Roberts of the Swan Inn said he would do his very best to provide them if called upon. But this situation was clearly unsatisfactory, so in 1921 an iron towing bar was fitted to the fire engine. This enabled it to be hauled to fires behind various motor vehicles which were, at that time, becoming more common. The first recorded instance of motor haulage is by means of a vehicle supplied by Broadway Garage, to a fire at Mr. Galt's of Kite's Nest in 1921. So ended the era of the horse drawn engine, and the uncertainty over haulage.
There then followed a period when it was not possible to get anyone to make a definite commitment to supply horses to the Brigade. Mr. Roberts of the Swan Inn said he would do his very best to provide them if called upon. But this situation was clearly unsatisfactory, so in 1921 an iron towing bar was fitted to the fire engine. This enabled it to be hauled to fires behind various motor vehicles which were, at that time, becoming more common. The first recorded instance of motor haulage is by means of a vehicle supplied by Broadway Garage, to a fire at Mr. Galt's of Kite's Nest in 1921. So ended the era of the horse drawn engine, and the uncertainty over haulage.
The
change from horses to motor haulage removed one more source of complaint
from the local critics who, of course, were always on hand to find fault.
There is a story, handed down with some amusement, about the horses having
to be rounded up from a field on the hill, and about the resultant lengthy
delay in turning out whilst the firemen chased them around the field.
This story may or may not be true, but, in fact, turnout times were often
quite good. For instance, on a dark January evening in 1903, it is recorded
that the brigade was able to hitch the horses, and get mobile to a fire
just twenty minutes after the alarm was raised.