FIRE ENGINES, Trevor Whitehead, 1997
In Great Britain fire engines are a familiar part of modern life and yet the sight of the big red machines and the urgent sound of their horns never fail to make heads turn and eyes stare.
This book examines the origins of man's attempts to construct a machine capable of extinguishing fires.
It traces the history of the fire engine in Britain from the seventeenth century to the first succeccful design in 1725, the introduction of the steam-powered pump in the mid nineteenth century, the ousting of horses by motor engines, the growth and development of the British fire engine industry, changes in design brought about by the Second World War, and the evolving of the costly and complex machines which are used to fight fire today.
It is a fascinating story, and the illustrations reveal the diversity of designs from the early manual engines and horse-drawn steamers to the open-bodied and limousine motor fire engines of pre-war and modern crew safety vehicles.
5 3/4" x 8 1/4", 32 pages, 41 B&W photos and illustrations, softcover, ISBN: 0-85263-555-9, BF5113 / $10.00
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