Show and Tell Friday
Show and tell Friday hosted by Cindy from my Romantic home....
http://romantichome.blogspot.com
Please go check out some more fun show and tells.....
History of the Antique Fire Extinguisher
Nowadays antique firefighting equipment is very much in demand by firefighting memorabilia collectors worldwide. One particular item which always draws attention is the antique fire extinguisher.
The earliest types of antique fire extinguisher date back to the early 1700’s. These antique fire extinguishers were of a primitive design consisting of a cask filled with a fire retardant liquid, incorporated in the internal construction of the cask was a gunpowder charge connected by a light-able fuse. The fuse would be lit which ignited the gunpowder which in turn exploded the cask releasing the liquid onto the fire.
The first modern type of antique fire extinguishers were patented in the early 1800’s. They consisted of a mixture of compressed air and potassium carbonate in a copper cylinder. On operation the compressed air would expel the potassium carbonate at the base of the flames.
A further development of this design was patented in France in 1866, which utilized the the internal mixing of water, sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid to produce carbon dioxide gas.The carbon dioxide gas was directed at the seat of the fire to extinguish the flames.
Here is our most recent find while in our travels of antiquing. My husband noticed it from a far and I loved it. And I thought at 40.00 seemed like a good price to me. I have since priced them out, and they go up to as much as 300.00. Regardless it goes perfectly in our home, and again another cool conversation piece! I would also like to give a shout out to all the awesome and courageous firefighters we have today! What a job, and they do it so well, without hesitation to rescuing lives! WOW, what would we do with out them? Do you know any firefighters?
Labels: antique, copper fire extinguisher, old world, SHOW and tell Friday hosted by Cindy from my Romantic Home blog spot
50 Comments:
Oh Debbie, I almost fell off of my chair when I read this post! I was JUST browsing Craig's List, which is nothing new for me, but this one guy was selling a bunch of antique fire extinguishers and I was like, where does he get them and who would buy them? Now, after seeing your post, I want one! Ha!
xoxo,
Kim
You have the COOLEST stuff!!!!!
Great lesson Deb. I love that old extinguisher. My sister's hubby is a fireman. He has been doing it since after graduating high school. He made lieutenant last year and is going to Captain's classes to make Captain. He is at the busiest fire station in our county. Just two nights ago we had a fire two doors down and I have never seen so many fire trucks and ambulances and police on our street. It was just a one room fire, but the man is in critical condition.
Hey Deb love where you displayed the antique fire extinguisher you know I have two of them that my husband bought off ebay years ago when we lived in our other house and now their packed away in our storage room. Martina
Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Martina I am so glad to see you pop in...you do know you will have to be next on the blog roll it is not as hard as you think! Once you get going you will have so much fun!!~ See you soon:)
That is so cool! What an informative post Debbie! I love your Welcome Spring banner!
~ Tracy
Wow,what a great find. what type of place did you find this at?
patti
Wow,what a great find. what type of place did you find this at?
patti
Very nice show & tell! I love the fire extinguisher!!! It looks great in your home.
Wow---Such a great find!!! I wish I had one! And where, o where did you find this?
PS-I'm from SC too... :)
(thanks for stopping by my blog!)
Reid
I used to have a copper fire extinguisher too! I wish I still had it! Yours is very cool!
This looks great and the coolest! I love how you used it!! It will definately be a great conversation starter!!
Wendy
I love these old fire extinguishers!!
G-Man had one when we married (a long time ago!!!!) and I have it sitting beside our fireplace.
I love that you hung yours.
Rhonda
Ok, here's my twisted mind at work.
I saw you say your husband got this from afar, and I immediately thought, a far? She must be from the south.
I bet some far-man lost it....
The fire extinguisher is cool!! I love unusual things :-)
What a really special find! Thank you for the history too. Interesting and fun post!
I love things like this. I have seen a few of the old fire extinguishers around but they were priced a little too high for my budget.
Thanks for following, I am currently your newest follower.
It's me again Deb I was in a rush before and just looked at the pics I didn't get to read your post.My hubby is a fireman he's been on the job for 21 years and LOVES it! He took all the promotion exams and climbed right up the ladder to chief now he's in charge of all his guys. Call him crazy but he misses going in when there's a fire.I am going to start a blog soon I just need my husbands help in getting started. Talk to you soon Martina
I don't know any firefighters personally, but I sure appreciate each and every one of them.
That is an awesome treasure. It looks great where you put it.
Hi Debbie!
That is such a cool find! love it!
This really is vey interesting. I also love the way the fire extinguisher looks as part of decoration. It is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this for show and tell. Hugs, Lia
PS I am a new follower here.
Hi Debbie!
I am here via Rhonda's blog. Great post. I too love the old fire extinguisher. I love most old things.
Saw in your comment that you were from Nutly and knew Fairfield -- The Fairfield House is actually in a small Village called Fairton (Twp of Fairfield) in the garden of the Garden State, Cumberland County.
- Deborah
What a cool find! I don't ever remember seeing a copper colored one. Meant to come by yesterday to tell you that I caught the very end of your commercial. I'm hoping to see the 'full' version of it soon! Have a good weekend.
Oh my gosh....what a stupendous purchase. This is lovely. So charming, quaint and in such good condition....I'm amazed.
I captured a bit of the Irish Lore today in my SHOW N TELL. Do stop by for a wee bit o' the Irish Luck if you can!
Debbie, that extinguisher is gorgeous! Weird to say about something like that but it really is! ;-) Great find and sounds like a bargain to me! Thanks so much for your sweet comment on my blog! BTW, my neighbor is a Lietenant Fire Fighter in the oldest "house" in Baltimore City, he is the nicest guy and risks his life everyday. He comes froma family where his Dad and all 3 of his brothers were/are FF.
Debbie, I have one that I got for $5, but it's not quite as pristine as yours...one of the metal tags is bent forward and needs to be soldered.
But it has the insides complete, which is rare. I'm thinking of bringing it to the local firehouse.
You have cool stuff. I like cool stuff. Old cool stuff!!!
Love the antique fire extinguisher! How cool!
Visiting from "Friday Follow"! I'm your newest follower! Love for you to come visit me!
Have a great weekend!
~Shelley @ Shelley's Swag
I love that! It is so fascinating and pretty.
I'm a new follower from Friday Follow. Nice to meet you!
Such a neat find!!!
Cool fire extinguisher! Following back from Friday Follow!
Hey Debbie,
Thanks for following me :)
I now follow you also,
You have a great blog love the Show & tell Friday .
Wow, I love it! And I just adore seeing your boys smiling sunny faces when I visit your blog:)
What a beautiful blog. Stopping by from Friday Follow. Thanks for following me too!!
I love all of your ideas. Your 'Welcome Spring' banner caught my eye! I'm going to have to get one of those too!!
Have a Great weekend!!
Warmly,
Cindy :)
Following you back! And that is SO cool. I love it.
Following back from the Follow Friday but you have the cutest site especially with that Show & Tell Friday.
Kim
http://mothertoson.blogspot.com
What a treat to see this old extinguisher! Very COOL!!! Thanks for sharing and be sure to come visit! Happy Show and Tell Friday!!
Wow! That is one great find, Debbie! Pretty cool!...Christine
when i see this it reminds me of my happy times with my dad he use to take me to the fire house and let me sit in the truck and blow the horn it was such a happy time for me it is so nice that you can display this lovely piece in your home :)
Following you back! Nice to meet you :-)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Following you back from Friday Follow! Have a great weekend!
Cathy ♥ Snow White's Blog Shop!
Holy Moly!!! $40???? I was at an antique show in Springfield OH over 10 years ago and these fire extinguishers were going for $275-$450, based on condition.. Looks like yours would have been top priced. Great find for you both, tell hubby he has a great eye!!
Interesting information. I had one many years ago, but not as big and nice as yours. Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy your weekend.
This is a great post! Love the arrangement! I love old stuff like this. You can just feel the history!
Wow that is a beautiful fire extinguisher! It's a piece of art! Great find!
Miss Bloomers/Sonia
You have such great stuff....Love your Blog, just came across it. Thanks for sharing.
Great informational post and that fire extinguisher is too cool!
Kat :)
Hi Debbie...
Wow...what an interesting post! You know, I've never thought about the first fire extinguishers and what they consisted of...so very interesting! Ohhh...what a great treasure find! I love your antique fire extinguisher...love that pretty copper!!! It looks awesome displayed in your home! I bet it's a great conversation piece! Thank you so much for sharing your antique copper extinguisher with us for Sunday Favorites this week! I'll be keeping my eyes out for some of these!!!
Have a super Sunday, my friend!
Chari @Happy To Design
Following back from Friday Follow! Thanks so much for stopping by and leave a nice comment. I will post some stories of my boys soon! Have a great week!
Cara
This was a great post. I happen to have one and after seeing your picture I'm going to put it next to my antique cast iron stove! I'm married to a retired detective, we know no firemen, but have the utmost respect for them as we live in a fire area!
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