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CHEMICAL
wagons provided a quick attack on a fire with a
smaller-sized hose. It took time for a steamer to
get a head of steam which fed the large 2-1/2-inch
hose lines. A chemical reaction in the tanks of
chemical wagons immediately had water flowing
through the hose. There were
usually a pair of tanks on chemical wagons filled
with a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water.
Sulfuric acid was added to a tank at a fire, and
the reaction forced the water from the tank. A tank
ranged from 40 gallons to 60 gallons. When a tank
was nearly empty, acid was dropped into the second
tank to keep the water flowing. First
Chemical Wagon Houston got a
chemical wagon when Brooks No. 5 organized on
September 24, 1874. The fire company had a homemade
wagon "equipped with jugs of chemicals." The wagon
may also had a tank or two. It would be useless as
a chemical wagon without a tank or two filled with
water. The company
acquired a manufactured chemical wagon the
following year. (No photo of the hose wagon could
be found in the archives.) It had two 60 gallon
tanks and 150 feet of one inch hose. Other
volunteer fire companies quickly nicknamed the
chemical wagon the "Soda Fountain." When the fire
department went fully paid in 1895, the chemical
wagon was assigned to central fire station as
Chemical Engine Co. No. 4. The chemical engine had
been replaced with a gasoline-powered chemical
engine (Auto Chemical No. 1) by 1915, and another
chemical engine (Auto Chemical No. 12) had been
assigned to Station 3. The fire
department motor repair shop built a chemical
engine for the newly annexed Fire Station No. 11 in
1915. It
was the first vehicle built by the shop
and was made from an old six-cylinder
automobile. Cost to build the chemical
engine was $1,800, and it took two months
to complete. The concept
of the chemical wagon had been adopted for city
service trucks and hose wagons in the early days of
the fire department. Tanks
and a small hose were added. Pictured is
Hose Wagon No. 1 so equipped. Under the
driver's seat is the water
tank. By
1920, the chemical engines were used by
the newly-created position of district
chief. A district
chief, driver and one pipeman were assigned to each
chemical engine. TWO
events relegated the chemical wagons to history.
The first was the purchase of automobiles for
district chiefs. (A driver was retained but,
without a tank and chemical hose, there was no
longer a need for the pipeman.) Secondly was the
invention of the triple-combination pumper. The
booster tanks of the triple-combination pumpers
supplied the water through small booster hose
lines.
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