Dean Apparatus for extinguishing fires 1825

Charles Anthony Deane (1796–1848) was a pioneering diving engineer, inventor of the

diving helmet A diving helmet is a rigid head enclosure with a breathing gas supply used in underwater diving. They are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface-supplied diving, though some models can be used with scuba equipment. The upper part ...

Life

Born in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

, Charles and his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

studied at the Greenwich Hospital School for Boys (the former buildings of which are now the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

) to become merchant seamen, going to sea at the age of 14 for a period of 7 years before returning to Deptford. Charles Deane then took up employment as a caulker at Barnard's Shipyard. During this time he realised the problem of fighting fires within the holds of ships. In the 1820s John Deane was present in England when horses were trapped by fire in a stable. To get through the smoke and fire fumes he put on a medieval

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

-in-armor helmet air-pumped by hose from a

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

water pump, and rescued all the horses.http://scubaeds.com/10.html Scuba Ed's - History of scuba diving In 1823 he patented a "Smoke Helmet" to be used by firemen in smoke-filled areas; the full title is given as ''"Apparatus or Machines to be worn by Persons entering Rooms or other places filled with Smoke of other Vapour, for the purpose of extinguishing Fire, or extricating Persons or Property therein"''. The apparatus comprised a copper helmet with an attached flexible collar and garment. A long leather hose attached to the rear of the helmet was to be used to supply air, the original concept being that it would be pumped using a double bellows. A short pipe allowed breathed air to escape. The garment was to be constructed from leather or airtight cloth, secured by straps. Charles had insufficient funds to build the equipment himself, so sold his patent to his employer, Edward Barnard. It was not until 1827 that the first smoke helmets were built, by

Augustus Siebe Christian Augustus Siebe (known by his middle name; 1788 – 15 April 1872) was a German-born British engineer chiefly known for his contributions to diving equipment. Contribution to diving In the 1830s the Deane brothers asked Siebe ...

. Charles Deane had little success marketing the apparatus as a smoke helmet, so in 1828 he and his brother decided to find another application for it and converted it into a diving helmet and marketed the helmet with a loosely attached "diving suit" so that a diver could perform salvage work but only in a full vertical position, otherwise water entered the suit. In 1829 the Deane brothers sailed from Whitstable for trials of their new underwater apparatus, establishing the diving industry in the town. In 1834 Charles used his diving helmet and suit in a successful attempt upon the wreck of ''Royal George'' at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

, during which he recovered 28 of the ship's cannon. By 1836 the Deane brothers had produced the world's first diving manual, ''Method of Using Deane's Patent Diving Apparatus'' which explained in detail the workings of the apparatus and pump, plus safety precautions.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deane, Charles Anthony Diving engineers British inventors 1796 births 1848 deaths People from Deptford Professional divers Engineers from London