Read and Campbell Limited was a British manufacturer of firefighting equipment founded in 1878. The company was an early pioneer in the design and manufacture of portable fire extinguishers.

History

The company was founded in 1881 by two Scottish

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

s, Messrs Read and Campbell, who had been bridge building in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

formed a company, Aerators Ltd., to make

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

and

gas cylinder A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. High-pressure gas cylinders are also called ''bottles''. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapor ...

s. They formed the company Read and Campbell Ltd. in 1881 and registered a design in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in the same year to cover "the arrangement for piercing capsules" to expel

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

carbon tetrachloride Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names (such as tetrachloromethane, also IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry, recognised by the IUPAC, carbon tet in the cleaning industry, Halon-104 in firefighting, and Refrigerant-10 in HVAC ...

etc. by means of a CO2 cartridge. The patent was granted in 1909. The

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

worked on the principle of a pressurised CO2 cartridge being pierced, the pressure inside thus released expanding into the extinguisher body and expelling the contents under pressure. Other types of extinguishers worked by mixing

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

with a solution of

bicarbonate In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate (IUPAC-recommended nomenclature: hydrogencarbonate) is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. It is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula . Bicarbonate serves a crucial biochemic ...

and water-the soda acid extinguisher. With the growth in motoring and the use of

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

s there was a call for an extinguisher especially designed for fighting petrol fires. In 1911 Read and Campbell took out

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

rights in Argentina on their 'Petrolex' extinguisher. This was a carbon tetrachloride extinguisher operated by a CO2 cartridge. The

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range o ...

conducted tests on the 'Petrolex' which passed with flying colours. 'Waterloo' extinguishers-water filled, were installed in many Royal residences and public buildings including '

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and all the Royal Palaces of England',the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

and the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

. Royal cars were fitted with 'Petrolex' extinguishers. The

North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company The North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company provided electricity to the northern suburbs of London and to parts of Hertfordshire and Essex. Supplies of electricity commenced in 1907 and continued until the company was abolished in 1948 wh ...

carried out a series of stringent tests on the 'Petrolex' extinguisher and informed Read and Campbell that, 'I have never seen any fire extinguishing appliance that seemed as well suited and effective for dealing with fires in Electrical Stations'. Further patents were granted in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

during this period. In 1914 foam compound was registered in Great Britain. Read and Campbell introduced their 'Rocsuds' which was an early form of foam extinguisher. The contents were, amongst other things,

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

, derived from the roots of

soapwort ''Saponaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Asia and Europe, and are commonly known as soapworts. They are herbaceous perennials and annuals, some with woody bases. The flowers are abundant, five-petalled ...

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

, extract of vegetable syrup from

quillaia Quillaia is the milled inner bark or small stems and branches of the soapbark ( ''Quillaja saponaria'', Molina). Other names include ''Murillo bark extract'', ''Panama bark extract'', ''Quillaia extract'', ''Quillay bark extract'', and ''Soapbark e ...

and

liquorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liqu ...

. There was a great expansion of business during this period because of military requirements during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. At this time the 'Waterloo'

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

-bodied extinguisher was introduced-it was claimed that the copper did not discolour the water, and prevented staining of

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

and

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

in art galleries and Museums. The 'Tetra' and 'Roc-Tetra' carbon tetrachloride hand pump for vehicles was introduced in 1927 and adopted by the RAC for use on vehicles in its Road Service fleet. An article in the 'Evening Chronicle' appeared in 1928 stated that it was a legal necessity for motorists to have their garages equipped with fire extinguishers or to empty their

petrol tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled ...

s each time they put their cars away. In 1929 the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

's household was protected by Read and Campbell extinguishers and precise instructions on

fire drill A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building would be evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergencies. In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest a ...

procedure were printed. In the same year the Athenaeum Club, the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

and the Victoria and Albert Museum were equipped with Read and Campbell extinguishers. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Read and Campbell continued to manufacture extinguishers, both for civilian and military use. In 1948 the company was awarded the contract for supplying extinguishers to London Transport. The Read and Campbell copper shell extinguisher was installed in the

in London. This pure copper extinguisher was very popular where appearance was important. The business was acquired by Chubb and Sons in 1964 but continued to operate from

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

as Read and Campbell until the formation of Chubb Fire Security Limited in 1971.

External links

Chubb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read And Campbell Limited Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Firefighting equipment 1964 mergers and acquisitions

History

See also

External links