Fire-float Pyronaut
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''Pyronaut'' (originally ''Bristol Phoenix II'') is a specialised form of
fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...
known as a
fire-float A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...
. It was built in 1934 by
Charles Hill & Sons Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Background Established in 1845 from the company Hilhouse, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook the ...
Ltd., Albion Dock Bristol, Yard No. 208. Registered number 333833. She is owned by Bristol Museums and based at
M Shed M Shed is a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour in a dockside transit shed formerly occupied by Bristol Industrial Museum. The museum's name is derived from the way that the port identified each of i ...
in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
's
Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
. Originally powered by two Petter ''Atomic''
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s rates at each. Two
Merryweather & Sons Merryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines. The founder was Moses Merryweather (1791–1872) of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses (1839–1877). Fire applia ...
three-cylinder reciprocating pumps capable of delivering of water per minute. This equipment was replaced in 1968 by two
Ruston & Hornsby Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow gauge railway, narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of ...
6YDM six-cylinder diesel engines rated at each, driving screw propellers from the front power-take-off, and
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...
centrifugal pump Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are a sub-class of dynamic ...
s capable of delivering of water per minute from the main drive.


Fire-floats in Bristol

When ships loaded with valuable cargoes are berthed together in crowded docks surrounded by warehouses, a fire can be disastrous. Although land-based fire-engines are able to reach much of the fire ground, waterborne fire-engines, or
fire-floats A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...
, can fight the fire from the water (outside the UK fire-floats are commonly known as
fireboats A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...
). The first recorded fire-float was built in 1765 for the Sun Fire Insurance Company in London. This was a manual pump in a small boat, rowed by its crew to the scene of the fire. A similar craft was built in Bristol by James Hilhouse for the Imperial Fire Insurance Office in the 1780s. All fire fighting in Bristol was carried out either by private insurance companies or the Docks Company until the formation of the Bristol Fire Brigade as a branch of the police in 1876. By the middle of the nineteenth century, self-propelled steam-fire-floats were beginning to be introduced. The first to appear in Bristol was the ''Fire Queen'', built by Shand Mason & Co., London, in 1884 for service in
Bristol City Docks Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
. The long craft was equipped with a three-cylinder steam-pump supplying two large hose reels; one of these was replaced with a monitor, or water-cannon, in 1900. ''Fire Queen'' served until 1922. In 1905, the Fire Brigade took delivery of the ''Salamander'', built by G.K. Stothert & Co., Hotwells, Bristol, and equipped with Merryweather pumps and two monitors. ''Salamander'' served at
Avonmouth Docks The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avon ...
for many years. She demonstrated the major drawback of steam-powered fire-floats one day in 1917: a fire was discovered at 7:30 a.m. in a transit shed at Avonmouth Dock, and ''Salamander'' was called out. By 8:30 am shore appliances had almost extinguished the fire. Meanwhile, ''Salamander'' had finally raised sufficient steam to lend a hand, and arrived at 8:36 a.m. As well as the two specialised craft, a number of craft owned by the Port Authority were fitted with fire-fighting equipment. These included the tug/tender ''Brunel'', and the multi-purpose workboat ''Bulldog''. The Port also owned and operated the fire-float ''Denny'', built in 1916 for service at
Portishead Dock Portishead may refer to: * Portishead (band), a British band ** Portishead (album), ''Portishead'' (album), the 1997 album by Portishead * Portishead, Somerset, a coastal town in North Somerset, England **Portishead power station **Portishead Rail ...
. ''Denny'' served until 1953. In 1921, ''Fire Queen'' was replaced as the City Docks' fire-float by ''Phoenix'', built in London and petrol-engined. Ten years later, the Fire Brigade reconsidered their requirements in the Port of Bristol. The cost of installing diesel engines in ''Salamander'' was investigated, but proved too expensive to be worthwhile, and instead the Brigade ordered two new fire-floats, one for Avonmouth and one for the City Docks. Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Albion Dockyard, Bristol, successfully tendered for both. In 1934 the ''Bristol Phoenix II'' (later renamed ''Pyronaut'') was launched, followed in 1936 by ''Endres Gane''. ''Bristol Phoenix II'' was taken into commission in June 1934, working from the Prince Street Bridge river police station. Her crew consisted of three firemen, including an engineer stationed below in the noisy engine room. He responded to orders transmitted from the wheel by the ship's telegraph, and controlled the speed and direction of each engine and watched over the pumps at the fire. Surviving records show that in her first two years at work ''Bristol Phoenix II'' attended major fires at Robbins Ltd., Imperial Saw Mills,
Cumberland Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...
(now part of the Baltic Wharf housing estate) Charles Hill & Sons Ltd.'s shipyard and William Butler's tar distillation works at
Crew's Hole, Bristol Crew's Hole is an area in east Bristol near St George. It is next to the River Avon, two miles upstream from Bristol Bridge. From the early 18th century it began to be used extensively as an industrial area. The Bristol Brass Company began co ...
. These sites were at opposite ends of the City Docks, almost five miles apart, and to allow the fire-float to reach the fire quickly, it was important that she should be able to pass under Prince Street swing bridge (the lowest in the Docks) without the bridge opening. This limitation meant that the fire-float's air-draught (the hull and superstructure above the waterline) was very low, and the helmsman had to lie flat on the deck when navigating some of the bridges. In 1938, it was discovered that a second vessel named ''Phoenix'' appeared on the Bristol Ship Register, and, because this is not permitted, the fire-float was renamed ''Pyronaut'' (a name thought up by the teenage son of the Chairman of the
Watch Committee In England and Wales, watch committees were the local government bodies which oversaw policing from 1835 until, in some areas, 1968. Establishment The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 required each borough to establish a "watch committee" and to ...
). Shortly after this, in November 1938, one of the most serious peacetime fires in the City Docks broke out, at Samuel Thompson & Sons'
malthouse A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain food ...
(later known as the MacArthur warehouse) in Gas Ferry Road. The fire raged through the building, causing £46,000 of damage before it was extinguished by ''Pyronaut'' and several shore appliances.


World War II

Early in 1939 several small fires at various places in the City Docks preceded a major fire at the Cumberland Road premises of the Anglo-American Asphalt Co. In the following year, ''Pyronaut'' embarked upon her busiest period, as the air raids of the
Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was easi ...
damaged and destroyed countless warehouses, factories, shops and homes around the
Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
. Operating alongside two motor-launches fitted with fire-fighting equipment, ''Pyronaut'' was constantly manned and working through the worst raids of the war.


Peacetime service

The return to peacetime duties meant less work for the fire-floats, but major fires still occurred. In February 1948 there was a serious blaze at the Hippodrome Theatre, and ''Pyronaut'' pumped water from the head of
St Augustine's Reach The Frome , historically the Froom, is a river that rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire, and flows southwesterly through Bristol to join the river Avon. It is approximately long, and the mean flow at Frenchay is . The name ''Frome' ...
. It was the height of the
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
season, and amongst the salvage was some of the clothing for the cast, including Sid Phasey's dress suit. A reporter recorded the scene: ‘I find clusters of men soaked to the skin, their eyes red-rimmed with the smoke and fumes, plying their hoses oblivious to the danger that threatened them every minute from above’. In 1949, a serious fire in wastepaper stacks at St. Anne's Board Mill required the attendance of ''Pyronaut'' and many shore appliances, as well as the company’s own motor-launch fire-float. When Rowe Bros' lead works warehouses on Canons' Marsh caught fire in 1950, ''Pyronaut'' pumped water from the City Docks. In September 1951, the most serious peacetime oil fire to date broke out at Avonmouth Docks, and ''Pyronaut'' made the journey down the River Avon to attend; she pumped water continually for two days. The following year saw her fighting a dangerous fire aboard the m.v. ''Stalheim'' in the city docks. In quieter moments, the crew regularly took ''Pyronaut'' for drill periods, to familiarise themselves with the equipment and performance of the craft. A favourite destination during drill was Beese’s Tea Garden at
Conham Conham is a suburb of the city of Bristol in England. It lies near Hanham on the north bank of the River Avon just outside the city boundaries in South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial c ...
.


Closure of Bristol City Docks

By 1967, the equipment of ''Pyronaut'' and ''Endres Gane'' was becoming worn out and obsolete. A new fire-float for Avonmouth Docks, the ''Aquanaut'', was ordered from Thames Launch Works Ltd., London, and delivered in 1969. Powered by twin
Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...
diesel engines driving Schottel propulsion units, the new craft was very manoeuvrable, and her
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
turbocharged pumps allowed her to deliver of water per minute through hoses and four monitors; additionally, she carried large tanks for foam which was discharged through a fifth, dual-purpose, monitor. ''Aquanaut'' replaced the ''Endres Gane'', which was sold into private hands; she can still be seen acting as a storage hulk in the city docks. Instead of buying a new fire-float for the city docks, it was decided to re-equip ''Pyronaut'', and this was carried out in 1968 to 1969, at Charles Hill's. Her Petter Atomic diesel engines and
Merryweather Merryweather may refer to: People * Alice Merryweather (born 1996), American alpine skier * Andrew Merryweather (born 1961), Australian rules footballer * George Merryweather (1794–1870), English inventor of the tempest prognosticator, a leech-ba ...
reciprocating pumps were replaced with
Ruston & Hornsby Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow gauge railway, narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of ...
diesels. These were installed with the normal drive facing forwards, so that the full power of the engines could be applied to the new
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...
centrifugal pumps, and yet still provide sufficient power from the auxiliary end of the engines to drive the screws. At the same time, remote controls of the engine from the steering position was introduced, so that it was no longer necessary to station an engineer in the engine room at all times.


1972 review

Despite these improvements, ''Pyronauts working days were numbered. In 1969, the decision to close Bristol City Docks to commercial traffic by 1975 was announced and a review of the fire cover in the city docks in 1972 noted that very few buildings remained which could not be reached on all sides by land-based fire-engines. Consequently, ''Pyronaut'' was put up for sale in 1973. Seven years later ''Aquanaut'' was also sold, and fire cover in the Avonmouth and
Royal Portbury Dock The Royal Portbury Dock is part of the Port of Bristol, in England. It is situated near the village of Portbury on the southern side of the mouth of the River Avon, Bristol, Avon, where the river joins the Severn estuary — the Avonmouth ...
s became the responsibility of land-based fire appliances and new tugs equipped with fire-fighting equipment. ''Pyronaut'' was sold to the Port of Bristol Authority, who took her to Avonmouth and began work on converting her into a divers' boat. This entailed removing all the fire-fighting pumps and moving her engines forward in the hull to create space for a changing room. The work was never completed, and she was sold again to a private owner in 1983, who began to fit out the changing room as a saloon, with the intention of using ''Pyronaut'' as a working/living craft in the south of Ireland. Shortly before completing the work in 1989, he decided to sell the vessel to
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...
, based at the now-closed
Bristol Industrial Museum The Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour and which closed in 2006. On display were items from Bristol's industrial past – including aviation, car and bus manufactur ...
where restoration and preservation was completed in 1995. ''Pyronaut'' can now be seen outside the new
M Shed M Shed is a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour in a dockside transit shed formerly occupied by Bristol Industrial Museum. The museum's name is derived from the way that the port identified each of i ...
museum,http://mshed.org/ berthed with the museum‘s tugs ''
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
'' and ''John King''. Listed as part of the
National Historic Fleet The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media a ...
, she performs displays during major harbour events as well as operating for trips on some summer weekends. In June 2012 she travelled to London by road to take part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyronaut Fireboats of the United Kingdom Bristol Industrial Museum Museum ships in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Bristol Ships built in Bristol Bristol Harbourside 1934 ships Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet