Chimney Fire 1860, Painted, C431

By the 1860ties fire fighting had become a skilled profession carried out by paid firemen who were regularly trained.
Chimney fires were by far the most common reason for a ' Call Out '. Burning soot created intense heat which was vented up through the chimney and damping called for a special technique. Water had to be poured in large quantities at speed, otherwise the heat would simply turn the water to steam creating a scalding blast back up the chimney. The fire crew therefore had to prepare a stockpile of buckets, full of water, and once ready pour them as steadily as possible wetting & steaming down the entire lum, quenching the fire, without wetting the kitchen floor below.
The figure depicts a fireman of the 1860ties, on a cold winter's night precariously standing along a steep tiled roof as he pours water from a leather bucket down a smouldering chimney. Who knows what the Health and Safety Executive would have to say about this working practise today!

We will supply this figurine on a thin 'Collectors' base as standard. If you would like us to mount it on a deeper 'Presentation' style base please choose the option below.