A History of Fire Pumps

Posted by: 4dm1n in Product Articles June 30, 2016 Comments Off on A History of Fire Pumps 1,178
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The humble water pump is considered by some to be the greatest invention for fire suppression, saving
lives and sparing property from fire devastation.

If speed and water are the two components in stopping fires, then portable water pumps were a necessity.
Water pumps on wheels, often pulled by men, appeared in the 1700s in the US and England to supplement
the work of volunteers passing water buckets from one to another forming a “bucket brigade.” Patents for
the first fire engine pump, a twin cylinder single acting pump on a wheeled cart, were granted to Richard
Newsham, a British entrepreneur. This invention allowed water to shoot up to 135 feet while the bucket
brigade filled the cistern and men operated the cross handles.

Horses pulled the fire pump wagon to the site around 1850. However, the firefighters had to walk or run to
the location and often arrived much later than the fire pump. Eventually, steps and running boards were
installed on the cart so that men could ride with the pump and be ready for action. However, the term “fire
pump” was not used in documents until around 1900.

The first Canadian portable pump for use in wildland fires was designed in 1915 by fire inspector H.C.
Johnson while serving on the Board of Railway Commissioners. The Fairbanks Morse Company
manufactured the pump consisting of a water-cooled, four-to-five horsepower, two-cycle, twin-cylinder
engine and an attached flexible rubber coupling to a bronze rotary pump. Locomotives, automobiles or
hand and horse-drawn carts moved the 130- pound pump with ease. In some Canadian regions, pumps
were driven by dog sled. With this invention, a 70 men crew with hand tools building dry method fire lines
was replaced by a seven-men team and one portable pump that could supply water at the rate of 20 gallons
per minute.

Portable water pump innovations rapidly evolved resulting in fierce global competition, most notably, the
Evinrude, Johnson and Pacific Marine Supply companies in the United States. However, “Watson Jack &
Company (Wajax) ultimately came to dominate the global market for portable fire pumps.” 1

Eventually, competitors became partners. Wajax with Pacific Marine Supply of Seattle, Washington,
formed Wajax-Pacific and became the fire division of the largest marine supply company on the Pacific
west coast. Pacific Marine sold its manufactured gasoline-powered portable fire pumps and apparatus for
the wood, logging and marine industries. In WWII, Pacific Marine designed and produced over 44,000 P-
60 Handy Billy portable pumps purchased by the US Navy and were easily carried by two men. The Handy
Billy was critical for use on ships that lost electricity. During WWII, the US War Department bestowed the
“E” award to Pacific Marine for service above and beyond the call of duty.

When Pacific Marine’s fire division was acquired by Wajax Ltd in 1964, the name became Pacific Pumpers
Inc. and solidified Wajax Ltd.’s position as North America’s leading forest fire protection products
manufacturer. In the same year, the MARK-3® water pump was introduced on the market and became
the standard portable wildland fire pump for forest agencies around the globe.

Pacific Pumper, later renamed Pacific Fire Equipment Inc., formed at the start of the ‘80s. This new
company expanded its focus to include manufacturing firefighting equipment for the US marine and
industrial industries with its exceptional wildland firefighting client base. In 1983, Wajax Ltd. combined
Wajax-Pacific Fire Equipment Inc. and Montreal-based Wajax Manufacturing which formed their Fire
Control Division.

After ownership transitions, the current WATERAX brand recaptures the legacy of the original Watson Jack
& Co., Wajax and wildland fire roots. WATERAX products’ foundation is again multi-stage centrifugal pump
ends moving water while generating high-pressure for wildland firefighting and other applications to transfer
water over terrain and high elevations.

Reference

1 Pyne, S. J. (2007). Awful Splendour: A fire history of Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press