Who invented the first Fire Extinguisher?
The first equivalent of the modern day portable fire extinguisher was invented by in England by George Manby in 1813, though a type of ‘automatic’ fire fighting device was first invented by the chemist Ambrose Godfrey much earlier in 1723. Godfrey’s device was an intriguing system involving the scattering of a liquid by a small explosion. The principle was that if a fire started, it would ignite one of a series of fuses which in turn detonated a charge of gunpowder inside a container full of the liquid. The liquid was then blown out of its container and scattered around the area, suppressing the flames. Manby’s portable device was the real breakthrough in terms of what we now understand as a fire extinguisher. He called his invention an ‘Extincteur’ and it was essentially a container made of copper, which held three gallons of a solution of potassium carbonate contained by compressed air. This is the essential principle behind most modern fire extinguishers. George Manby also invented
