Fighting fire

[Anonymous]

How did the Romans fight fire in cities? I know the vigiles, etc were fire-fighters but I'm looking for specific methods they used to put out fires. Obviously they didn't have hoses... so what did they do? Knock buildings down so the fire couldn't spread? I imagine there must be something in the sources about these tactics.. Thanks! <p></p><i></i>

[FlaviusCrispus]

I'm writing from memory here, but here goes...<br>
<br>
The Romans had some remarkably sophisticated firefighting techniques, including a form of "pump engine" which used a kind of rocker-piston system to squirt water through a copper nozzle for considerable distances. I'm not sure when these came into use, but at least one prominant writer (Pliny?) describes them in some detail.<br>
<br>
They also had teams of "esparto matt boys" who used big matts woven from damp reeds to stamp out and smother flames.<br>
<br>
Finally, they had demolition teams that would attempt to pull down buildings in the path of a major conflagration to create a fire break. Seeing as how many Roman tenement buildings were of pretty flimsy construction (by modern standards), this wasn't all that difficult, even without wrecking balls and explosives.<br>
<br>
There's more, on which I can report when I get my hands on the proper books at home.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus<br>
<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=flaviuscrispus@romanarmytalk>FlaviusCrispus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/legiovi/vwp?.dir=/Flavius+photo&.src=gr&.dnm=flavhead2.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 2/14/04 2:52 am<br></i>

[Anonymous]

I seem to remember that after the famous fire that wasn't started by Nero (he wasnt even in Rome at the time) buckets of sand were placed all over Rome at the intersections of streets and such, that in the event of fire the sand could be quickly accessed and thrown on the fire. <p></p><i></i>

[FlaviusCrispus]

OK, here are some gleanings from two books-- "Ancient Rome: City Plannings and Administration" by O.F. Robinson, and "The Ancient Engineers" by L. Sprague Du Camp.<br>
<br>
Robinson, pgs. 105-110, gives a pretty detailed description of the Vigiles (the police / firefighting organization in Rome proper, among whom the firefighters seemed to have had the nickname "sparteoli"). This passage is from page 109: "The vigiles had plentiful access to water, but they had to rely on man and bucket power, partly because there was so low a pressure in gravity-fed mains, and partly since there were no flexible hoses... They were equipped with buckets (hamae), with pumping engines (sifoni) -- two to each cohort, with ceiling hooks (uncini) and grappling hooks (falces), mattocks (dolabres) for clearing away and axes (secures) for breaking in, mats (centones) which could be used to smother flames, and possibly mats onto which people could jump. Each cohort also had three ballistae, which seem to have been used for making fire breaks..."<br>
<br>
The use of "pumping engines (sifoni)" is attributed to Vitruvius, but merit no further description in Robinson's book; these could simply be big syringes, or they could be the ingenius firefighting pump described by Heron of Alexandria in the first century AD. Du Camp has a diagram of this device on page 241 (fig. 17), which indeed uses a see-saw rocker lever to work two pistons, delivering water to a copper nozzle that could be turned up, down or sideways to direct a stream of water at a fire. The engine was fed water by a bucket brigade. Du Camp notes that this device was apparently in use in Alexandria in the first century AD, but doesn't speculate as to whether it was used in Rome proper.<br>
<br>
The use of ballistae is also pretty interesting; in addition to brining down buildings, could they perhaps be used to hurl "water bombs" (crockery vessles filled with water) into the upper floors of flaming buildings? That's just a guess on my part.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Awesome, thanks very much Cripus<br>
<br>
I'm curious, though, how in the heck would you maneuver and use a ballista in the cramped city streets which no doubt were plentiful in the apartment blocks of Rome, Alexandria, etc? It must've been pretty difficult. <p></p><i></i>

[Flavius]

Saluete commilitones,<br>
I've just found this interesting links on the matter:<br>
www.ostia-antica.org/dict...aserma.htm<br>
www.romeguide.it/excubotorium/inglese/<br>
<br>
Valete omnes.<br>
Flavius <p>---------<br>
Fecisti patriam diversis gentibus unam;<br>
profuit iniustis te dominante capi;<br>
dumque offers victis proprii consortia iuris,<br>
Urbem fecisti, quod prius orbis erat.<br>
(Rutilius Namatianus - De Reditu Suo, I, 63-66) </p><i></i>

[FlaviusCrispus]

Ave, frater Flavius...<br>
<br>
Wow! The first website in particular shows photos of the remnants of a pump engine that looks almost exactly like Du Camp's diagram! These must have been unearthed since "The Ancient Engineers" was published, because Du Camp makes no mention of actual artifacts. It also establishes pretty conclusively that these advanced pump engines were used in Rome as well as Alexandria.<br>
<br>
Makes you wonder what other kinds of "advanced technology" the Romans employed.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=flaviuscrispus@romanarmytalk>FlaviusCrispus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/legiovi/vwp?.dir=/Flavius+photo&.src=gr&.dnm=flavhead2.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 2/18/04 11:30 pm<br></i>

[Flavius]

Ave FlaviusCrispus!<br>
Well, as a former fireman, I'm specially sensitive about the matter<br>
Look also at this interesting material (valves and fittings found on the Nemi ships):<br>
www.novanet.it/com/person...ndex_e.htm<br>
It's astonishing!<br>
Vale! <p>---------<br>
Fecisti patriam diversis gentibus unam;<br>
profuit iniustis te dominante capi;<br>
dumque offers victis proprii consortia iuris,<br>
Urbem fecisti, quod prius orbis erat.<br>
(Rutilius Namatianus - De Reditu Suo, I, 63-66) </p><i></i>