History | The first person to invent a fire extinguisher—Captain Manby! Devoted one’s entire life to the cause of human security

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As the saying goes, “Water and fire cannot coexist.” ”For the Briton George William Manby, there seems to be an additional interpretation. In his youth, he was a captain by profession and had seen plenty of water around the world ； In his old age, he invented the fire extinguisher and proposed ideas such as establishing fire brigades. Unfortunately, however, none of this was recognized during his lifetime. It was not until after his death, when future generations thought of his significant contributions to firefighting, that they remembered him – Captain Mumbey, a “person worthy of being remembered.” 　　Speaking of the fire extinguisher invented by Manby, it all starts with a major fire that broke out in London, England, in 1834. On the night of October 16th that year, a fire of unprecedented proportions broke out at the ancient Westminster Palace, where London’s Parliament is located; this magnificent and historic palace, which has served as the seat of Parliament since 1547, was almost completely destroyed by the fire. A once-glorious building has turned into ruins, resulting in incalculable economic losses. Captain Mumbey, 70, witnessed the fire at London’s Parliament House. He saw the chaotic scene, one that no one could do anything about. At the same time, he found that the old and primitive pumps were too far from the water source, and it was impossible to move them any closer, as it was low tide at the time; the hoses of the pumps were too short, preventing the inlets from reaching the river surface, which even prevented many fireboats from being put into use immediately. After burning all night, the fire still could not be brought under effective control. There were multiple casualties at the scene; firefighters were buried under the debris from collapsed walls, and curious onlookers who gathered there were also trampled to death. At the fire scene, in addition to firefighters, volunteers who volunteered to help put out the fire, onlookers, and *** personnel, there were also three regiments of cavalry guards. However, looking at the entire scene, there was a lack of unified command; each firefighter acted according to his own judgment, with no single supreme command center or corresponding discipline and obedience. Usually, what is needed at a fire scene is complete and thorough cooperation, but in reality, everything is in chaos. When Mambi fled the scene and looked back at the relentless fire, he was filled with emotion; if his fire safety suggestions had been adopted earlier, the losses could have been minimized. It was Captain Mambi, a man with vision and practical experience at sea, who first invented the fire extinguisher. Long before that fire broke out, he realized that such inadequate organization and outdated, cumbersome equipment were problematic; in the event of a fire, they would surely lead to catastrophic disasters. According to his research findings, extinguishing a fire requires speed and timeliness, with the aim of putting it out as soon as it starts, in order to effectively control its spread – this is the most ideal approach. In other words, “a small fire is easy to extinguish, while a big fire is hard to put out.” ； If a small fire is not extinguished, it will surely lead to a major disaster.” In order to control newly emerging fires effectively and promptly, he researched and invented a portable fire extinguisher operated by compressed air, which is lightweight and easy to carry, allowing it to be used wherever a fire breaks out. Its tank is a copper cylinder, two feet long, eight inches in diameter, with a capacity of four gallons (18.184 liters). All of its key specifications are exactly the same as those of the fire extinguishers in use today; this was Captain Mambi’s most outstanding contribution, as well as his earliest invention. Reasonable fire safety advice was ignored. In 19th-century London and throughout Europe, traditional wooden buildings were widespread, making fire prevention particularly important; if a fire broke out and wasn’t extinguished in time, it could spread rapidly, resulting in severe losses. Captain Mambi not only developed fire extinguishers but also put forward many reasonable suggestions to address the shortcomings in fire protection organization; for example, he advocated for the establishment of a formal organization to fund fire protection services, or the creation of an organized fire police force. Yet, for many years, his initiatives remained like cries in the wilderness, receiving no response. Inventions in marine rescue have saved countless lives. Today, when people look back at the history of firefighting, they can see that the suggestions put forward by Manby were all practical; both today’s fire extinguishers and regulations stem from the ideas he proposed back then. However, these rationalization suggestions were ignored by certain powerful figures in the relevant London authorities at that time. Mambi devoted all his time and lifelong efforts to the noble cause of saving human lives and property, a cause that was understood by some but not put into practice by anyone. Although he was not a professional researcher, thanks to his nautical experience and awareness of the tragic accidents that often occurred off the coast due to storms, fog, tidal currents, etc., which led to ship collisions or runs aground and resulted in the deaths of sailors, he invented a device that used cannon to throw ropes onto the ships in distress. This device saved the lives of thousands of sailors around the world, and it was known as the “Mumby apparatus.” For navigation safety, Manby designed and manufactured a type of lifeboat and pants-style life jacket that would not sink, which evolved into the modern inflatable life rafts and life jackets used on ships. To ensure the safety of ship navigation, Mambi was also the first person in the world to propose using lighthouse flashing as identification signals. In addition, he was also responsible for establishing the Society for Saving Lives at Sea and served as its key leader; later, this organization evolved into the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. 　　In his old age, Mambi applied his inventive skills to fire prevention work in an effort to save people’s lives and property, and achieved success in doing so. It is particularly worth mentioning that on the night the Capitol was set on fire, he was conducting experiments on fire-resistant suits.