James B. Francis - Fire Sprinkler System

Fire Sprinkler System

In 1845, James Francis developed the first sprinkler systems ever devised in the United States. On top of Lynde Hill, in the Belvidere section of Lowell, he had a 2,000,000-gallon reservoir constructed with a 36-inch-diameter (910 mm) underground cast-iron branch mains connecting to several mills. The first simple gravity system was first implemented at the Suffolk Mill Picker Houses. About twenty years later, in 1869, Francis contracted Frederick Ginnell of the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company to install a "perforated pipe" system invented in England by John Carney in 1906, to work with Francis' system. The two became friends, and shared and tested many ideas. Their systems also became very popular with the mill owners and insurance companies, and the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company began installing similar systems throughout the mills in Fall River, Massachusetts and elsewhere.

The Francis system was simple: Valves would be opened manually, allowing water to flow through an array of pipes tucked close to ceilings, and ending with small jets spraying the water. The big issue was that this sprinkler system was throughout the entire building, so any use of the system would flood the entire structure and all its contents. It was not until 1875, that Henry Parmelee invented a sprinkler head that only activated one at a time, and that is when sprinkler systems became very popular.