This film is part of Free

Turn out of the Hull Fire Brigade (1902)

The fire brigade springs into action for the benefit of the camera.

Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent

Overview

This demonstration of the local fire department is clearly staged - spot the man running to knock on the fire station door - and yet the spectacle of the unit rushing into action is still impressive, particularly if you imagine the thunder of hooves and clang of bells. The ladder on wheels appears not to fit in the station, so the film was perhaps intended to show-off this new apparatus.

Because the road is blocked to let the engines rush out, we are also given an unusually condensed glimpse of other everyday street traffic once it is released. A particularly impressive sight, and one that will be alien to most audiences today, is the huge block of ice that passes by chained to a wagon.