Read and Campbell Limited

Read and Campbell Limited was a British manufacturer of firefighting equipment founded in 1881. The company was an early pioneer in the design and manufacture of portable fire extinguishers.

The company was founded in 1881 by two Scottish engineers, Messrs Read and Campbell, who had been bridge building in Argentina formed a company, Aerators Ltd., to make carbon dioxide and gas cylinders. They formed the company Read and Campbell Ltd. in 1881 and registered a design in Great Britain in the same year to cover "the arrangement for piercing capsules" to expel water, carbon tetrachloride etc. by means of a CO2 cartridge. The patent was granted in 1909. The fire extinguisher worked on the principle of a pressurised CO2 cartridge being pierced, the pressure inside thus released expanding into the extinguisher body and expelling the contents under pressure. Other types of extinguishers worked by mixing sulphuric acid with a solution of bicarbonate and water-the soda acid extinguisher.

With the growth in motoring and the use of petrol engines there was a call for an extinguisher especially designed for fighting petrol fires. In 1911 Read and Campbell took out patent rights in Argentina on their 'Petrolex' extinguisher. This was acarbon tetrachloride extinguisher operated by a CO2 cartridge. The Royal Automobile Club conducted tests on the 'Petrolex' which passed with flying colours. 'Waterloo' extinguishers-water filled, were installed in many Royal residences and public buildings including 'Windsor Castle and all the Royal Palaces of England',the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the General Post Office. Royal cars were fitted with 'Petrolex' extinguishers.

...
Wikipedia