For sale is an early 1900s Copper Body Two and One-Half Gallon BADGER’S FIRE EXTINGUISHER with embossed brass metal plate. This loose stopple type fire extinguisher was inspected by Underwriter’s Laboratories Incorporated. The inspection plate is marked No. 396436. This empty bi-carbonate of soda extinguisher is missing the metal cage which held the glass chemical bottle. The extinguisher has the bottle stopple which is marked with a 1901 patent date. This extinguisher looks great but its fire fighting days are long gone. The extinguisher is dented and the bottle rim has some minor edge damage. The top is easy to remove with no damaged threads. The top is marked “Pat’D Aug 28, 1900 – Nov. 19, 1901 – Sept 29, 1903- MFD By Badger Fire Extinguisher Company, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. – 350 LBS. Test”. This extinguisher stands about 24 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches diameter. An awesome fire fighting collectible.
Arthur Campbell Badger from Boston invented a safe, user-friendly Soda Acid fire. Between 1904 and 1925, he filed a number of patents for Soda Acid fire extinguishers. The first of these established the generic form of the extinguisher. Users could now turn a top wheel that screwed down to break the vial. Badger was an enterprising man in the best American tradition of the inventor. He established the Badger Fire Extinguisher Company which has changed hands many times but survives today as Badger Fire Protection: one of the largest manufacturers and retailers of fire protection devices.
