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Feuerspritze/Bremse

English translation: fire-fighting pump wagon (early 20th century)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Feuerspritze
English translation:fire-fighting pump wagon (early 20th century)
Entered by: Kim Metzger

01:57 Feb 25, 2002
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History / History
German term or phrase: Feuerspritze/Bremse
The following text is from a history of a small town in the Sudetenland around the turn of the century (1900). The term I have been using for Feuerspritze up to this point is fire pump (in some cases it can also be fire hose). But suddenly fire pump doesn't make sense in this sentence:

In einem Gedicht wird die Feuerwehr gehänselt und ihr angedichtet, sie hätte bei einem nächtlichen Brande im Übereifer anstelle der neuen Feuerspritze in der Dunkelheit einen alten Leierkasten erwischt. Und plötzlich, als es mit Hurra den Berg hinabging und man an der vermeintlichen Bremse drehte, begann der Kasten zu spielen: "O du lieber Augustin ...", weil der Bremser die Kurbel des Leierkastens gedreht hatte.

So they picked up the street organ by mistake instead of the Feuerspritze. Someone pulls the brakes on what he thinks is a Feuerspritze. It can't be a fire engine that they picked up by mistake. I'm lost here.
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 18:17
fire engine / brakes
Explanation:
hey Kim, have a look at the pics in the links. It's one of those antique / antiquated fire engines pulled by horses or people and equipped with a manual pump. It's an engine (with brakes)! The second pic is smaller, probably held by several people (obviously no brakes but still an engine and not a fire hose)

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Note added at 2002-02-25 02:37:24 (GMT)
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The new English-German diction also gives fire engine:
http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/wernerr/sear...
Selected response from:

Marcus Malabad
Canada
Grading comment
The problem I was facing here was not only the definition of Feuerspritze but also Leierkasten. Although I had translated it as street organ, in my mind it was a box and couldn't figure out how they could confuse a box with a fire engine. But then I found that some street organs were big wagons. So in the end I translated Feuerspritze as fire-fighting pump wagon, finding several examples of the term used onsite. Thanks to everyone.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1fire pump
Tom Funke
5fire engine and brake
Dr. Fred Thomson
4fire engine / brakes
Marcus Malabad


  

Answers


39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
fire engine / brakes


Explanation:
hey Kim, have a look at the pics in the links. It's one of those antique / antiquated fire engines pulled by horses or people and equipped with a manual pump. It's an engine (with brakes)! The second pic is smaller, probably held by several people (obviously no brakes but still an engine and not a fire hose)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-02-25 02:37:24 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The new English-German diction also gives fire engine:
http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/wernerr/sear...


    Reference: http://www.spielzeugmuseum.ch/pages/exponate/dampfspr.htm
    Reference: http://www.drentwede.de/chro_1/14.html
Marcus Malabad
Canada
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in TagalogTagalog
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
The problem I was facing here was not only the definition of Feuerspritze but also Leierkasten. Although I had translated it as street organ, in my mind it was a box and couldn't figure out how they could confuse a box with a fire engine. But then I found that some street organs were big wagons. So in the end I translated Feuerspritze as fire-fighting pump wagon, finding several examples of the term used onsite. Thanks to everyone.
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41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
fire engine and brake


Explanation:
The Feuerspritze is a fire engine.
A fire engine would have a brake. They thought they were stepping on the brake, but they stepped on the lever to start the music instead.

Dr. Fred Thomson
United States
Local time: 18:17
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 27
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43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
fire pump


Explanation:
Hand-operated, later in the century sometimes steam-operated, person-or horse-drawn, -- roughly halfway on the scale between a modern firetruck and a WW2 handpump as required in German homes (along with other such fairly useless implements) for fighting thermite or phosphorus incendiary bombs.

***Feuerspritzen*** transportable Druckpumpen (s. Pumpen) welche zum Zwecke des Löschens von Feuersbrünsten Wasser in springenden Strahlen in die Höhe treiben. (...) Das Pumpwerk ist auf einem fahrbaren Gestell angebracht und wird auf diesem durch Menschen oder Zugvieh som Orte der Gefahr befördert. An Ort und Stelle gewöhnlich durch Menschenkraft, , in größeren Städten neuercdings durch Dampfkraft in bbetrieb gesetc. << pp. 211-212, 2 Abbildungen, Meyers Konversationslexikon, Vierte Auflage, Sechster Band (Faidit - Gehilfe), Verlag des Bibliographicsschen Instituts, Leipzig, 1889

HTH Tom


    see above (& WW2 experience)
Tom Funke
Local time: 20:17
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Marcus Malabad: oh yes, it's a pump!
1 min
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