Welcome to Our Build Along Series!
Hello, Brickies! Today, we are continuing our focus on The Great Fire of London as part of our Build Along With Brickies series. Previously, we learned about the Great Fire of London and built a LEGO Tudor House. This time, we’ll look at how people in London in 1666 tried to put out fires and how their methods led to new firefighting tools.
During the Great Fire of London, people used leather buckets, fire hooks, and simple water squirters to fight the flames. These tools weren’t very effective, and the fire caused a lot of damage. But this disaster helped inspire new ideas, like the 17th-century fire engine.
While the fire engine we’re building today was introduced after the Great Fire, it shows how firefighting improved because of what happened in 1666. This fun activity will help you understand how firefighting tools got better over time.
Bring the Great Fire of London to Life at Your School with Our KS1 Workshop!
Teachers, elevate your students’ learning journey by booking our engaging KS1 Great Fire of London LEGO Workshop. Our hands-on, interactive sessions make history come alive, ensuring education is both fun and captivating. Visit our KS1 Great Fire of London Workshop page to discover more and secure your booking today!
Firefighting Tools During the Great Fire of London
Before we dive into building our LEGO version of a 17th Century Fire Engine, let’s take a moment to look at some of the tools that were used by the people of London in 1666 to combat the Great Fire. The primary firefighting tools of the time were quite simple but essential. Below, you will see images of a leather bucket, a water squirter, and an axe—each played a crucial role in the efforts to control the flames.
Leather Bucket Used in 1666
Credit: London Fire Brigade
Fire Squirter - 1666
Credit: Museum of London
Replica Leather Fire Helmet
Credit: Starbeck Education
Building a LEGO 17th Century Fire Engine
Let’s dive into the past and bring history to life with LEGO! Here’s what you’ll need and how to build a model of the early fire engines that were inspired by the Great Fire of London. We will be using an early Fire Engine model designed by John Keeling in London around 1678 as our reference for the build. There is an interesting article on the Museum of London website about this model and how they recreated it.
Reference Picture of 17th Century Fire Engine
Credit: Museum of London
“This engine was developed by John Keeling, in about 1678, in his workshop in Blackfriars. At the time they had squirts- rather like big metal syringes- but they didn’t do much.” Museum of London
Brickies LEGO 17th Century Fire Engine Build
An example LEGO build of a 17th Century Fire Engine, first attempt by Brickies
Let’s Get Building
We began our LEGO build by carefully examining the reference photo. Our first challenge was designing the barrel. We realised that once the barrel design was figured out, it would be easier to build an appropriately sized base. For the barrel’s base, we decided to use a LEGO Container, Barrel Half Large (Part 4424). Ideally, we wanted to combine two of these half barrels to create a single large barrel. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a second one available. Like all good LEGO builders, we had to be resourceful with the pieces we had. To extend the height of the barrel, we used three Plates, Round 6 x 6 with Hole (Part 11213), connecting them with a technic pin.
Once we had the barrel design, we proceeded with the following steps:
Reviewing Our LEGO Build
When building our LEGO version of the 17th Century Fire Engine designed by John Keeling, we focused on replicating the structure from the reference photo. This placed our model somewhere between minifigure scale and slightly larger. Initially, we aimed for minifigure scale to have two characters operating the pump, but it didn’t quite work out. We plan to make a smaller version for minifigures, but for this model, we wanted to highlight the key features of the fire engine.
If we were to build this again, we would try to source brown technic pieces to keep the color consistent. Instead of using handcuffs to connect the two levers to the pump, we could explore using a small rubber band. This is the fun part about LEGO—you start with an initial prototype based on the parts you have available and keep refining your build until you are satisfied.
LEGO Elements We Used
View the images below to see what LEGO elements we used to build this 17th Century Fire Engine. Click on the image to view the element on Bricklink.
Now It’s Your Turn To Build!
We’d love to see your creations! Once you’ve built your LEGO 17th Century Fire Engine, take a photo and share it with us on social media. Use the hashtag #BrickiesGreatFire and tag us in your post. We’ll feature some of the best builds on our site.
Learn and Play with Our KS1 Great Fire of London Workshop
Our KS1 Great Fire of London Workshop is designed to be both educational and fun, helping children learn about this significant historical event through interactive LEGO building. Book a school workshop with us today and bring history to life for your students!
This 17th Century Fire Engine build along is great for Home Educated students, bring your own lesson to life with LEGO bricks. Did you know we also run Home Education sessions at Brickies?
