What historical fire fighting equipment was primarily used before the widespread adoption of internal combustion engines?

Horse-drawn steam engines were a significant advancement in firefighting equipment prior to the widespread adoption of internal combustion engines. These steam engines allowed for a much more efficient method of delivering water to combat fires compared to earlier technologies. The horses provided a means of transport, enabling faster response times to fires.

Steam engines harnessed the power of heated water to generate steam, which then created pressure to propel water from the engine through hoses to the fire. This represented a leap in technology as it combined the mobility of horse-drawn carriages with the effective water delivery capability of steam power.

In contrast, while horse-drawn chemical carts and hand-pumped fire engines were used earlier, they did not have the same efficiency or capacity for delivering large volumes of water quickly as steam engines did. Motorized fire trucks came much later with the advent of internal combustion engines, marking another evolution in firefighting equipment but not representative of the period in question. Thus, horse-drawn steam engines represent the transitional technology that significantly improved firefighting efforts before the era of motorized vehicles.