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London possessed advanced firefighting technology in the form of [[fire engine]]s, which had been used in earlier large-scale fires. However, unlike the useful firehooks, these large pumps had rarely proved flexible or functional enough to make much difference. Only some of them had wheels, others were mounted on wheelless sleds.<ref>Compare Hanson, who claims they had wheels (76), and Tinniswood, who states they did not (50).</ref> They had to be brought a long way, tended to arrive too late, and, with spouts but no delivery hoses, had limited reach.<ref>The fire engines, for which a patent had been granted in 1625, were single-acting [[force pump]]s worked by long handles at the front and back (Tinniswood, 50).</ref> On this occasion an unknown number of fire engines were either wheeled or dragged through the streets, some from across the City. The piped water that they were designed for had already failed, but parts of the river bank could still be reached. As gangs of men tried desperately to maneouvre the engines right up to the river to fill their reservoirs, several of the engines toppled into the Thames. The heat from the flames was by then too great for the remaining engines to get within a useful distance: they could not even get into Pudding Lane.
==Development of the fire==
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