The tool that puts out fire is the hoseline. Nothing is more fundamental when it comes to firefighting. The hoseline delivers your water, and yet as basic of an operation as this is, firefighters sometimes find themselves not pulling the correct size handline for the job. Instead, we may default to our staple hoseline for every fire that we fight.
The staple hose of the fire service is the 1 ½-inch size hose. This size line is an easy size for most firefighters to handle based on water flow and nozzle reaction. Depending on what type of nozzle is affixed to the end of the hose, water flow and nozzle reaction will vary. As seen in photo 1—and as featured in numerous online and real-life firefighting discussions—there are two basic types of nozzles, the smooth bore and the combination nozzle. The smooth bore nozzle in the photo has a 15/16-inch tip on the end, which will deliver about 180 gpm at 50 psi. The nozzle reaction on this type of nozzle is around 69 pounds.
The combination nozzle can be programmed to flow a fixed amount of water at a certain nozzle pressure; 165 gpms at 50 psi or 180 gpms at 75 psi for example. The nozzle reaction for these types of nozzles will vary from 69 pounds to about 80 pounds of force. The automatic combination nozzle can be programmed the same way with a set pressure required at the tip like 75 psi or 100 psi, and the flow will vary depending upon the amount of water being provided to it from the pump.
It is also very mobile in terms of advancement on the fireground. A firefighter or two can easily maneuver this size hoseline into a structure, as you will see in photo 2. With the amount of water that is inside the hose in terms of gallons, the water weight of the hose is not that heavy and can easily be advanced. The 1 ½-inch hose is extremely easy to maneuver as compared to the 1 ¾-inch hose.
The downside to these two hose sizes is the amount of water flow that is being produced. Is it enough to overcome the fire that is being presented to you? Many times, these two size hoselines will be adequate to produce enough water to overcome the heat release rates, the energy production, the thermal production of heat and the unburned products of combustion. But there are times when this is not the case, despite the fact that we seem to always pull these two lines for every fire that we attend.
Why do we do this? It is because of our programming. We pull our preconnected hose lines as our first hoselines off the truck, and they are usually 1 ½- or 1 ¾-inch. It is our default action; but we cannot become complacent when it comes to fire.
So, what if the fire requires more water? What do firefighters do then? A lot of times, we pull off multiple hoselines to help with the demand of more water on the fire. This is an okay plan if we have the staffing to do this and the water supply available to supply all these extra hoselines, but it is not very effective or efficient in our initial actions with limited manpower upon arrival.
In photo 3, you will see a different size of hose being pulled off as the first attack line. It is the traditional 2 ½-inch size hoseline. This size hoseline has been in existence since the dawn of the fire service, and it has performed faithfully and adequately. Attached to this hoseline is a fixed flow combination nozzle, programmed for 250 gpm at 50 psi.
The nozzle reaction for this size hose is going to be between 75 and 85 pounds of force. The water weight of this size hoseline is heavier than the smaller sizes because you are almost doubling the size of the hose and the amount of water that it is able to hold. Thus it may not be the most desirable hoseline to pull off the truck first.
Many firefighters hesitate to pull off the 2 ½-inch hoseline because they are either afraid of it or not used to handling it and think of it as a defensive weapon only rather than an offensive weapon. When there is big fire, you will need big water and this size hoseline will deliver a massive knockout punch with water delivery. With first-arriving crews on scene of a structure with large fire, effectiveness and efficiency will be gained by pulling the right size hoseline. Sometimes that might mean which in this case might be the 2 ½-inch.
There is an old saying that still bears true to this day: small fire = small water, big fire = big water. With a proper size-up, the first-arriving officer should be able to determine that either small water or big water is needed.
To overcome the fears or misconceptions of the larger hoselines and pulling them off as an offensive weapon, training is the answer. There are a few different techniques that can be used to aid with pulling off the hoseline, flaking it out, and advancing it into a structure with just two firefighters. It does not take an army of firefighters to move or advance a 2 ½-inch hoseline. By practicing these different techniques, firefighters will become more proficient with this certain skill and in the long run, become more effective and efficient with their actions.
Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is a firefighter with the Fort Gratiot (MI) Fire Department. He is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States, and India, and at FDIC. He is also the lead author of Residential Fire Rescue (Fire Engineering Books & Video). He can be contacted at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.