All too often experienced firefighters fall into the “pre-connect syndrome”. That is, stretching the same pre-connected hose line for every fire situation they respond too. This works well most of the time, but every once in a while it will come back to bite them. Stretching a hose line that is too short or too long is inefficient and can prove to be dangerous. Firefighters must know how to properly estimate how much hose is required to reach the objective..
The buildings height, area and set back from the street will indicate the proper amount of hose to stretch. First you must determine who far your point of entry to the fire building is from your engine (set back). Then you need to know what floor the fire is on (height). If stretching up the stairs, add one length of hose for each floor above the first floor. Lastly, add the width of the building to the depth of the building (area). The sum of these three measurements should get you in the ball park.
Let’s look at two examples using the common 200’, 1 ¾” pre-connected hose load.
Example #1: A fire on the third floor of a three story 120’ x 50’ foot wood frame garden apartment. The apartment door opens onto an exterior landing and staircase opposite the street side of the building (Charlie side).
Hose length required:
- 120’+50’ (area)
- 100’ (height of third floor)
- 50’ (set back distance)
- Total length of hose required = 320’ (almost seven lengths of hose)
- The 200 foot pre-connect falls short in this situation and must be extended on the fly.
Example #2: A fire in a single story 25’ x 60’ bay-shore bungalow the set back is 10’ from the street. The main entry door is on the street side (Alpha side).
Hose length required:
- 25’+ 60’ (area)
- 10’ (set back distance)
- 0’ (no height)
- Total length of hose required = 95’ (two lengths of hose)
- The 200 foot pre-connect is too long. To much extra hose contributes to kinking, unnecessarily high pump discharge pressures and clutter on the fire ground.
Remember to properly estimate the hose stretch prior to the stretch and you will be a sharp, safe and successful fire company.
