2 Fire

Fire hose
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This article is about the type of hose. For the band, see Firehose (band).
Indoor fire hose with a fire extinguisher
A fire hose (or firehose) is a high-pressure hose that carries water or other fire retardant (such

as foam) to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it attaches either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant.
Indoors, it can permanently attach to a building's standpipe or plumbing system.
The usual working pressure of a firehose can vary between 8 and 20 bar (800 and 2,000 kPa; 116
and 290 psi) while per the NFPA 1961 Fire Hose Standard, its bursting pressure is in excess of 110
bar. (11,000kPa; 1600psi)[1] Hose is one of the basic, essential pieces of fire-fighting equipment. It is
necessary to convey water either from an open water supply, or pressurized water supply. Hoses are
divided into two categories, based on their use: suction hose, and delivery hose.
After use, a fire hose is usually hung to dry, because standing water that remains in a hose for a long
time can deteriorate the material and render it unreliable or unusable. Therefore, the typical fire
station often has a high structure to accommodate the length of a hose for such preventive
maintenance, known as a hose tower.
On occasion, fire hoses are used for crowd control (see also water cannon), including most notably
by Bull Connor in the Birmingham campaign against protesters during the Civil Rights Movement in
1963.
Contents
 1History
 2Modern usage
o 2.1Types
o 2.2Raw materials
 3Manufacturing process
o 3.1Future
 4Connections
 5Forces on fire hoses and nozzles
 6See also
 7References
 8External links
History[edit]
Fire hose with Finnish coupler
Until the mid-19th century, most fires were fought by water transported to the scene in buckets.
Original hand pumpers discharged their water through a small pipe or monitor attached to the top of
the pump tub.[2] It was not until the late 1860s that hoses became widely available to convey water
more easily from the hand pumps, and later steam pumpers, to the fire. [3]
In Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic, the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Jan van der Heyden,
and his son Nicholaas took firefighting to its next step with the fashioning of the first fire hose in 1673.
[4]
These 50-foot (15 m) lengths of leather were sewn together like a boot leg. [5] Even with the
limitations of pressure, the attachment of the hose to the gooseneck nozzle allowed closer
approaches and more accurate water application. Van der Heyden was also credited with an early
version of a suction hose using wire to keep it rigid.[6] In the United States, the fire hose was
introduced in Philadelphia in 1794. This canvas hose proved insufficiently durable, and sewn leather
hose was then used. The sewn leather hose tended to burst, so a hose fabricated of leather fastened
together with copper rivets and washers was invented by members of Philadelphia's Humane Hose
Company.[7]
Around 1890, unlined fire hoses made of circular woven linen yarns began to replace leather hoses.
They were certainly much lighter. As the hose fibers, made of flax, became wet, they swelled up and
tightened the weave, causing the hose to become watertight. Unlined hoses, because of their lack of
durability, were rapidly replaced with rubber hoses in municipal fire service use. They continued to be
used on interior hose lines and hose rack until the 1960s to 1980s. In January 1981, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration revised their standards such that unlined hoses were to no longer
be installed for interior hose lines.[8]
Following the invention of the vulcanization process as a means of curing raw soft rubber into a
harder, more useful product, the fire service slowly made the transition from bulky and unreliable
leather hose to the unlined linen hose, then to a multi-layer, rubber lined and coated hose with interior
fabric reinforcement. This rubber hose was as bulky, heavy, and stiff as a leather hose, but was not
prone to leaking. It also proved more durable than unlined linen hose. Its wrapped construction
resembled some hoses used today by industry, for example, fuel delivery hoses used to service
airliners.[3]
Modern usage[edit]
Fire hoses connected to a fire engine in Vaughan, Ontario
Tokyo Fire Department conducting a fire hose drill
Modern fire hoses use a variety of natural and synthetic fabrics and elastomers in their construction.
These materials allow the hoses to be stored wet without rotting and to resist the damaging effects of
exposure to sunlight and chemicals. Modern hoses are also lighter in weight than older designs, and
this has helped reduce the physical strain on firefighters. [9] Various devices are becoming more
prevalent that remove the air from the interior of fire hose, commonly referred to as fire hose
vacuums. This process makes hoses smaller and somewhat rigid, thus allowing more hose to be
packed or loaded into the same compartment on a fire-fi

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Fire hose

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indoor fire hose with a fire extinguisher

A fire hose (or firehose) is a high-pressure hose that carries water or other fire retardant (such

Tokyo Fire Department conducting a fire hose drill

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