Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (2025)

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (1)

Extinguishing fires is predominantly done with the use of water, which travels through hose. Hose is a mainstay of firefighting tools and equipment; it’s used for moving water from one place to another. There are different types of hose in the fire service: structural firefighting hose and wildland fire hose are the two most used.

Hose is constructed in various ways, but it is specifically manufacturer with material that can handle the harsh conditions that firefighters encounter on the fireground. Although most structural firefighting fire hose is made of polyester, synthetic fiber, natural fiber or a combination of materials as an outer liner with an inner liner made of rubber, it unfortunately is not fire resistant. Newer designs and materials are being added into hose construction, enabling it to resist harsh temperatures and burn through. However, fire hose can burn through if subjected to direct flame impact, dragged through embers, or into a pool of burning flammable liquids.

When fire hose is manufactured, it may be made with a single, double or synthetic outer jacket. It should also have the following characteristics: durable, lightweight, ease of coupling together, and the ability to provide a low friction loss. Friction loss isthe resistance of water as it moves along the inside wall of either a hose, pipe, fire appliance and hose fittings, and couplings. It’s important to remember that friction loss increases as the water flow or gallons per minute (gpm) increases. Friction loss will also vary depending on the size and lengths of the hose used; the more lengths that are used, the higher the friction loss.

Fire Pumping Calculations: Every Pump Operator’s Basic Equation

Another type of hose constructed and used in the fire service is extruded hose. This hose is made of nitrile rubber or polyurethane with a weaved matrix, which composes the waterway and jacket. In essence, it is a jacketless hose that is made for supply and attack lines. Diameters of this supply hose can be from 4 inches to up to 12 inches, which is now called ultra large diameter hose (ULDH). Hose of this size can be used if there is a large-scale incident, water main break, natural disaster, or a catastrophic event.

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (2)
Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (3)

Different Types of Hose

Hose is often broken down into different categories when it is stored on fire apparatus. Drafting, supply, attack, wildland, decontamination, and booster reel hose are the common types. Hose used for drafting (pumping water out of a pond, portable tank, stream or lake-static sources) is usually seen mounted on the outside of a fire engine and referred to as a hard suction. It’s often referred to as “hard suction” due to it being rigid and constructed with reinforced ribs or a solid design, which allow it to retain its strength while drawing water from a static source. Supply hoses are large diameter hoses (LDH) used to move large volumes of water; this is often the hose used to supply water from a fire hydrant to an operating fire engine. These LDH supply hoses and come in sizes of 3½-, 4-, 5-, and 6-inch sizes. The 4- and 5-inch lines are the most frequently used by fire departments for water supply.

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (4)
Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (5)

Fire attack hose—also referred to as handlines due to their ability to be carried, stretched and dragged on the fireground—are the most used hose to extinguish automobile and structural fires. Fire departments often rely on 1 ½-, 1 ¾-, 2-, and 2 ½-inch handlines for interior and exterior firefighting operations.

The Initial Line

Wildland hose is a specialty hose and won’t often be seen on all apparatus; it is not common to find this type of hose in an inner city. This hose is more prevalent in areas with the potential for large-scale wildland fires to occur. The hose is made in diameters less than 1½-inch and used to combat brush, vegetation, and wooded areas fires. It is made to withstand high pressures and with lightweight materials due to the longer lengths it comes in.

Decontamination hose or “decon” hose is much like a garden hose and enables firefighters to be washed down after a fire. A small nozzle is affixed to the end of the hose to spray off the detergent used on firefighter’s bunker gear, boots, and breathing apparatus.

Booster hose is ¾- to a 1-inch rubber hose stored on a motorized reel. It is often used for small outside rubbish and grass fires. In some instances, it is pulled into a building to conduct washdown activities, but due to its inability to provide a large amount of water, it is not used for structural fire attack.

Preconnects: Selecting the Right Hose for the Job
Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (6)

Couplings are affixed to the ends of hose; they are either a threaded or of a “quick-connect” design. The couplings are made of hardened aluminum, although brass was used years ago and may still be found in some areas. The threaded designed couplings are different and are referred to as male (with exposed threads) and female (with recessed threads). They allow two pieces of hose to be connected or disconnected. In addition, male couplings allow a nozzle or an appliance to be attached to the end of the hose. Alternately, a female coupling attaches to the pump of a fire engine or onto a fire hydrant’s threaded discharge ports. The “Storz” coupling or quick connect has no threads and rapidly connects or disconnects hose. These couplings are used on LDH but normally not on attack hoselines. Adaptors are also different types of fittings that allow different size hoses to be connected. Reducers and increasers are often used when connecting these different sizes of hose together.

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (7)
Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (8)

Hose is stored on apparatus in various ways, either rolled, folded or laid flat in a hosebed. Rolled hose is often used to store extra hose in a rack in the fire station or in a compartment on an apparatus. Folded hose can be stored in a pack, “bundle,” or “horseshoe” bundle and is often used in fighting fires in high-rise buildings. Hose that is defective should be rolled with a knot tied into the end of the it or properly tagged, letting others know it is out of service and deemed unsafe for firefighting operations.

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (9)

Footnotes

Fire Engineering Handbook Firefighter I & II, Chapter 15, “Water Supply and Hose,” by Dennis LeGear

MICHAEL N. CIAMPOis a 38-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC International Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters forFire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II(Fire Engineering, 2009) and theBread and Butter Portable LaddersDVD and is featured in“Training Minutes”truck companyvideos.

Firefighting Fundamentals: Fire Hose - Fire Engineering (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Mr. See Jast

Last Updated:

Views: 6335

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (75 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Mr. See Jast

Birthday: 1999-07-30

Address: 8409 Megan Mountain, New Mathew, MT 44997-8193

Phone: +5023589614038

Job: Chief Executive

Hobby: Leather crafting, Flag Football, Candle making, Flying, Poi, Gunsmithing, Swimming

Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.