BY JAKE RIXNER
In 1980, the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George’s County, Maryland, purchased two new pumpers to augment its fleet. These new apparatus each had two boxes mounted on each side of the front bumper with a 11/2-inch discharge for each. The pumpers were unique in that they had no crosslays, which were becoming very popular at that time in fire departments across the United States.
Today, many fire departments are specifying front bumper preconnects. Most use the lines for trash fires, for automobile fires, and as standby lines at auto extrications. Kentland uses its front bumper lines for all of these jobs and also as the primary line for house fires. The department has 22 years of experience using this configuration and an average of 125 working building fires per year.
HOSE DAMAGE
Most fire departments that are specifying front bumper lines rely on packing the hose “accordion” style. Packing hose in this manner, however, creates several problems.
The hose has numerous folds, causing excessive wear on the outer jacket and, more importantly, the rubber liner. This will shorten the hose’s service life.
Because of the nature of the box in which the front bumper line rides, the hose is difficult to deploy once the nozzleman is more than 50 feet away from the apparatus.
Unless the driver assists in deployment, it’s easy to charge the line prematurely while some of the hose is still in the box.
Because the nozzle is on the top, it can easily fall from the front bumper while the vehicle is in motion. This can damage the nozzle, hose, apparatus, and other vehicles nearby or injure pedestrians.
THE KENTLAND RACK
The Kentland Volunteer Fire Department runs with two front bumper lines on each of its five Class A pumpers. One 100-foot line is used for trash, auto, and brush fires. The other is a 150-foot, 11/2-inch hoseline and is the primary attack line for house fires. Several other longer and larger lines, called “apartment lines,” are packed for deployment from the back step. This busy all-volunteer department (approximately 7,000 runs per year) has tried numerous ways to pack the hose for rapid and easy deployment, resulting in the “Kentland Front-Bumper Rack.”
Start with the female end connected to the discharge, and pack the hose in an inverted horseshoe load. Pack the hose flat in one row, and leave the first fold “ears” approximately 12 to 15 inches above the box (photo 3). Lay them out of the way for now, and continue to pack the hose in a horseshoe load with the subsequent folds at approximately the top level of the box. Leave approximately three inches of space at the front of the box. It’s surprising how much more hose will fit into the same area using this method.
Continue until you have packed all but one 50-foot section into the box (photo 4).
Take the last 50-foot section and lay it flat on the ground. Starting from the middle, roll the hose into a donut roll (photo 5).
 (5) A donut roll. (6) The donut roll is placed into the box. (7) Deploying the line. (8) Getting ready to roll out the donut section. |
Take the donut roll, and carefully place it into the space between the horseshoe load and the front of the box with the male coupling facing up or down (photo 6). Connect the female coupling from the donut roll to the male from the horseshoe load, and tuck it into the middle of the load.
Connect the nozzle to the donut roll male coupling, and tuck it into the box facing down or up, depending on type of nozzle and space. This helps to secure the nozzle while the vehicle is in motion.
You are now ready for your next fire.
DEPLOYING THE LINE
On arrival at the fire scene, the nozzleman grabs the donut roll and proceeds toward the fire. The driver grabs the long ears on both sides, lifts the remaining hose out of the box, and throws it into the street. This makes it easier for the nozzleman to advance toward the fire while carrying the donut roll (photo 7). Once all of the slack is out of the line or the nozzleman is at the desired objective, he grabs the nozzle and the donut and rolls it away from himself (photo 8). The line can then be charged and the attack begun.
JAKE RIXNER, a 23-year veteran of the fire service, is a company officer for the Richmond (VA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services, an instructor with Virginia Fire Programs, and a volunteer firefighter with the Kentland Fire Department in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
