Hose Pack for Apartments
features
and
To meet changing needs in a fastgrowing suburb, a different type of hose pack for initial attack lines has been developed for the Cameron Park Fire Department in Shingle Springs, Calif. Our problem was an increasing number of multiple dwellings, apartment complexes and elevated landscaping.
After some experimenting, the two of us devised a 1 1/2-inch, wyed-line pack that is practical to use and easy to stow in a pumper compartment.
Our pack, which we call an “apartment house load,” consists of two 100foot, 1 1/2-inch lines, two plastic, 90-gpm nozzles, one 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 – inch gated wye, two rubber straps and a 2-foot wooden handle (an old broom handle will do).
Each hose line is made up into a double donut roll and the two rolls are placed side by side with the male ends on the inside. The handle is run through the center and the retaining bands—cut from an inner tube—are stretched across the hose from one end of the handle to the other. The nozzles and wye are attached in staggered positions for proper weight distribution.
To stretch the pack, it is removed from the compartment by either one or two men and placed on the ground. A 3-inch supply line is connected to the wye and the engine goes to the hydrant. Once enough hose is laid for an anchor, one man removes the rubber bands and pulls the handle out. He then can stretch one or both of the wyed lines.
During training, we found that when we used a 200-foot lay for the supply line, we had water from both nozzles in 1 minute, 15 seconds.
The pack is 18 inches in diameter and 15 inches wide, and it weighs 85 pounds. It can probably be made up with fittings that already are in your station or on your apparatus.
