Ch 13 Set 03: Fire Hose Deployment Tools and Fittings

What are hose-deployment tools used for?

Moving, handling, protecting, and connecting hose.

What common hose-deployment tools are identified?

Hose rollers, bridges or ramps, chafing blocks, and hose straps, ropes, or chains.

How does an edge-protection hose roller work?

A frame with two or more rollers fits over a sharp edge or windowsill and is secured by rope or clamp; hose is pulled across the rollers.

What additional material can an edge-protection hose roller protect?

Rope used to hoist tools over an edge.

What other tasks can hose rollers perform?

Drain large-diameter hose before repacking or collect hose using hand-cranked spools or walk-behind devices.

What does a hose bridge or ramp do?

Protects hose where vehicles cross it; it can also keep hose above small spills or serve as a chafing block.

Why are chafing blocks particularly useful near pumpers?

Charged hose vibrates against pavement or curbs, and pump vibration can keep intake hose rubbing continuously.

What materials can be used for chafing blocks?

Wood, leather, or sections of old truck tires.

What are hose straps, ropes, and chains used for?

Carrying, pulling, controlling charged hose, and securing it to ladders or other fixed objects.

What is a hose appliance?

Hardware used to control water flow or establish pathways through a hose layout, including valves, valve devices, fittings, and strainers.

Where are ball valves used in hose systems?

Pumper discharges, fire-pump piping, and gated wyes.

What handle positions indicate an open or closed appliance ball valve?

In line with the hose means open; at a right angle means closed.

How does a butterfly valve work, and where is it used?

A flat central baffle turns 90 degrees in a large pump intake; it aligns with flow when open.

How may a butterfly valve be operated?

Manually with a quarter-turn handle or by an electric motor, sometimes remotely.

What is the purpose of clapper valves in siamese appliances and FDCs?

Permit one-way flow and prevent water escaping through unused inlets.

What is the construction of a clapper valve?

A flat disk hinged at the top or side that swings open and closed like a door.

What hose valve devices can change the number of operating lines?

Wyes, siamese appliances, water thieves, LDH appliances, and hydrant valves.

What does a wye appliance do, and what connections does it have?

Divides one line into two or more; it has one female inlet and multiple male outlets.

What distinguishes a gated wye?

Its outlets have control valves, generally ball valves.

What common wye sizes does the outline describe?

A 2½-inch inlet with two 1½-inch outlets; high-volume versions use an LDH inlet and two 2½-inch outlets.

How are wye-connected attack lines commonly deployed during a reverse lay?

Unload attack bundles or disconnected preconnects with nozzles and adapters, then the wye and enough supply hose; anchor the supply hose as the apparatus proceeds to water.

What supply-hose sizes commonly feed reverse-laid wye arrangements?

2½- or 3-inch hose.

What does a siamese appliance do?

Combines two or more supply lines into one, allowing parallel lines to supply a pump or high-output device.

What connections and valves does a typical siamese contain?

Two female inlets, one male outlet, and a center clapper or a clapper at each inlet.

What is a triamese appliance?

A combining appliance with three clappered inlets, sometimes called a manifold.

When are siamese or triamese appliances useful?

When LDH is unavailable for long lays or high flows, and when supplying ladder pipes without permanent waterways.

What is a water thief?

An appliance with matching-size inlet and main outlet plus smaller outlets that divert water from the main line.

What connections may a large water thief have?

An LDH inlet and outlet with two or more gated 2½-inch male outlets.

When is an LDH water thief useful?

When water must be distributed at intermediate points along a main supply line.

What is an LDH distribution manifold used for, and what connections are typical?

Distributing a large volume near the end of a supply line; typically one LDH inlet and three gated 2½-inch male outlets.

What other names may describe an LDH distribution manifold?

Portable hydrant, phantom pumper, or large-diameter distributor, depending on local usage and configuration.

What are hose fittings used for?

Connecting differing hose or outlet sizes and thread arrangements, and protecting couplings on apparatus and standpipes.

What are the two principal hose-fitting categories?

Adapters and reducers.

What are double-male and double-female adapters used for?

Connecting two female couplings or two male couplings, respectively, with matching diameter and thread type.

What increasingly common connection uses an adapter?

Connecting a two-way coupling to a threaded hydrant outlet.

What does a reducer do?

Connects a smaller hose to a larger one; unlike a wye, it supplies only one smaller line.

What do hose elbows and caps do?

Elbows support hose and reduce sharp bends at connections; caps protect male outlet threads when outlets are unused.