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red line at car fires
I still see red lines at car fires i understood that red lines are a no-no . They do not have enough water to keep you safe . We pull a handline on all car fires . What do you use and why ??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Damon Dyer on
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Air packs was going to be the next question .
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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You mean booster lines? Booster lines don't provide the right gpm for an effective stop on most vehicle fires. Our department uses 2" hand lines with Class A foam for all vehicle fires. You get good supression faster.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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We don't have boosters on our apparatus anymore, so we are obliged to use a 1 3/4 crosslay. First line is backed up by a second 1 3/4 foam line just in case.
Regarding SCBA, I'll quote Chief Billy G: "Ya don't hafta breathe that sh!t!" We will pull a line and attack with members not wearing SCBA, from a distance, while others are packing up to finish the extinguishment and overhaul.
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Permalink Reply by Ray Edwards on
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O.K. Damon, need to pull two hand lines.1 is for a safety line.Red lines are to small.You are correct.Just don't forget the safety line.Stay safe bro.
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Permalink Reply by james ennis on
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I would use an inch and a half to knock it down we are supposed to use 1 3/4 the 1 1/2 is easier to use and menover. if the gas tank is leaking you can use a dry chem fire exstinguisher knocks the fire down quick believe it or not.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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We use red lines...but ours are 1.75 inches in diameter. Sometimes they're green, orange, or yellow, though.
As for booster lines, why would you want to use a 40 GPM or 60 GPM line on a car fire when you can use a 150 GPM to 200 GPM line? We need to be using lines based on a) firefighter safety and b) extinguishment speed, not on how easy it is to pick them up afterwards. I'd much rather cut my car fire scene time by putting the fire out three or four times faster than playing around with it for an extra 10 minutes to save 3 minutes draining and picking up the hose.
Bumper-mounted trash lines are just as easy to pick up as booster lines.
My volunteer department in Tennessee did away with booster lines in the 1980s. That took away the temptation to use them inappropriately. My current career department did the same thing before I joined it a few years back. No booster lines gives the engine more room for a wider selection of crosslays - including 2.5 inch - and a bigger deck area from which to operate a manual deck gun if you don't have remote-controlled deck pipes.
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Permalink Reply by LT Lake on
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two 1-3/4 lines with foam full turnout and scba required. I don't think our department even owns a booster line and I can guarentee if we do it isn't on a truck. We have some 1-1/2 hose on a cart at the fire hall but every thing on the trucks are 1-3/4 or larger.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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The only booster line (red line) we have is on our brush truck. The minimum hose size we have for attack is 1 3/4 inch. However, we have been known to attack car fires with the deck gun from a safe distance and then mop up with a 1 3/4 inch pre-connect.
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As we can see through this post, every department has a differing SOP. If you have a system that works for your department in a safe manner, who is anyone to say any one way is wrong?
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Permalink Reply by Lt.leatherhead on
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When my firefighters go out the door in an engine going to a fire of any type they are required to wear a SCBA. On a car fire 99.99% of the time we're going to pull our trash line that is 100' of 1-3/4 hose. The only equipment with red line on it is one of our grass rigs, other than that they have all been removed.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Pictures can be deceiving.
Maybe the "red" line is attached to a foam eductor.
If it's not, then yes; someone is being foolish.
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on
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Same for us. We use the trash line off the front of the pump. It has never been insufficient... at some point, it will be and I'm sure the 1 3/4 will be used the next time in the same situation. But for now, trash line is it... we use it on dumpster fires as well. It's an 1 1/2 though, so maybe not the same as what is being referred to as a red line. it still gets adequate pressure and flow.
SCBA is always worn by those working on the car.
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