As early as 400 B.C. hose played a part in fighting fire.
In this era, the hose was made out of ox gut. Firemen filled
bags with water and then forced them into the ox gut. The water
was forced out of these early hoses by either sitting or stomping
on the bag and the hose.

In 1673, two Dutchmen, Jan van der Heiden and his son
Nicolas developed fire “hoase.” These 50-foot lengths of leather
tubes were sewn together the way shoemakers made boots. This hose was attached to the gooseneck nozzles on early engines, enabling firefighters to get closer to the fire and shoot a stream of water at it more accurately.

In 1803, the Philadelphia Hose Company was founded. Arriving at their first fire, they astonished their fellow firefighters.... Collins quotes: “The new hose company quickly attached their leather hose to the hydrant and stretched it right up to the burning building. A nozzle was attached to the hose and water gushed through the line.” Sewn leather hoses often leaked badly and broke under pressure.

In 1807, two members of the Philadelphia Hose Company, James Sellers and Abraham Pennock revolutionized fire hose when they developed a way to rivet leather strips together. The hoses were made of the thickest and best rear-quarter cowhides. They were nearly leak-proof except at the couplings. The riveted hoses were 40 to 50 feet in length and had metal couplings. They weighed about 85 pounds. Leather hose required heavy maintenance. It was necessary to wash, dry and preserve it. One fire company washed theirs in a coffin. Some used codfish & whale oil as preservatives. Many other stations used warm beef tallow and Neat’s foot oil (made from cattle bones) and would work it into the leather. However, after applying the tallow and oil, the heat of a fire caused the hose to smell and become sticky. One station stored their hose in a dill-pickle barrel but many others used horizontal racks to store theirs.

As more manufacturers entered the marketplace, they each produced their own size of hose and coupling. This problem was addressed in 1873 at the first convention for the International Association of Fire Engineers. The Association adopted the standard size of 7102 threads to the inch. Five years later in 1878, the American Fire Hose Manufacturing Company, located in Chelsea, Massachusetts marketed their new product, the “first seamless cotton fire hose produced for steam fire engines.” Progress continued and woven cotton became the standard for fire hose. As better weaves were developed the hose became stronger.