Hello all, we are discussing options to allow faster deployment of exposure lines without crippling an engine by taking up a pre-connected line solely with an Akron Ozzie that was bought by the Chief. Does anyone have any SOG's for exposure lines? Does anyone have the same situation and a good solution? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!!!

Casey

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Depends on what you mean by "crippling and engine by taking up a preconnect"

We had this debate when our new pumper came in. It came with two rear preconnects, two speedlays, and a front bumper line. When we were deciding on loading hose I mentioned preconnecting the Blitzfire with a 300' lay of 2 1/2" hose. A couple of others mentioned taking away the preconnect being bad, I made the point that if you can't handle it with 4 handlines perhaps it's time to start thinking about pulling something bigger.

Now, if you only have 2-3 preconnects I can see your point, but four or more and you aren't going to be crippling anything.
I watched an engine co. training evolution. They were trying out a new 'portable monitor'. Maybe even the brand you are talking about. I asked the captain why the 2.5 wasn't pre-connected. His response was 'it's hardly ever used.' IMHO taking up a pre-connect bay for that nozzle is a waste of space.
I got (5) 1.75" preconnects on my engine and a single preconnected 2.5". we have 400' of 2.5" deadload as well.

Wasting space, maybe on a pumper with 3 pre-connects...
Let's think about what the priority level is on a fire ground. The RECEO acronym comes to mind. Using this method, exposures are a higher priority than both confinement and extinguish. I agree with others that it depends on how the engine is set up, but I don't think you can ever "waste" a pre-connect on an exposure line.
Our engines are set up with two 1.75 attack lines, a bumper trash line, a piercing nozzle and a 2.5 all preconnected. We also have another 2.5 discharge in the rear that is not preconnected to anything, so Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "crippling" either.
The problem might not be the hose lay, it may be how the engine is positioned relative to the fire.
A good plan for hose beds and the attack lays in each is fine, but if you don't put the engine in the right place to protect the exposure, how the hose is laid in the bed won't matter.
10-4 I agree completely, and am pushing my volunteer dept. to purchase a TFT Blitzfire, and wish my career dept. would have as well, however, they purchased Akron Ozzies. You probably know that these are not as compact and not as quickly set up as they cannot be easily stored in a hose bed. They are also not as versatile when used as an attack nozzle, as their primary purpose is an oscilating exposure line... That may answer your question a little more in depth as to why we're concerned with "taking up a preconnect" with an exposure with a preconnect line... (I completely agree with you about preconnecting a portable monitor, but the Ozzie is not as well suited for this.) Does your dept. have any SOG's on pulling and operating exposure lines? Thanks for all the imput!!!
I agree with the 2.5" deadlay concept.... we still have that on two of our engines at my volunteer dept. and it works well when called upon. I would think that in my career dept.'s situation having (4 man companies) one man stretch some flat loaded deadlay while the other grabs the ozzie and let the engineer break it and get it hooked up to the engine would work well... That way if you still want to make an attack you have not used any preconnected attack lines, and your exposure line is in place in case things go south quickly as they did about a month ago (which prompted us to look for solutions for at least PLACING exposure lines sooner) The biggest problem is that there is no deadlay with my career dept.'s engine setup... any suggestions? check out www.vententersearch.com and go to the november 2008 archives, whatch the Loudon Co. VA fire, that is errily similar to the fire we had, except everyone was evacuated in time, and we had exposure problems on Bravo and Delta divisions. Any imput would be greatly appreciated! Thanks man...
Great point, great point, the RECEO-VS method does place Exposures second highest on the list... that slipped my mind. Fantastic point, thank you. Maybe "crippling" was not the word that should have been used as I agree... you can never "waste" space on an exposure line. I guess what I meant by "crippling" if you will is that the ozzie nozzle is designed primarily for an exposure line, and does not function efficiently as anything else. The other problem is that the ozzie that was purchaed does not fit in the hosebed, so it will have to be stored in a compartment somewhere. When you say you have antoher 2.5" discharge in the rear that is not preconnected to anything, does that mean the male end of the line is not connected to a nozzle or that the female coupling is not connected to the truck? Thanks for the imput, any ideas are welcome! Thanks again, be safe!
very valid point, very valid point... I agree completely, and usually our engineers are very efficient with apparatus placement. I guess also, what I meant by "hose lay" is that we are having difficulty with finding a way to preconnect the 2.5" ozzie that was purchased by the Chief. As it looks now, the ozzie will have to be stored in a compartment and possibly the 2.5" preconnected line left with no nozzle on the end of it, so that one member can stretch the line (flat loaded as of now) while another grabs the nozzle of choice (ozzie, D-handle, etc.) Any ideas on that situation? The exposure nozzle just will not fit in bed... I guess that's the question I had on hose "lay"... Any suggestions are welcomed as we are still narrowing this whole thing down and running engine company evolutions to eliminate options and explore others. Thanks again, be safe!
The RECEO is great, good call on that addition to this thread.

You are correct on a fully involved house, but if you have a good fire, the exposure portion of RECEO would be interior; what you are protecting and what is currently not burning.

I would pack your 2 1/2" line with a triple load, excellent for quick deployment regardless of your manpower. We can have a single firefighter deploy a 200' exposure line without help.
Too many companies depend on the preconnects at the expense of becoming less profecient with hose stretches that aren't within the reach of their preconnected lines. Sadly, they have also been responsible for the failure to pull a larger line when it is clearly indicated. It takes little effort to stretcha preconnect, although without training and proper storage or loads, I have scene a simple 200' stretch become a tangled nightmare.

A good, well-drilled engine company will be able to lay forward, reverse, extend or shorten any line, and learn to use all the options that an engine company SHOULD have. Your engine or engine company may well be "crippled" if they depend on, and are only profecient in using the preconnects.

Smaller, so-called 'personal' monitors, such as the 'Blitzfire' can be a valuable solution to a staffing issue. Ideally they should be supplied with a 3" line if possible. It is also prudent to afix a regular, 2-inlet portable deluge gun to the rear steppreconnected to a hoseline off the rear step. Gotta go.
Don't pre-connect that nozzle unless you are using it on a regular basis. IMHO that nozzle is only going to be used on very large fires were you will be flowing water for an extended period of time. The purpose of a pre-connect is for rapid deployment. By the time you need this nozzle, you've already written off the bldg.

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