CAFS and Line Kinks

To date my department has taken delivery of six pumpers that have integrated Compressed Air Foam Systems. The delivery dates range back several years and not all pumpers were purchased on the same bid. We have two sets of twins (one set is identical the other paternal due to paint scheme) the other two were delivered separately.

Well over a year ago, the decision was made that CAFS would not be used for interior fire attacks. It seems that some of our firefighters and officers had concerns about CAF hose lines. One concern was with the addition of air bubbles in the line, the lines might not withstand the heat encountered during interior firefighting. I guess the logic is that lines filled with water could absorb more BTU’s thus keeping the line from somehow bursting into flame. I have my doubts about this “problem” truly being a problem, but that is not the topic of this posting.

Along with the previously noted concern, firefighters and officer expressed concerns that CAF filled hoselines tend to kink more easily thus decreasing nozzle pressure and the delivery of extinguishing agent. While the scenario may play out to be true, CAF in the line is not the root of the problem.

The root of this problem is poor hoseline management. Compressed Air Foam only showcases the shortcoming. I haven’t been in the department as long as some, but I have plenty of pre-CAFS experience on firegrounds. I remember the calls over the radio for “MORE PRESSURE” from the very beginning of my fire service career. The funny thing is, we didn’t have CAF in the handlines back then.

Hoseline management is a bread-and-butter skill of each firefighter and officer on the job today. The problem we tend to encounter is that every firefighter and most officers want to be as close to the fire and the nozzle as possible; after all it is quiet a rush. So we dump better than half of our pre-connected handlines off our shoulder in the front yard, kick it around until the water fills it, and (hopefully) open the nozzle to bleed and check the pattern. Then begins the game of tug-of-war. Two or three people on the end of a line pulling as hard as possible (all the while protecting the nozzle from those hungry hyenas from the second engine) through the smoke and toward the seat of the fire, until we see the glow. Then we open the 75PSI nozzle only to get about 35PSI. The hungry hyenas are actually the kinks in the hoseline out in the front yard, and looped in the stairwell, double-backed in the hallway. Each eating away at the available pressure until it is reduced beyond effectiveness. Somehow we wiggle, jiggle, and straighten the line enough to knock the fire (hopefully). After a few minutes our relief crew shows up and we stride out into the yard and profess the shortcomings of CAFS because the lines kink too easily.

If we are careful and disciplined in our hoseline management, we avoid all this by flaking out our handline in the yard, spacing ourselves on the hoseline, and working together to avoid double backs and loops. The hoseline should be a straight line from the entry point to the fire room. To achieve this, I have the nozzle person position themselves nearly a full arms length from the nozzle, they can still open the bail of the nozzle but remain in a position to pull. I, as the officer, like to stay back about 5 to 10 feet behind the nozzle person. This gives me the ability to pull line without stumbling over the nozzle person and keep my eyes, ears, and (heat sensors?) on what’s going on ahead of me. The third person I need to stay at or near the point of entry and pull, straighten, pull, straighten, pull, straighten.

Proper hoseline management is critical for good fire suppression. Kinks in a hoseline are evidence of poor hoseline management. Compressed Air Foam in the handline is only a better indicator of that poor hoseline management. I would suggest treating the ailment not the symptoms.