Our mission at Fire CATT is to provide the most accurate, safe, efficient and technology driven fire hose testing and reporting service in the United States…

Hose Self Testing – Costs and Risks

“With the legal ramifications associated with fire related accidents becoming so severe, the opportunity to outsource non-essential activities with exposure to risk, such as Hose Testing, are more prevalent. Cost avoidance is mandatory.”

Traditional methods of self testing fire hose carry a number of risks and drawbacks:
  • Substandard and unsafe testing is unnecessary and should be avoided.
  • Self tests create premature wear and tear on the pump.
  • There is a cost incurred with the hose testing apparatus. It takes valuable time and resources to properly calibrate.
  • Increase in liability exposure should something go wrong.
  • The costs for labor, scheduling, downtime, and report compiling add up fast.
  • And – what if the station is called during the middle of testing?






SELF-TESTING RISK – The Near-Miss Scenario

While testing their own hose on April 29, 2006, the Fresno Fire Department experienced a dangerous malfunction.

Engine 20 had connected 2 100 foot lengths and 1 50 foot length of 5 inch hose. These were connected to the 4 ½ inch discharge. The line was charged and the air was bled out. The pressure in the line was then raised to 300 psi.

The Engineer had gated the discharge down and the Captain and a Firefighter were checking the couplings. The engineer was at the rear of the engine watching the evolution.
At that point the entire crew heard what sounded like a hose failure – which appeared to be at the discharge.

The Engineer shut the rig down and the crew then moved in to inspect the damage only to find significant damage at the point of connection. A 30 degree elbow connector had exploded. A report issued later regarding the incident details property damage from the flying metallic fragments of the exploded elbow joint. Luckily there were no injuries reported, but there was significant danger to the safety of the on-site crew.
This was a near miss. Luckily, no one was hurt - but testing the hose went from a routine hassle to become a dangerous event.
Contact FireCATT3250 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 544,Troy, MI 48084 (248-643-7200 ext 13)
 
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