By Gregg Geske
Members of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) are experts at building big trucks with big horsepower and big water flow.
These capabilities are exactly what the fire service needs for putting out big fires. It is not, however, what you either need or want for testing hose, nozzles, and couplings.
Annual Testing is Essential
While the importance of proper equipment testing and maintenance is indisputable, it still seems that there are departments where this is message is often ignored. Several years ago, I visited a large fire department and was surprised that it did not perform annual hose or pump testing. When it comes to putting water on a fire, you need a pump and you need hose. Failure of either will mean you can’t get the job done. If you are not testing both at least annually, you risk failing at the main thing you need for fire suppression.
Another important reason to test hose annually is because it is required by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) system. Proper hose testing records are one of the check boxes on an ISO audit. Loss of an ISO rating not only means you are less effective as a department, it can also mean money out of your tax payers’ pockets in the form of higher insurance premiums.
Safe Testing Procedures are Essential
The proper method of testing hose is found in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1962, Standard for the Care, Use, Inspection, Service Testing, and Replacement of Fire Hose, Couplings, Nozzles, and Fire Hose Appliances. There are two procedures that NFPA 1962 specifies: testing using a hose testing machine and using a stationary pump or pump on a fire department apparatus. While both these methods are described in the body of the standard, the second method comes with two important caveats. First and foremost is the warning that points out because of the risk of “catastrophic failure during the service testing of fire hose, it is vital that safety precautions be taken to prevent exposure of anyone to this danger.” The safety risk of hose testing using a fire apparatus stems from the very high horsepower that the apparatus can produce.
The second caveat is found in the annex to the standard. It points out the potential for damaging the pump by running the pump at high pressures and no flow. This situation can cause cavitation and high pump temperatures. The high heat created can also pose an additional safety risk.
Real-Life Safety Risks
More than 25 years ago, I was involved in a hose testing operation at my paid-per-call fire department for which our fire apparatus supplied the test pressure. Because of the lack of available space, we had the hose laid out in the fire station bays and apron. During the pressure test, one of the hose lengths failed and propelled a galvanized garbage can against the wall and flattened it. Luckily, it was a garbage can and not a firefighter. This example is a graphic demonstration of how much power is available through the apparatus pump.
The important part of safety we ignored was limiting the flow to the hose being tested. NFPA 1962 addresses this when using the fire apparatus pump by requiring that a gate valve with a ¼-inch hole drilled through the gate be used between