A History of the Fire Hose 

Until the mid-19th century, fire hose was unavailable and most fires were fought by water transported to the scene in buckets. Original hand pumpers discharged their water through a small pipe or monitor attached to the top of the pump tub. It was not until the late 1860s that hoses became widely available to convey water more easily from the hand pumps, and later steam pumpers, to the fire. 

In Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic, the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Jan van der Heyden, and his son Nicholas took firefighting to its next step with the fashioning of the first fire hose in 1673. These 50-foot (15 m) lengths of leather were sewn together like a bootleg. Even with the limitations of pressure, the attachment of the hose to the gooseneck nozzle allowed closer approaches and more accurate water application. Van der Heyden was also credited with an early version of a suction hose using wire to keep it rigid. In the United States, the fire hose was introduced in Philadelphia in 1794. This canvas hose proved insufficiently durable, and sewn leather hose was then used. The sewn leather hose tended to burst, so a hose fabricated of leather fastened together with copper rivets and washers was invented by members of Philadelphia's Humane Hose Company.
 

Around 1890, unlined fire hoses made of circular woven linen yarns began to replace leather hoses. They were certainly much lighter. As the hose fibers, made of flax, became wet, they swelled up and tightened the weave, causing the hose to become watertight. Unlined hoses, because of their lack of durability, were rapidly replaced with rubber hoses in municipal fire service use. They continued to be used on interior hose lines and hose racks until the 1960s, and are still used in some areas for forestry applications.

Following the invention of the vulcanization process as a means of curing raw soft rubber into a harder, more useful product, the fire service slowly made the transition from bulky and unreliable leather hose to the unlined linen hose, then to a multi-layer, rubber-lined and coated hose with interior fabric reinforcement. This rubber hose was as bulky, heavy, and stiff as a leather hose, but was not prone to leaking. It also proved more durable than an unlined linen hose. Its wrapped construction resembled some hoses used today. 

Modern fire hoses use a variety of natural and synthetic fabrics and elastomers in their construction. These materials allow the hoses to be stored wet without rotting and to resist the damaging effects of exposure to sunlight and chemicals. Modern hoses are also lighter weight than older designs and reduce the physical strain on firefighters. Various devices are becoming more prevalent that remove the air from the interior of the fire hose, commonly referred to as fire hose vacuums. This process makes hoses smaller and somewhat rigid, thus allowing more fire hoses to be packed or loaded into the compartment on a firefighting apparatus.

Empty 1848 Hose Cart from southern Chile.

There are several types of hoses designed specifically for the fire service. Those designed to operate under positive pressure are called discharge hoses. They include attack hose, supply hose, relay hose, forestry hose, and booster hose. Those designed to operate under negative pressure are called suction hoses. 

Attack:   This hose is a fabric-covered, flexible hose used to bring water from the fire pumper to the nozzle. This hose ranges in nominal inside diameter from 1.5 to 3 in (38 to 76 mm) and is designed to operate at pressures up to about 400 psi (2,760 kPa). The standard length is 50 ft (15.24 m).

Supply and relay hoses:   These are large-diameter, fabric-covered, flexible hoses used to bring water from a distant hydrant to the fire pumper or to relay water from one pumper to another over a long distance. These hoses range in nominal inside diameter from 3.5 to 5.0 in (89 to 127 mm). They are designed to operate at pressures up to about 300 psi (2,070 kPa) for the smaller diameters and up to 200 psi (1,380 kPa) for the larger diameters. The standard length is 100 ft (30.48 m).

Forestry hose: This is a fabric-covered, flexible hose used to fight fires in grass, brush, and trees where a lightweight hose is needed in order to maneuver it over steep or rough terrain. Forestry hose comes in 1.0 and 1.5 in (25 and 38 mm) nominal inside diameters and is designed to operate at pressures up to about 450 psi (3,100 kPa). The standard length is 100 ft (30.48 m).

Booster hose:   These are rubber-covered, thick-walled, flexible hoses used to fight small fires. It retains its round cross-section when it is not under pressure and is usually carried on a reel on the fire pumper, rather than being stored flat. Booster hose comes in 0.75 and 1.0 in (19 and 25 mm) nominal inside diameters and is designed to operate at pressures up to 800 psi (5,520 kPa). The standard length is 100 ft (30.48 m). 

Suction hose:  These are sometimes called hard suction and usually are rubber-covered, semi-rigid hose with internal metal reinforcements. It is used to suck water out of unpressurized sources, such as ponds or rivers, by means of a vacuum. Suction hose ranges in nominal inside diameter from 2.5 to 6.0 in (64 to 152 mm). The standard length is 10 ft (3.05 m).

Another suction hose called a soft suction, is actually a short length of fabric-covered, flexible discharge hose used to connect the fire pumper suction inlet with a pressurized hydrant. It is not a true suction hose as it cannot withstand negative pressure.

In the past, cotton was the most common natural fiber used in fire hoses, but most modern hoses use synthetic fiber like polyester or nylon filament. The synthetic fibers provide additional strength and better resistance to abrasion. The fiber yarns may be dyed in various colors or may be left natural.

Coatings and liners include synthetic rubbers, which provide various degrees of resistance to chemicals, temperature, ozone, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, mold, mildew, and abrasion. Different coatings and liners are chosen for specific applications. 

Hard suction hose consists of multiple layers of rubber and woven fabric encapsulating an internal helix of steel wire. Some very flexible hard suction hose uses a thin polyvinyl chloride cover with a polyvinyl chloride plastic helix.

For more information on fire hose please read:

Fire Fighters Association of Missouri:  www.ffam.org

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