By Scott Ziegler
Everyone knows there is more than one ways to skin a cat. Calm down PETA … no cats will be harmed in the writing of this article.
I‘m talking about stretchin’ — supplying water to a firefight. Everyone thinks their way is the best way. It’s not though, unless you do things the Detroit way. Even then it’s still not the best way because you probably did it wrong.
Honestly, as any firefighter knows, there are plenty of great ways to get our job done, but we’ve found out here that “The Detroit Bundle,” as it’s been called, is the most efficient means of getting water on the fire.
What, you haven’t heard of it? Do you live under a rock? Alright, well I’ll do my best to explain it.
Over the course of several decades of extremely heavy firefighting duty, the Detroit Fire Department’s preferred water supply option has been the reverse lay. The DFD uses a static hoseload from the rear bed of 2 1/2 inch line and 1 1/2 inch line, creating what we call “The Detroit Bundle.” This method has proven itself to be the most efficient way, time and time again, for us to get water on the fire in a timely fashion.
How It’s Assembled
To go a little more in depth of how it is assembled, typically the rear bed will have approximately 750 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose connected to a wye-gate. The wye is placed near the rear of the bed. Then depending on the engine’s first alarm district, the wye will have 3-5 lengths of 1 1/2 inch hose pre-connected to one side of the wye, leaving the other side empty, in the closed position.
The first 2-3 lengths are loaded on top of the 2 1/2 in a reverse horseshoe load, leaving loops that hang down low enough off the back of the engine so that a firefighter can put his arm through them and pull. Once the first 2-3 are loaded up top, the remaining lengths are then loaded in an accordion load on the shelf or tailboard below. The load is then held together by a sash cord with a slipnot. This creates your first bundle.
Your second bundle is made up of 3-4 lengths of 1 1/2 hose (again in an accordion load much like the first) held together with a sash cord and placed on top of your first bundle, not connected to anything. Both bundles are then strapped to the engine with seat belts.
The reason why the number of lengths will vary from company to company is because all of our battalions have different types of structures. Some areas are more residential, with smaller homes. Some are made up mostly of 2 and 4 family flats. We have companies that respond to an area with mostly high rise buildings, or mostly industrial, and commercial buildings. That all determines how much hose line will be needed on each engine‘s average stretch. That being said, with the use of The Detroit Bundle, we have the ability to very quickly adapt to what we are dealing with.
How It Works
When the engine pulls up to the structure that is on fire, the boss and deckies exit the apparatus and make their way to the rear of the engine. The seat belts are unfastened and the second bundle (the one on top) is tossed to the curb. The firefighter then grabs the remaining bundle, and the loops of the horseshoe load and pulls them off the hose bed until the desired amount of 2 1/2 has deployed from the engine.
Once the firefighters are ready, they notify the engineer who then drives the engine to the closest hydrant and the 2 1/2 is paid out down the street. The FEO (fire engine operator) then checks the hydrant for adequate water flow. If it‘s a bad hydrant, he then drives to the next until a proper water supply is secured. Once a good hydrant is found the driver will break down the 2 1/2 at the rear, and hook it into a discharge on the engine. He then has the option to give the deckies tank water at that time while he hooks the engine up to the hydrant.
Meanwhile, back at the fire, the firefighters are simultaneously working to deploy this stretch in an efficient manner. There are many options here depending on what type of structure is burning, the size, and the location of the fire. On a typical house fire, the wye is placed somewhere in the front yard close to the structure to allow for optimal use of the 1 1/2 lengths.
The first bundle is taken toward the entrance of the structure, and the bundle is then “broken” by untying the sash cord and flaking the line out. Remember, the first several lengths of this bundle were loaded in a horseshoe load that should basically already be flaked out for you. If the fire can be handled with one line, you are ready to go.
If two lines are needed, your second bundle is waiting at the curb to be broken, hooked up to the other side of that wye and flaked out for use. This line can be used as an interior attack line, or if need be, and exposure line. I’m sure you know plenty of guys willing to jump on that exposure line job.
Why It’s Better
Has anyone ever stretched short on a fire — getting to the end of your hose before you’ve reached the fire? I have and it sucks. It’s a wrench thrown into the game that can throw everyone off. If our bundles are used correctly, it basically eliminates that possibility. It is incredibly versatile. If the fire is in an apartment building several stories above grade, the wye can be brought up to the floor below the fire with a rope and you still have use of the entire length of your bundle without having to add line. With a pre-connected line, you almost always have to add hose to the load.
With this, it’s ready to go. Same thing goes for large commercial buildings. You can bring the wye all the way to the entrance, or even into the building, leaving you an entire bundle to work your way deep into the structure.
We also have another bed of 2 1/2 with a nozzle on it that can easily be deployed for large fires, protecting exposures, or to supply a truck company. In the battalion that I work in, that line is almost always pulled at fires for exposures due to the size of our homes and how close they are together. And since our engine will be several houses away, or even blocks, we must be sure to pull off any needed tools in case we are alone while waiting for other companies to arrive.
The reverse lay and use of the bundles allows us room for a truck or other engines to be placed directly in front of a structure should they need to be utilized. And since our department is big on the use of vertical ventilation, our trucks usually need to be closer to the fire.
Is It Foolproof?
No, it can be messed up. I reached up and grabbed the loops before dropping the second bundle at a dwelling fire once. I still haven’t heard the end of that mistake. And as a trialman, while stretching on my third fire one day, I reached the back of the engine to find that the second bundle was not there and the straps had broke while en route. Thankfully a cop found it a few blocks away, and we still had the first bundle to put out the fire. But more often than not, it goes off without a hitch.
Is it perfect? I don’t know. Will it be every department‘s best option? Probably not, and you might have a better way. But I can tell you this, the Detroit Fire Department has been fighting fires at an unimaginably high rate since the late 60s/early 70s, and this method has held true throughout all of it. I don’t know about you, but I find it tough to argue against that.
I would love to hear about the way your department stretches in the comments below. Be safe.
