By Capt. John Moriarty and Station 44-B Crew
Carmel Fire Department
Many people feel the Cleveland High-Rise Pack is one of the best ways to store your high-rise hose and equipment. But the Carmel Fire Department in Indiana has now taken this idea and through trial and error created a variation of the Cleveland Load, and which is now used as our primary attack line on most residence fires.
This newly created load took on the name the “Roundabout Hose Load,” named after all the roundabouts we have here in Carmel. As can be seen in the video in this article, the Roundabout is 100' of 1" ¾, coiled around the male end. This is then loaded into the cross lay, or speed lay slot. The Roundabout is connected to the pre-existing 100' of 1" ¾ that is flat loaded, for a total of 200' of 1"¾ attack line.
This load can be deployed as quickly as any other load out there with many additional benefits. The Roundabout eliminates the time needed to flake out any extra hose in the front yard. It also reduces the amount of resistance against the hose line, which in turn makes advancing the line into a residence much easier.
With the Roundabout, the bulk of hose is sitting near the doorway, so the hose won’t get caught up in the door jam or anything else in the front yard or porch. The Roundabout is also much easier to manage on car fires, trash fires, or any other fire where the Engine might be only 50ft from the fire, and 200' of hose just gets in the way.
On arrival, the Roundabout is pulled off the truck and shouldered to the entry point. The Roundabout should be dropped to the ground, on its side, and spread out. This takes seconds, all while the Engineer is charging the line. The line should be charged to at least 130psi quickly to make the Roundabout “pop.”
As with any load, the firefighter should bleed the line to remove air from it. The nozzle can now be advanced into the structure. The Roundabout, which would be sitting outside the door, will unravel into the structure as the firefighters advance the line.
With practice, the Roundabout can be placed in service faster than the flat or minuteman load. Starting with the male end (the nozzle section) and about two arms length of hose, wrap the hose around itself until all 100' is in the Roundabout. Don’t place the nozzle on yet. Take the first 100', the truck side, and flat load this back and forth.
Once this is complete, slip the Roundabout into the open slot and connect the female side of the Roundabout to the male end of the flat load. Now pull the male end from the center of the Roundabout, and attach nozzle. The Roundabout Load should now be ready to deploy.
After we posted two videos on YouTube (and which now can also been on FlashoverTV), we have quickly gained more than 11,000 views and many departments have taken interest in the Roundabout. Several departments have contacted Carmel Fire Station 44 B-crew for more information.
Departments from several states have now started using the Roundabout as their primary attack load. Take the time watch the video, and try the Roundabout a few times. Once it works efficiently, race it against your current load. Find what works for you, but either way, stay safe!
Department Profile
The Carmel Fire Department consists of 160 full-time firefighters. CFD protects nearly 80,000 residents and 50-plus square miles. The department has six stations. Last year CFD responded to more than 5,100 runs (180 working fires). The creator of the Roundabout was station 44-B crew. If you have any questions, e-mail mmcneely@carmel.in.gov or call the station at 317-571-2632.