Introducing the Double5 Brand from Niedner - Doing More With Less

DOUBLE5™ Brand hose reduces hose requirements by 60%

Amongst the most valuable resources available to the industrial emergency incident commander is manpower. One of the resounding truths about today's industrial fire response is that brigades are smaller and supplemental manpower is vastly reduced - there are fewer men available to apply the shear force needed to stage the battle. This truth affects industrial fire response in many ways ... perhaps none quite so obviously as in the early stages of a response effort. When coordinating and managing the multitude of activities necessary on scene, one requirement commonly stands out as one of the most consuming amongst the initial list of activities ... laying hose - and laying lots of it!

It may also be said when studying the scene of many emer¬gency response areas that an inherent dilemma emerges ... lots of men laying lots of hose may in fact undermine coordination efforts from the outset.

Industrial fire emergencies usually require large volumes of water to supply numerous response appliances. More often than not, this water will be drawn from multiple sources that may lie hundreds - if not thousands - of feet from the fire scene. Setting aside the daunting task of managing hose capacities and friction loss calculations, the sheer number of hose lays will often overwhelm initial manpower energy, and stymie the incident command's tactical applications in the earliest phases.

"Where does that hose go? Which hoses are feeding that gun? We're losing pressure ... run back and see if we blew a coupling!" When faced with dozens and dozens of hose lays -- potentially over thousands of feet - this is the responders' worst fear.

If responders could reduce their efforts by 60% one could easily see the advantages for manpower applications, water resource management, appliance operations management, and so on.

If, for example, an incident called for 30 hose lays extending over 2,400 feet through the facility the manpower required from deployment (running, coupling, stretching/straightening) to finally charging the lines could easily consume around 30 men for nearly 3 hours .., without interruption. Reducing this burden by 60% would require forces to lay only 12 lines instead of 30! Now approximately 12 men could complete the task in just over one hour!

While researching hose efficiency, and literally trying to push the envelope of hose capacities, Williams Fire & Hazard Control found that doubling water capacities was not simply a matter of doubling hose size. In fact, vigorous field testing showed that doubling the hose diameter to accommodate larger water volumes was extremely inefficient. Williams found that a 7 1/4 inch hose diameter will essentially do the job of two (2) 5" hose sections - and with only 3 psi of pressure loss over 100 feet at 2,000 gpm!

This discovery led to the development of the "DOUBLE5" Brand hose made by Niedner for Williams Fire & Hazard Control. The unique design of DOUBLE 5 BRAND supply hose is lighter and more compact than conventional rubber-covered hose of comparable size. A 100-foot length - uncoupled - weighs no more than 135 lbs! This 7.25" diameter supply hose is coupled with 6" Storz couplings, and is rated for an Annual Service Test Pressure of 300 psi. Burst Pressure is not less than 750 psi. When the hose is charged, elongation and twist are minimal. The 100% polyester double-jacket, urethane-lined construction need not be dried after use, and has excellent cold weather flexibility. For additional durability, water repellency, abrasion resistance, oil, chemical, heat resistance, and visibility, it is treated with ENCAP, a unique elastomer compound.

When addressing fire field logistics, resource management, and tactical superiority incident command is responsible for maximizing manpower efficiency, time management, and application of equipment.

A 60° reduction in all around hose requirements hose stocks, number of lays, manpower; and deployment time may literally be worth 100s of thousands of dollars (if not millions) when it comes to response initiative and extinguishment efforts.

(Taken from October 2006 edition of Code Red Resource)