Section 501.03

I. Scope:

This standard establishes guidelines for the maintenance and storage of fire hose.

It was created to:

A. Establish guidelines for the proper care of fire hose.

B. Establish a procedure for promptly repairing damaged sections of fire hose.

C. Create and maintain an inventory of spare fire hose that can be placed in service whenever it is needed.

II. Cleaning:

A. The life expectancy of a section of fire hose is determined by the care it receives. Hose is susceptible to mechanical injury, heat and fire damage, mold, mildew and damage due to chemical contact and excessive pressures.

B. Each section of fire hose shall be inspected and cleaned after each use or as required. All dirt, oil and other foreign matter should be carefully removed by clean water, a brush, a mild soap or detergent. The hose should then be rinsed thoroughly.

C. After being cleaned, sections of fire hose should be properly dried unless the hose is of single-jacket, rubber construction. Rubber hose may be loaded wet after it has been cleaned. It is still possible however, for mold to develop if wet hose is stored for a long period of time without proper drying. This may result in damage to the hose.

III. Repair:

A. Whenever a section of hose is to be taken out of service and repaired it shall be cleaned, dried and properly red-tagged. The tag shall include a description of the defect.

B. All female hose couplings need to be fitted with gaskets. Couplings should be inspected periodically and gaskets that have deteriorated or are missing should be replaced. A stock of spare gaskets is maintained at the station for this purpose.

D. To prevent permanent damage the hose on each apparatus shall be reloaded every six months unless the entire load has been laid at a fire or for training. During one of these reloads the annual hose test may be conducted.

E. As a general rule, no vehicle shall drive over a hose. During an incident however, it may become necessary for an emergency vehicle to drive over a hose line. In such a case, the line should be charged to reduce the likelihood of damage.

A. After the hose has been properly cleaned it should be hung in the hose tower to dry.

B. After the hose has been properly dried it may be rolled for storage. The hose should be rolled with the male coupling inside and then placed on a hose rack until needed.

C. Hose should not be stored out of doors or left in the hose tower for extended periods of time.

A. All officers shall ensure that each section of hose is permanently marked and numbered as prescribed by SOG#501.02, Identification and Equipment Inventory.

B. The department shall maintain a complete record of all fire hose assigned to the department. This record shall include the date a section of fire hose was received, test records, in-house repairs, or other repairs done outside of the department.

C. All members shall ensure that all apparatus have the appropriate amount of fire hose. Hose loads shall be maintained in a neat manner.