Documents

The following downloadable documents provide additional details about the Hose Handler High Rise Pack. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are actual questions we have received with our answers. If you have any questions we can help with, please contact us.

"Tim, I reviewed your product on-line. What is different about yours, versus the unit shown at this link?" (This question was accompanied by a picture of a simple "connected strap" style of hose pack).

Glad you asked.  The pack depicted here is the first of three different general types of pack available on the market.  This type is either “multiple separate straps” or “connected straps” and unfortunately it suffers from most of the same problem that motivated us to make a high-rise pack in the first place.  In this picture you see the pack nicely horseshoed over the firefighters air pack.  In our experience, either this or over the shoulder is by far the way most firefighter would prefer to carry hose.

The problem with the type of pack depicted here is that it is rarely stored on the engine in this configuration (horseshoed). Most engines carry them stored flat either in the hose bed or in the transverse hose compartment.  Which leads to the dilemma that makes them function poorly. One must choose one of two options for tightening the straps.  Choice one, tighten the straps securely with the hose load laid out flat.  This looks nice in the hose bed but since the flakes of the pack are then tightly married together it wants to stay flat when you pull it out of the hose bed and it lays over the shoulder like a big unwieldy board. 

This problem gets worse if you do finally get it to horseshoe because then it must be un-horseshoed once you reach the fire floor for deployment.  In addition the "D" ring cinch style of closure requires you to un-Velcro all four straps and thread it back through the "D" ring before you can deploy the hose (try that with gloves on in the dark).  Choice two is even worse, leave the straps loose enough to allow the flakes of hose to slide against each other and horseshoe properly. 

Unfortunately, since the hose pack has a heavy nozzle connected to one end and a heavy gated wye connected to the other, the hose quickly begins to work its way out of the pack and hang down in your feet. Once a single flake is out, the straps are subsequently even looser and the remainder of the hose works its way free even quicker. Invariably, by about the third floor, the fire fighter has to use both arms to carry a 100' bird’s nest of hose to the fire floor and try to deploy it.  It was just such an occurrence at a regional High-rise drill that first motivated us to stop complaining and start inventing in the first place.

The second pack style currently on the market is the “Vinyl Bag” style. Essentially it is an elongated vinyl bag into which the hose is loaded in a side-by-side double stack. It suffers from other design problems.  It also packs up as a large unwieldy board-like object (as seen in their ads) and is the last thing that you want to deal with when navigating tight stairwells.  In fact, it is so heavy and awkward on the shoulder that it comes equipped with a shoulder strap.  In addition, they are designed to carry 150' of 2" hose. The weight of that much hose is way too heavy in our opinion and several fire departments that we know of have converted back to the standard method of using two packs, each with 100' of hose and a nozzle. Only one of the packs is loaded with a gated wye.

This configuration provides a tremendous advantage in flexibility of attack. The standpipe connection can be configured with either a single 200' hose for reach, or as two 100' attack lines doubling up the GPM. The size of the “Vinyl Bag” style of pack is also a concern since most engines are designed with space for single-stack style packs either in the hose bed, or transverse hose compartments. Neither of these compartment spaces will easily accommodate the double-stack design of the “Vinyl Bag”. Side compartment space is at such a premium that these packs are often used (even shown in advertisements) mounted, out of desperation, on the rear step of the tailboard exposed to the elements and wash water when cleaning the engine.
           
Our pack has a number of patented features that solve all of the above noted problems. 

  1. The central spine is stiffened with a high density, lightweight ploy rib that provides just the right balance of flexibility to horseshoe and un-horseshoe easily.
  2. Each of the hose clamping straps are stiffened with aluminum on their sides causing the clamping force to be transferred to the sides of the hose stack rather than the top and bottom.  They work so well that even with the straps loose the hose pack can be flexed in any direction without the hose coming loose and then easily laid back flat with no bunching for quick deployment. Each strap disconnects with heavy duty side release buckles that are designed to be deployed with gloved hands.
  3. The wings on the front of the pack provide additional support and protection from entanglement for the nozzle and gated wye.
  4. The last two straps have rollers incorporated into the design. This allows the last two straps to be kept in a slightly loose configuration. This feature allows the pack to easily horseshoe over the shoulder or air pack and then convert back to flat with no problems. 

We make the pack in two lengths; 7' for hose bed storage and 6' for use in the transverse compartments.  If a department prefers to store them in a side compartment, they fit very nicely in the horseshoed configuration. Our packs come in a range of sizes to fit 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 2" and 2 1/2" hose.  The 2 1/2" model holds 50' of hose per pack to conform to the Chicago specification, which utilizes three 50' sections of 2 1/2" hose, one with a nozzle. Looking back on what I have written, I may have given you more information than you need but as firefighters ourselves we are passionate about tools that work and last.

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Tim, I note as well that there is another company that has a "vinyl bag" and another hose pack style that works like a backpack. What is your experience there?

In the description of their “Vinyl Bag” they say they utilize "cam buckles and torque rings" as the fasteners.  While the cam buckles are easy to release with a gloved hand, you then still have to un-thread each strap from the buckle and the ring before you can deploy. Also since they are using a "tight cinch" type of strap the hose bundle becomes un-bendable.

Combined with their double stack design (an attempt to control the length since the pack is unbendable) you again end up with a pack that is so cumbersome to carry that they feel the need to incorporate a shoulder strap.  These problems apply to both sizes of their strap style packs.  The backpack item is the third style of pack I mentioned at the beginning of this FAQ. This style is simply a backpack style bag into which hose is placed in a double stack horseshoe load along with a nozzle.

This style has even more problems. Since it is so heavy (holding 150' of 2" lightweight hose plus a nozzle and gated wye, you are at or over 100 lbs.) they had to design it as a backpack, which is impossible to use when you are wearing an air pack. If not worn as a backpack, then this configuration becomes the all time winner for being difficult to carry and deploy.

The shape, weight and handle locations make it nearly impossible for one firefighter to carry in tight stairwells yet they make no provision for handles to be used by two firefighters. At the recent Baltimore fire show we spoke with countless firefighters who expressed the same concerns to us and were very excited about our design, which they happily threw over their shoulders and carried around with big smiles on their faces.

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Below is a discussion I had with a customer who had no experience with using a High-Rise pack and did not understand its use.

We show the three models on our web site but we only carry two in stock Models #1 and #2 are by far our most popular sellers. The other size (our model #3) is for carrying 2 1/2 inch hose. 2 1/2" hose is much heavier and so this model is designed to carry just 50 feet of hose in each pack. It was designed to meet the needs of the Chicago Fire department’s specification. In Chicago they carry three of these packs on their engines, each with 50 feet of hose, and one of the packs has a pre-connected nozzle.

The three pieces would then be assembled on the fire floor and used to attack the fire with 150 feet of 2 1/2" hose lines (used to gain higher quantities of water but with less maneuverability due to the greater weight). Since we usually only get orders for the 2 1/2" model infrequently but in larger numbers of units we have them manufactured only when we need them for large orders. The other two models (#1 and #2) we keep in stock. I will try to answer the rest of your questions below following the text of each question.

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There are three models in your website, we want to order two samples, and we got the following questions:

Q: 1. Among these three models, which one is used most for firefighters?

Models #1 and #2 are our best sellers each holds the same length of hose but one is 12 inches shorter than the other so that it can fit in differing compartment configurations.

Usually Model #1 is used when the hose packs are stored in transverse (side-to-side) compartments. Model #2 is used is used when the hose packs are stored in the longitudinal (front-to-back) hose bed compartment which normally provides greater length.

2. In the description of 1½", 1¾" or 2" hose up to 100’, does it mean that the diameter of the hose is one and a half inches?  Then what’s the 100 feet for?

In describing hose in the USA we use imperial measurements. Hose comes in different diameters described in inches. The most common sizes are 1 1/2 inches, 1 3/4 inches, 2 inches, 2 1/2inches, and 3 inches. All of these with the exception of 3 inch are considered hand lines (meaning that they are intended to have nozzles attached to them for the purpose of applying water directly to the fire by firefighting crews). 3" inch hose is considered supply line.

Our models #1 and #2 will work with 1 1/2 inch, 1 3/4 inch and 2 inch hose. It is also important to note that 1 1/2 inch, 1 3/4 inch and 2 inch hose all use 1 1/2 inch threaded couplings and are thus, to some extent, interchangeable. 2 ½ inch and 3 inch hose both have 2 ½ inch threaded couplings.

The length of the hose is described in feet and normally comes in 50-foot lengths. 100-foot lengths are also available. Our models #1 and #2 are designed to hold 100 feet of hose each and you can use either two 50-foot lengths connected together, or one 100-foot length by itself.

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In what emergency circumstances would these three models be used? Are all three for high-rise fire emergencies?

The high-rise pack is an important component for fighting fire. Not just in High-rise buildings, but anywhere that the water supply (the fire engine and it's pump) are some distance from the seat of the fire. As an example, imagine that we could get no closer to a fire than 500 feet. It would be wrong to assemble 500 feet of hand line (small diameter) hose from the fire engine to the fire because the friction loss in the smaller hose would cause you to have a very low water flow at the nozzle.

Instead, you should assemble supply line (large diameter) hose most of the way (reducing the friction loss significantly) and then use dividing appliances (we call them wyes) to connect your shorter hand lines. Almost all fire engines in the USA carry some sort of high-rise pack but use it in many different circumstances. This becomes particularly important in high-rise building fires because the fire can be a very long vertical distance from the pump.  This is why most modern buildings are equipped with a standpipe system.

A standpipe is a pre-installed supply pipe that allows the fire engine to connect at the street level and pump water up the standpipe to the fire level (these pipes are usually located in the stairwells). At the fire level (or floor) the fire crews would connect their hand lines to the standpipe and begin to extinguish the fire. So you can probably see by now that the hand lines must be carried, by the fire crews, to the fire floor.  This is where a high-rise (the Hose Handler) pack comes into play.

By using our product, the hand lines can be pre-assembled and easily carried to the fire level comfortably folded (or horseshoed) over the shoulder or over the top of the air pack and then quickly deployed. One fire crew (three or four persons) can easily carry 100 to 400 feet of hand line up the stairs to the fire floor.  With no high-rise pack, or an inferior product, this job becomes much more difficult and likely to result in tangled hose and delays in applying water to the fire. It can also contribute to sapping the firefighters energy before he even gets to the fire level.

The most progressive fire departments require pre-assembled high-rise packs to be kept permanently at various levels of the building so that fire crews can climb to the nearest cache of equipment, grab as many packs as they need, and then only have to carry them a few flights of stairs to the fire floor. This method makes for the fastest, most effective method of attacking a fire in the vertical, high-rise environment.

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