November-December 2007

	November-December 2007

How Many Hoselines Can We Place In A Stairwell?

By Michael Terpak

Many of us in the fire service have always heard that you can’t stretch more than two hoselines into and up a stairwell of a building. This statement has been presented and adopted by many as a disciplined procedure without any further explanation or exploration of its use. This notion is one of those ideas often referred to as “fixed theories,” but if we take a more comprehensive look at this one, we find that, in many situations, we can stretch more than two.

In certain building types, you will find varying stair designs that need to be identified and factored into your resource assignment and management. Stair design within a building can not only identify some limitations, but also a few options that suppression forces can take advantage of. Lets take a look.

When the building you are operating in presents a stair design with added options, identify whether the stair design can assist you with your hose stretch. Depending upon the stairwell design within the building, there may be a possibility that you can stretch more than two hoselines up and into this vertical artery. In Jersey City, we identify hose stretches in multiple dwelling fires based on the stairwell design. They can fall into one of three categories:

Stairway Stretch – This is a hose stretch that is placed within the tread/riser run of the stairwell. In this type of hose stretch, we often factor in one hose length per floor with one additional length for the fire floor as a minimum. Its width often allows two hoselines to be stretched within. It is considered the most common type of hose stretch used in a multi-floored building.
Well-Hole Stretch – This is a hose stretch that takes advantage of the horizontally spacing between the banister and railings of the stair design. If wide enough to place a charged hoseline in between, a hoseline can be stretched vertically up the well-hole to its intended floor/objective. In this type of hose stretch, we often factor in one length per three floors with an additional length for the fire floor as a minimum. It is important with this type stretch that we pull enough hose up for the fire floor, and then secure the remaining hose to the stair railing on the floor below. The weight of the hose and water within the vertical stretch can pull the hose out of the firefighters hands if not secured.

(Figure 1: well-hole stretch)

Half Landing Stretch – If the building exhibits a U-return or a V-return stair design, the window at the halflanding is an excellent place to stretch up an additional hoseline. If used, members should use the half landing just below the fire floor as the stairwell access point. This stretch utilizes a rope bag/bottle dropped out the half-landing window into a courtyard, which allows a hoseline to be pulled back up into the same window. The window's location within the stair design not only provides a refuge point below the actual fire floor, its location will provide some assistance with the weight of the hose and the water. In this type of hose stretch, we often factor in one length per three floors with one additional length for the fire floor as a minimum.

(Figure 2: Half-landing window)

With the above in mind, a U- or V-return stair in a multiple dwelling that has a wide enough well-hole and half-landing window at each return can allow trained and educated engine companies to stretch three, possibly four, hoselines into and up this crucial artery. Make your own decision, but don’t let someone’s "fixed theory" limit your thinking. Stair designs can present additional options. Explore them and use them.

Stay Safe!

Editors Note: Chief Terpak is the author of Fireground Size-Up published by PennWell/Fire Engineering Books. To purchase, return to the Main Page and click on the book icon. Chief Terpak also operates the following websites: www.firegroundsize-up.com and www.promotionalprep.com

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