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August-September 2004 |
Tucker Pick-Up
Countless articles have been written over the years about properly stretching our handlines and, I confess, I have been guilty of a few. However, to my knowledge I have yet to see any helpful information on picking up those handlines after the fire is out. The following “Nugget” was conceived and passed down to me by my driver, senior man and 20-year veteran James Tucker, and thus it is affectionately what I refer to as the “Tucker Pick-up.”
Each one of us has indiscreetly invented a unique cuss word or two while picking up our hose. It’s very frustrating to pick up a few hundred feet of 1¾-inch, 2-inch, or 2½-inch handline after the fire only to find out that there is still both air and water left inside, preventing us from properly loading our hose. This usually involves completely re-loading a preconnected handline.
The Tucker Pick-up is very simple. Every engine company in the fire service has a couple of hydrant wrenches. Take two hydrant wrenches and place them on either side of the handline. Position the hydrant wrenches (hex heads) opposite one another so that the handline is sandwiched evenly between the handles of the hydrant wrenches. One firefighter holds firmly onto the end of the handline as you walk it out. When you reach the coupling it is very important to take a bite in the handline to eliminate the possibility of allowing air back into the handline. Connect the finished section of hose to another and begin again.
The Tucker Pick-up is fast, simple and very effective at eliminating trapped air and water in our handlines, particularly the pre-connects. Use this little nugget of information when it’s time to pick up after the next fire or training evolution and see for yourself what a difference it makes.
Take some pride in your unit and keep those handlines properly prepared for that next job.
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