Car parked in firelane, firemen bust out windows to run hose

ManglerYJ

ManglerYJ

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Lexington, NC
I'm sure everyone has seen the images making their way around the internet supposedly from Boston. A car is parked in front of a fire hydrant and the firemen bust out the windows in the car and run the hose through it.

Here's one:
acdn.abclocal.go.com_images_kfsn_cms_exf_2007__video_wn_images_9071456_600x338.jpg



Here's another:
amedia1.break.com_dnet_media_2011_9_22_9e6389a6_f45e_4060_8113_dcda3f38a082.jpg


And yet another:
alh6.ggpht.com__GZBskGaBQAY_SOhHpu27oKI_AAAAAAAAALQ_DDYi_7Ck_9k_s400_car_20_20_26_20fire_20hose.png



I overheard a group of fire fighter trainees thumping their chests the other day at dinner about how they "had to bust out windows of a car because it was parked in the fire lane" and I just had to wonder...

Wouldn't it take even longer to bust out windows on both sides of the car and thread the hose through than just simply passing it over the car? Don't get me wrong, the dude is a prick for parking in front of a hydrant, but seriously, are the hoses THAT inflexible that the ONLY means of getting it from point A to point B is that exact line? Seems to me that over is a lot easier than through. I'd think also if someone came out and saw that there was a hose going through their now-trashed vehicle, they might just decide to hop in and try to drive off not caring what they did to the hose in the process (just to add to the dick-ish-ness).

Again, I'm not harping on legitimate fire fighters - my brother-in-law is a Deputy Chief of our local firehouse.
 
To answer your question a suction hose does not flex very well at all. My father was a fire cheif and his policy was do whatever nessasary to getthe job done and he would deal with the report later. I have seen him destroy a parked car pushing it out of the way to make room for equipment.

Buckeye Performance Inc.
828-779-2242
 
novacayne75 said:
To answer your question a suction hose does not flex very well at all. My father was a fire cheif and his policy was do whatever nessasary to getthe job done and he would deal with the report later. I have seen him destroy a parked car pushing it out of the way to make room for equipment.

Buckeye Performance Inc.
828-779-2242
Click to expand...


Those don't appear to be suction hoses, though. And I'm not for sure, but at least the van picture, it looks like the hose has to make a 90 degree turn to the front anyway in which case they could have hooked to the front tee.

I see what you are saying - sometimes there's just no other way than to bust some stuff to get the job done, but it seems like in a lot of it, it's just chest thumping.
 
Line needs to come off the hydrant as straight as possible -- you can't make a 90* bend in the two feet between the hydrant valve and the parked car -- pressure loss in a bend vs. straight for one thing.

A while back, I think it was in NYC, ladder truck came up to fire, people were hanging on balconies. Cop car was parked in the way -- right where the stabilizer jack was going to land. Life trumps property....cop car squashed flat to the pavement.

Here is one cop car..but not the one I remember seeing. http://www.statter911.com/2013/01/2...ne-nypd-officer-this-morning-were-expletives/

DP
 
ManglerYJ said:
Those don't appear to be suction hoses, though. And I'm not for sure, but at least the van picture, it looks like the hose has to make a 90 degree turn to the front anyway in which case they could have hooked to the front tee.

I see what you are saying - sometimes there's just no other way than to bust some stuff to get the job done, but it seems like in a lot of it, it's just chest thumping.
Click to expand...

The proper term is LDH (Large Diameter Hose) and none of the pics show "suction" hose. A special hard "hose" is used during drafting so that the line doesn't collapse. We have talked about this situation many times over the years and I have prayed for one. Our current "policy" would not allow us to bust the windows and feed the LDH through due to the chance the glass would cut the line. Instead we are to remove the doors and place it gently across the seats. I pray for the day...
 
Kind of like back home in jersey. Everyone knows that when it snows you don't park on the street. People would get pissed when the snow plow would bury their car in 10-15 feet of snow. I've also seen them his cars doing about 30-35 mph. Pretty entertaining
 
If you park in front of a fire hydrant, you get what is coming to you. I have no problem with what I see above because I am not lazy, and I will park where legal and walk.
 
GotWood said:
The proper term is LDH (Large Diameter Hose) and none of the pics show "suction" hose. A special hard "hose" is used during drafting so that the line doesn't collapse. We have talked about this situation many times over the years and I have prayed for one. Our current "policy" would not allow us to bust the windows and feed the LDH through due to the chance the glass would cut the line. Instead we are to remove the doors and place it gently across the seats. I pray for the day...
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be easier and quicker to bust out one window, unlock the doors and open them both instead of removing both doors? Again, I'm just spit-balling here...
 
drkelly said:
If you park in front of a fire hydrant, you get what is coming to you. I have no problem with what I see above because I am not lazy, and I will park where legal and walk.
Click to expand...


I don't disagree with you that those that parked in front of a fire hydrant can't really complain about the damages, but it just seems like (especially after hearing these trainees) that this situation is almost "looked for" or "hoped for" just to give them a chance to bust windows just because.

Again, if my house is on fire, I wouldn't want fire fighters being polite and asking someone to move their car from in front of the hydrant. I'd want that sucker hooked up pronto.
 
I think the problem here was they were trainees. All new people to a job, be it police, fire, plumbers, whatever are usually all gungho. They were probably just proud of what they think they have done. Once the newness wears off they won't be as bad. At least some won't anyway.
 
novacayne75 said:
To answer your question a suction hose does not flex very well at all. My father was a fire cheif and his policy was do whatever nessasary to getthe job done and he would deal with the report later. I have seen him destroy a parked car pushing it out of the way to make room for equipment.

Buckeye Performance Inc.
828-779-2242
Click to expand...
It's not a suction line, but pushing the car out of the way would be the proper route here (then charging the car owner for any truck repairs). It's on every FF's bucket list to put the hose through the windows, but even then it is less than optimal. If there is room ahead of the car to "push it" then that is the best route, as even the slight bend from the hydrant up into the car window would restrict the flow noticeably. As far as passing on top of or around the car, that would be an even more extreme bend, and would restrict flow even greater. As far as in the first post about the owner just getting in and driving off with the hose in the window, I'd say a 1 ton truck would have trouble driving off with a charged 4-5" hose through the windows.

Gotwood has the best procedure though if pushing it is not an option, bust one window to gain access, open both doors for a lower to the ground and straighter shot for the hose. May require bending a door back though for a better shot. If there is no room for opening the doors though, removing the door would not be an option, too much time, then and only then feed it through the windows. Broken glass would not be an issue, the tempered glass shatters into small pieces that will do no harm, trust me the hoses see much worse than those small bits, it's the un-tempered glass with large shards that you worry about.
 
ManglerYJ said:
Here's the story out of Boston that's been in the news recently:

http://myfox8.com/2014/04/11/this-is-why-you-never-park-in-front-of-a-fire-hydrant/


View attachment 152305

Looks like opening the doors would have been much easier on the hose since it's about pinched between the hydrant tee and the door.
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theres another picture to this where they had some guys moving the car over. I guess they realized real quick that their "awesome job" of putting the hose through the window bit them in the tail real quick!
 
zjguy said:
theres another picture to this where they had some guys moving the car over. I guess they realized real quick that their "awesome job" of putting the hose through the window bit them in the tail real quick!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it bit them in the tail. Some water is better than no water. As for the comments regarding coming off the side of the cross, that cross is most likely a valve used for boosting pressure, not a selectable discharge valve. Here is an article on how it works.

Duane
 
Time? I can remove your car door in less than 2 min from the time I pull onto the scene. Technology is awesome, and Hurst E-Tools are ready instantly, no power unit required.

There is a lot of chest thumping in a FD but no more than the last ride up Bees Nest or any other event. Fireman have a lot of perks when it comes to doing our job without the worry of what we tear up. Did you know that we have more rights than the police? I can come in your house without a warrant, and if your house is on fire when I drive that big red truck (red is the only proper color, yellow trucks are not ripe yet) into the yard my department owns your house legaly until the chief signs it back over.

Now are there dicks/morons in the service? You better believe it! Those guys usually don't last long but for the most part we do try not to do excessive damage. Given a reason though, well you get the idea!
 
GotWood said:
Time? I can remove your car door in less than 2 min from the time I pull onto the scene. Technology is awesome, and Hurst E-Tools are ready instantly, no power unit required.
Click to expand...
Not every department has access to those tools. Our rural volunteer dept does not have them, it's approximately 45min response time for the county rescue squad which does carry them to get to our area. But two decently sized guys can easily rip most open car doors backwards on their hinges much faster than 2 minutes, or the aforementioned pushing the car out of the way. Then again, there is only one hydrant in our district so it's not really a concern.
 
GCncsuHD said:
Not every department has access to those tools. Our rural volunteer dept does not have them, it's approximately 45min response time for the county rescue squad which does carry them to get to our area. But two decently sized guys can easily rip most open car doors backwards on their hinges much faster than 2 minutes, or the aforementioned pushing the car out of the way. Then again, there is only one hydrant in our district so it's not really a concern.
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The funniest part about the particular trainees that caused the initial post was that they were also in rural areas where fire hydrants can be counted on one hand in the area... and they are usually on someone's lawn.
 
I have a hydrant in my front yard.
But it has no water supply.
yet the town will not remove it as it is for "future improvements"...SMH.

Imagine how disapppointed we were to learn it wasnt connected when we were going to fill the pond during a drought the year we moved in. :D
 
My daddy was a FF for 34 years. He always said that laying a hose across the hood does a ton of damage also. Hood and fenders are trash after that. That hose will vibrate and wear the paint off as well as crushing them down a little bit. The last few years he was a battalion chief and he would just push cars out of the way with his suburban.
 
Ron said:
I have a hydrant in my front yard.
But it has no water supply.
yet the town will not remove it as it is for "future improvements"...SMH.

Imagine how disapppointed we were to learn it wasnt connected when we were going to fill the pond during a drought the year we moved in. :D
Click to expand...


My friend put an old hydrant in a flower bed at the corner of his yard. His home insurance went down!
 
sgtbriangreen said:
My daddy was a FF for 34 years. He always said that laying a hose across the hood does a ton of damage also. Hood and fenders are trash after that. That hose will vibrate and wear the paint off as well as crushing them down a little bit. The last few years he was a battalion chief and he would just push cars out of the way with his suburban.
Click to expand...
We would try and push them out of the way if it was possible but when cars are parallel parked that window didnt last long
 
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