Experts Question Hose Choice in Charleston Fire

[Guest]

When photos and video footage of the June 18 Sofa Super Store fire beamed around the world, some firefighters and fire safety experts were troubled by what they saw: small red hoses snaking through the front door of the burning furniture store.

These rubber hoses, known as booster lines, were commonplace on fire trucks 20 years ago. They have since been phased out in many departments because they proved ineffective at fighting structure fires and can place firefighters at risk. Fire experts say the lines don't put out enough water to tackle a large blaze or protect firefighters from approaching flames. Their use for snuffing out garbage fires and other small tasks has earned them the nickname "trash lines."

The tradition-bound Charleston Fire Department, which lost nine firefighters in the sofa store blaze, still relies on boosters as its initial attack lines for a variety of fires. While many other departments have done away with these red lines altogether, the hard-charging Charleston department outfits its trucks to carry extra booster lines.

Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas said booster lines allow firefighters to get water on a blaze quickly, and they cause less damage to property than larger hoses with heavier flow.

And he maintained that booster lines were not used to fight fire at the sofa store blaze; firefighters eager to chip in likely grabbed whatever hose they could find to spray water on the burning building after interior fire crews had evacuated, he said. Larger hoses were used as the initial and primary attack lines to battle the blaze, he said.

"I don't want nobody to think that the Charleston Fire Department put boosters on the Sofa Super Store to put fire out at the start of the fire," Thomas said. "We did not."

Several photos taken at the fire show firefighters using red booster lines to spray water on the burning building. Photos and video from the sofa store fire also show at least two booster lines winding into the building, and a third snaking toward the area where the fire started on the side of the store.

Thomas, who has said he assumed command of the scene when he arrived at the blaze, said he doesn't know when crews pulled the booster lines that night or why the lines were in the building. But he said he doubts that any of the red lines extended more than 15 feet into the store, and he insists none were used to fight the blaze inside.

Many photos also show firefighters battling the blaze with much larger hoses, which are standard on structure fires; but the mere presence of booster lines at the scene of such a large-scale commercial blaze baffled some in the firefighting profession.

David Grahl is a district chief with Dayton (Ohio) Fire Department, which is roughly the same size as Charleston's department. His department phased out booster lines more than 15 years ago, he said. He described them as "glorified garden hoses" and said he was shocked to see them at the scene of the fire.

"You wouldn't send soldiers into battle with BB guns. It puts the firefighters in danger because they have inadequate firepower at hand."

Grahl said he does not speak for his department; he offered his opinion based on his more than 30 years in the fire service.

Jamy Cote is a former Charleston firefighter with a two-year degree in fire science and more than 10 years' firefighting experience here and in other departments. He said he left the Charleston Fire Department last year after his suggestions for safety upgrades earned him a cold shoulder from colleagues. He said it would not have been unusual for firefighters to have made their initial attack on the sofa store with the smaller booster lines, particularly if the blaze was small when they arrived.

The booster "is usually the first to be pulled off the truck," he said. "Big fire, small fire, it's so ingrained to pull the booster."

Cote said Charleston firefighters have long favored the booster lines for their light weight and maneuverability. One firefighter can grab the line, dash into a building and get water quickly on a blaze, an approach that fits squarely with the department's aggressive style, he said.

He said his main concern with using booster lines is that firefighters can find themselves outgunned in a growing fire.

"It wasn't necessarily a horrible practice, but it has to be a smart one," Cote said. "If the fire is too hot, then you're not going to have enough water there to do anything."

Thomas said he leaves it up to his captains to decide when and whether it's appropriate to pull a booster line on a fire, and whether it should be used in combination with larger hoses. Booster lines remain valuable tools for quick attacks and are mainly used by the department to put out fires in cars, kitchens and, in some cases, bedrooms, he said.

"The booster has its place in the Charleston Fire Department, and it's up to our captains on the truck to pull whatever size hose they think is needed to put the fire out," Thomas said. "That's the way we do it."

Some fire departments don't even carry booster lines on their trucks, to avoid the possibility that they will be pulled in the wrong situation, placing firefighters in jeopardy. Departments that still carry them generally use booster lines for small tasks such as extinguishing grass fires, washing off a roadway after a car accident or smothering a trash fire, experts said.

Booster lines are pulled from reels and draw water from large tanks contained within the fire truck. Their nozzles are typically an inch in diameter and can spray 30 to 60 gallons of water per minute. Larger hoses, called attack lines, can spray 150 gallons per minute or more, which many fire safety experts say is the minimum needed for attacking a structure fire.

Using booster lines can be risky because they leave little room for error when matched against today's fires, which burn hotter because of an abundance of man-made combustible materials.

If firefighters are unable to quell a small fire using a booster line, the fire hose can quickly become powerless against a growing fire, allowing it to spread. Firefighters also need enough water to protect themselves from flames.

For just those reasons, the Mount

Pleasant Fire Department stopped widespread use of booster lines 15 years ago, but keeps one around for the occasional grass fire. Isle of Palms firefighters stopped using booster lines in the 1980s, and the Greenville Fire Department followed suit a decade later. Savannah firefighters keep some booster lines on reserve trucks, but they are mainly used for washing off equipment or hosing off fluids.

Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Alvin Payne, a 30-year veteran of the fire service, isn't ready to abandon these small hoses. He said booster lines have their place, but he won't allow his firefighters to use them on a burning building. "We don't use them for structure fires. Whenever you are attacking a structure fire, you want to protect your personnel, and a booster line doesn't put out enough flow to protect personnel."

Fire experts have raised similar safety concerns. A 2001 journal article published by the National Fire Protection Association concluded that booster lines "offer little chance of extinguishment and often place firefighters in danger."

The paper's authors said arguments that booster lines might help preserve property because of their low water flow don't hold up to scrutiny. "A higher rate of flow, properly applied, results in quick extinguishment and less water damage. Conversely, water applied through small, inadequate attack lines results in more water, fire and smoke damage and often places firefighters and occupants in danger."

One of the paper's authors, Russ Sanders, is a former chief of the Louisville Fire Department in Kentucky and now works for the National Fire Protection Association, the organization that writes federal firefighting safety guidelines.

He is the co-author of "Structural Fire Fighting," a textbook published in 2000 that is widely used and cited in the fire service.

Sanders said he has no direct knowledge of the Charleston fire and spoke only in general terms about the use of booster lines in firefighting. "We don't feel it is ever appropriate to attack an interior structure fire with a booster line. They are too dangerous."

Still, Columbia Fire Chief Bradley Anderson said booster lines remain popular among some of his firefighters because of their utility. The department had been moving away from buying trucks with booster reels but has since gone back to ordering them because firefighters prefer them for dousing nuisance blazes.

"We use them for overhaul at the end of fires to put out hot spots," Anderson said. "We would not use them to attack a fire because of their low flow."

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...p;sectionId=567

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

I thought that the call first came over as trash fire on the loading dock.....could that explain the booster lines???

[firemoose827 324]

Wow...Im afraid I might stir up a hornets nest here but this is the place for our opinions so.....

Yes, I believe it was dispatched as a garbage fire on the docks. But none of us were there, we didnt see the conditions upon arrival, we didnt get the privelage of doing a sizeup. So how can we TRULY tell what happened. For all we know the guys did pull them frantically when the collapse happened to try and reach their brothers....I would have grabbed the first thing available, and being that the handlines were probably already dployed at this point, and again we are only speculating, the boosters were probably the most conveniant thing to use in a time like that with all of the confusion and helpless feelings.

Boosters in general, I feel still have a place in the fire service, for certain tactics which SHOULD be employed by the officers!!! And that is what it all boils down too, the first arriving officer, or in our dept the Line Officer. They should be knowledgeable enough to size-up the fire and issue orders to the initial attack crew. I dont understand why there are still "Freelancers" out there who would be un-educated enough to pull a booster, without being told, and enter a structure fire with it. I personally have seen room-and-contents fires adequately controlled with a "can" and even sometimes extinguished, untill the first line is stretched. In certain depts where manpower issues are still a concern the booster can easily be stretched by one man and the fire contained untill a 1 1/2" or larger can be stretched. That was how it worked in my old dept anyway, down in Northport LI. But they had High Pressure booster lines, which generated good steam and absorbed a lot of BTU's. They have since done away with them I believe. But the booster line is still good for car fires, trash/nuisance fires, brush fires, dumpster fires, etc. Would I take it in to a structure? No.

I believe its about training, and how experienced and knowledgeable your officers are. Excuse the pun, but its not the size of the hose....its how you use it. JUST JOKING!!!!! Calm down everyone.

Thats just my open rant on the matter.

Stay safe

Moose

[Guest partyrock]

This article points out several interesting observations that make the final reports a must read. I personally believe booster lines are a waste of space. 100' of 1 3/4 with the wash down tip replaces the booster and packs in 2 minutes. The can is a great tool that I've seen hold a door way to a fully involved room. But if the fire is large enough where the can can't put it down, I want a line in there. 1 3/4 with a smooth bore can be easily operated by one ff as well, but it gives you about 2.5x the gpm and much better reach (unless your using HP booster lines). With the combustible metals and potential for surprises in todays cars you have to be in there with alot of gpm's and good reach. That booster line is going to have you right in the kill zone of that car for you to effectively extinguish it. Trash or rubish fires, the booster is fine until its up against a structure. You want that fire knocked down quickly before it can get inside.

[antiquefirelt 994]

We got rid of all our booster reels years ago, for just these reasons. I'm sorry to hear Charleston FD even remotely thinks, thought or otherwise allowed a booster reel to go in over any threshold in any occupiable structure. Fire is different than it was 30 years or greater ago! Hell I can't ebelive some depts. still use 1.5" hose! As Partyrock says, there are many better alternatives to the booster reels. In the space a reel takes up you could carry 500 ft. of 1" lightweight hose for grass fires, debris, mop up, wash down, etc. It seems that sadly some are willing to fight that easier is better. As is too often proventhe right way to do something is rarely the easisest way. While we mourn our brothers in Charleston, we can only hope the upper management has an epiphany and sees the err of thier ways. I thinks its deplorable and cowardly for the Chief to say he'd not change anything and defends bucking national trends that imporve or otherwise ensure firefighter safety. I truly believe that anytime you have a LODD you must review all policies to learn from the tragedy. For the Chief to say a day after a multiple LODD fire that you'd not change anything is sickening.

[firecapt32 282]

Homer speachless!!!!! hard to believe booster lines are like old fire chief's past their time. enough said

[robert benz 344]

i learned a long time ago that the "RED LINE" never crosses the sidewalk, and we did away with the booster for car fires and trash fires also, why? not enough gpms. maybe with the high pressure booster lines you can get away with something BUT WHY!!!! using handlines teaches you how to stretch them properly, operate the nozzle properly, pump properly, and then there is no confusion. why do we always want to dumb down the job and make it easier. commerial building fire and stretch a booster for any reason that is a hundred years of tradition without progress thats my rant

[engine968 8]

I agree with those who say booster lines still have their place. My company's 2 engines each have 2 booster reels. We use them for brush and small rubbish fires. But their use for structure fires was "outlawed" in my dept. almost 30 years ago. In addition to our 2 booster reels, each engine also has a 100' preconnect for car fires, dumpsters, etc. We also use the boosters during the overhaul stage of a structure fire, while the 1 3/4 line is backed out and repacked. One goes into the bldg. for overhaul. The other is used in the street to wash down tools as needed. Like it always was and still is: The right size line for the right size fire".

And BTW, our standard attack line on commercial structures is the 2 1/2 inch line.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Sorry to a few of you gang..but there isn't anything that you need a booster line for that cannot be handled just as fast if not faster then stretching a 1 3/4" line. Car fires? Recommended minimum flow is 125 GPM's...booster line around 40 max. I also see no point when it comes to overhaul. You still may or do have active fire that you are hunting for. With the amount of void spaces in all types of structures that can hide significant fire volume why limit yourself or even worse have to re-stretch if an adverse event occurs. Remember some of the most dangerous times of a fire are when you first get there and during the overhaul stage.

Well there is one thing I can agree with that someone said. The only thing that booster lines are good for are cleaning tools...which in that matter now that I think of it is 1 more than what old fire chiefs are good for. lol firecapt