Crosslay Lengths

[justinmcguigan]

hey guys - got a question for you all.
there are lots of different opinions on how much 1 3/4 should be loaded into your crosslays. i use the word opinions because it would be difficult to nail down a right and wrong answer since it's all based on your area. that said, what are some of your opinions on approperate lengths of hose to load in a rural fire department's crosslays. winter vs summer?
thanks,
Justin

[FF4020]

We run 200' of 1 3/4" for the crosslays and 200' of 2 1/2" with a TFT blitzfire for when things get serious.

No difference between winter and summer.

[Chauffeur6]

I don't think I've ever heard of or seen a dept load different lengths based on summer vs winter. That's a new one for me.

Anyway, I prefer at LEAST 200' for crosslays, but we use 2". At least 250' of 2.5" rear preconnects for the big stuff.

[Weruj1]

summer and winter

we have 100' trash line ...........2 200' preconnects and a 2 1/2 .........

[ffmedcbk1]

I take it that the differing loads are for the long stretches up the drives when the snow flies and if you can not take the drive with your engine. Understandable but why not keep the x-lays long all year and teach how to break the line and hook the discharge if the extra hose isn't needed?

I work 2 departments both with differing set ups for x-lays

dept a:
mostly older village and rural: all are 250' x-lays combo break-apart nozzles s-loaded

dept b:
1/3 bungelos, 1/3 commercial and industrial, 1/3 new residential : one 300" speedlay w/ 15/16 smooth bores, two x-lays w. auto fogs, one 2.5" w. 1 1/4 sb all are flat loaded w/ ears at 50'


Personal choice:
Make all 1.75" x-lays 300 ft (min of 2 on each rig) and break down the line as the stretch dictates and use side discharges, you'll need ears at 50', 150' and 250'. (this is for mainly the backup man to clear the tray or if you need a stretch that can be flipped over to make it a quick minuteman you can ei. junkyards and long long stretches) (Also I am a sb fan, fog in compartment for use if needed on that once in carreer propane christmas tree fire like in probie school)
make 2.5" 600 ft in the rear hosebed with 1 1/4" tip attached

I personally would aslo specify that the x-lays and stacked only 2 wide to help in making the quick minuteman flip (at trick learned from the other good fire mag)

Also be aggressive in teaching engine company ops and pumping!!! Know thy pump, know how to estimate the stretch. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THIS! I have personally had some really good results by aggressive training.

Please read stuff by Andy Fredricks FDNY and see if it help. I'd love to talk about your situation and see if I can help.

[justinmcguigan]

thanks ffmedcbk1 for your reply.
you are correct about the different stretches for summer vs winter.
i would appreciate an oppertunity to pick your brain a bit more.
you can contact me at [email protected] and i will then send along my personal e-mail address. thanks! jrm

[caltom]

On our engines we carrying a 200' 1.75" and a 250' 1.75" crosslay then out the back is 200' of 2.5 with stacktips and 300' of 2.5" with a water theif.

We carry the long 1.75" crosslays because of the large size of residences in our city plus the set backs off the street, not for seasonal reasons.

[SBrooks]

DCFD uses
100' bumper
2 200' crosslays
1 350-400' rear line
1 200-250 2.5" line (smoothbore)

all lines are 1 1/2" 125 gpm fog and can be extended by break apart nozzles & 100' standpipe packs.

[NDeMarse]

DCFD uses
100' bumper
2 200' crosslays
1 350-400' rear line
1 200-250 2.5" line (smoothbore)

all lines are 1 1/2" 125 gpm fog and can be extended by break apart nozzles & 100' standpipe packs.

Just clearing this up:

You have a 350-400' (7-8 length) 1 1/2" fog line?

I am just curious

[quint1officer]

Our structural 1-3/4"s are 200 feet. Bumper lines are 100' (vehicle and dumpster fires). TFT's on the 1-3/4, so we limit it to 200'. We run a 300' 2" smoothie if needed. Also have a 200' 3" with water thief to supply either 2" hy-rise packs or 1 2-1/2" 100' line. It fits most any structure in our due.

[Bones42]

All crosslays are now 200'. 1 3/4" and 2 1/2". On the back, we have a bed of 500' 2 1/2" deadlay that we pull for the hard to reach areas. We also carry 2 100' 1 3/4" lines in straps to go along with the hard to reach area. Front bumpers also have 75-100' 1 3/4" line.

[Eng34FF]

Our crosslays are 200' of 1-3/4". We also have a 300' line made up of 200' of 2" and 100' of 1 3/4" on the back as well as 200' of 2-1/2" and 200' of 3" preconnected.

On the occasion that we can't reach the house with a preconnect, we will stretch the 3" and then add a gate and a stand-pipe pack. We have plenty of 3" as supply line if the 200' is not enough.

[SBrooks]

Just clearing this up:

You have a 350-400' (7-8 length) 1 1/2" fog line?

I am just curious

Yes. Get this: if it's short, we'll lengthen it with 4 more sections of 1 1/2". EP is 220 on the 400', 280 if extended all the way. 125 gpm constant volume fog nozzles. Works for us. Go ask some of the ex-DCFD guys in your borough, there's got to be at least a half-dozen. We generally have 3-4 lines going in within 4-8 minutes of dispatch, and they go in fast, not like gentlemen.

As one of our retired deputy chiefs described the required flow equation: a little water, and a lot of BALLS. He wasn't so good at math.

FWIW, we tried the 1 3/4" with 15/16" tip thing for about a year, 6 years ago. Didn't take.

[MG3610]

Our first due engine has 200 and 250' 1 3/4" lines with 15/16" saberjets. 200' 2 1/2" stacked tip (1 1/8, 1 1/4") and 150' 2 1/2" 500 GPM gun off the rear. There is also 100' of 1 1/2" line off the bumper with 150 GPM fixed flow fog.

Our second due engine has a 300' 1 1/2" line as well with 125 GPM low pressure fog nozzle but no preconnected step gun.

Our engine pressure is somewhere in the 220 range as well for the 300' line. We have this so we can run it through from a block over, or if the engine is on the hydrant and we need another attack line quick.

[DD8968]

we use

all of our hose is 2in ponn qonquest 800 with low pressure chief nozzles 50/150 front bumper is 100ft the mattydales are 200ft and a rear line of 350ft