Crosslays

[resqb]

Looking for the usual firehouse opinions on this chicken/egg question.
Did the crosslay (speedlay, etc) partially cause the reduced manpower situation currently felt by the majority of paid depts. out there? Or was it the other way around? Firefighters found an easier way to pull off hose because they didn't have the manpower. Possibly a combination of both? What's your opinion?

[Truckman]

Low staffing, in my opinion, lead to the development of the 1½ inch hose, which in turn evolved into the 1¾, then 2 inch. Who knows, maybe we will get to the 2¼ then back to 2½? Unfortunately, these smaller lines have plagued the fire service in other ways. (Sorry that’s another topic)

I believe that the pre-connect was an answer to the heavy fire call volume experienced during the time of civil unrest in the U.S. During this time it was not uncommon for fire companies to move to one fire after another. So firefighters, being the creative souls they were/are, came up with this concept. Look through photos of this era, and see companies with lines strapped to their running boards pre-connected to a discharge. Or monitors mounted on top of an engine with lines pre-connected to them, allowing the companies to move from one point to another without having to break down and reassemble everything.

Be Safe

[ 12-09-2001: Message edited by: Truckman ]

[570eck]

A chicken and an egg check into a motel and get a room. After a brief whoopie session the egg rolls over and says "i guess that answers that question!"