A Smoothbore is a Smoothbore is a Smoothbore, Right?

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Avillo on October 25, 2008 at 12:50pm

the high rise packs in NHRFR use the breakaway solid bore nozzle that can be adapted for use as a fog. The fog tip is kept in the hi rise bag (it might not even be in there anymore). The nozzle is a 1" tip reduced down to 15/16" with a St' Louis adapter screwed on. It works well in the residentials where we don't get hit with the blast furnace of the winds on the cliffs either overlooking the Hudson river or the meadowlands. The first three engines bring in the hi rise packs (2" line) and then all additional engines bring in 100' of 2-1/2" line with smooth bore nozzle. We figure if we can't knock it down by that time, it is time to bring out the heavy artillery. Most FD's don't like to admit it, but most "real" hi rise fires go out when they burn down to a point where we can approach them (thermal elimination of the fuel). Still, if the small lines are not making it, whether fog or SB, soemone has to have the sense ot leash the hounds, close the doors, and let the fire cinder-ize the apt. If it is that hot, no one is alive anyway -- nothing to be gained -- not worth the risk

Permalink Reply by Daryl Liggins on November 11, 2008 at 10:05pm

We are using the Akron ball valve shutoff with 1 1/8" tip. In field testing we found that the smooth ball valve made a better stream than the split ball valve another manufacture offers. It may not be enough to be an operational difference but creates enough turbulence to make quite a visible difference in stream quality. I also did not like the slide valve offered by TFT. This makes for a nice looking stream but a very small water way. This small water way would not pass debris and is a clog point. It is very important during standpipe operations to reduce areas debris could block or reduce the flow of water.
Back to tip size. the 1 1/8 has about 99 pounds of reaction force and seems to be manageable. Some fire department use the 1 1/4 tip. This tip size is moving into master stream territory by some definitions at 325gpm and has about 126 pounds of RF and is far less forgiving when over pressurized. I do however like the "Indy" tip. it's a 1 1/8" screwed onto a 1 1/4". The 1 1/8" can be used for that interior attack and the 1 1/4" reserved for more defensive or outside operations.