Fire Hose: Remove Pre-1987 Lengths From Service

By Mark Conroy

Nothing lasts forever and that includes fire hose. Fire departments buy their hose according to NFPA 1961, Standard on Fire Hose, and they test, maintain, or replace it based on NFPA 1962, Standard for the Care, Use, Inspection, Service Testing, and Replacement of Fire Hose, Couplings, Nozzles, and Fire Hose Appliances. The 2013 edition of NFPA 1962 just came out, and there are no requirements for testing old hose. For hose manufactured before 1987, the new standard states it “shall be removed from service”.

ORDERING NEW FIRE HOSE

Your customers will be attaching the fire hose to something else with a threaded connection, and there is special terminology used in the industry. The four critical things to remember when discussing hose are size, threads, material of the connection, and gender of the fitting.

NST is National Hose Thread or National Standard Thread and is the American standard fire hose thread. Although it is most commonly called NST, some call it NH or National Hose. The other thread is NPSH which is National Pipe Straight Hose. All of these connections require a gasket to seal them.

Hose Specifications

TESTING OF FIRE HOSE

Many fire departments test their own hose. NFPA 1962 requires pressure testing of fire hose and outlines the test pressures and procedures. The following equipment is for testing 11/2" and 21/2" hose.