Tripoli Fire Department Uses BullDog Hose for House Burn Event
The Lobeck family in Tripoli, Iowa has a farming property that has been around for many years. The farmhouse is no longer occupied. When the homeowners decided to clear the path of the old farmhouse, they turned to their local volunteer fire department. At their suggestion, the family agreed to do a controlled burn to level the house. This created a training opportunity for the department. The Tripoli Fire Department uses BullDog Hose for this event.
Planning
To complete this mission, weeks of planning were set in place. After getting all the proper approvals and choosing a day with the best weather conditions, only two things were left; manpower and firehose. The latter came from BullDog Hose Company, which manufactures small to large diameter lay-flat hose. For the Tripoli Fire Department, BullDog supplied both attack and supply hose. These hose included Firepower, Hi-Combat, Ultima, and Red/Yellow Chief.
The day before the scheduled burn, new trainees at Tripoli FD took part in a search and rescue mission within the house. After filling the house with smoke from a bale of hay, teams of firefighters - with a line of Hi-Combat attack hose - searched the home for hidden objects in place of victims. Around corners, up stairs, and through the entirety of the abandoned two story home, the firefighters hauled the 1.75” attack fire hose. The hose had no trouble keeping up and didn’t kink around corners, allowing the firefighters to focus on their task.
The Burn
At the time of the burn, Red and Yellow Chief hose connected to the fire truck brought water to the attack hoses. Red/Yellow Chief supply hose is a lay-flat rubber hose with a heavy rib outer cover. The heavy-rib construction makes the hose highly resistant to cuts, punctures, and abrasions that may happen as it drags on the ground. Lengths of the Red/Yellow Chief hose connected to the attack hoses surrounding the burning building. The attack hoses were manned by firefighters in teams. To keep temperatures down, firefighters used Hi-Combat and Firepower hoses to spray around the house.
Before the planned burn started, firefighters sprayed water around the surrounding grass and buildings to ensure that only the unoccupied house burned. As temperatures rose, the need for water on the surrounding buildings remained. Firefighters made sure to spray them occasionally to keep temperatures down. The team sprayed these nearby structures repeatedly throughout the house burning event. To do this, teams with Firepower, Hi-Combat, and Ultima fire hoses surrounded the home at key points.
The house took around an hour and a half to be leveled, with just the chimney remaining. The crew waited for the last of the fire to go out and temperatures to cool. BullDog fire hose is virtually maintenance free and requires no drying after use. This allowed the firefighters to pack up all their equipment and leave shortly after confirming the fire was out and temperatures were low enough.
Learn more about BullDog Hose Company hoses, contact us online or call us at (712) 655-9200.
