Our fire department recently purchased low-pressure nozzles for all our rigs. In the course of that transition, I discovered many firefighters were never trained on how to handle a nozzle without a pistol grip. It also became clear there was a gap in knowledge about how to handle a nozzle altogether.
I was fortunate early in my career to work for a fire chief who even at the time was considered “old school.” He possessed a strong engine company background. Some of the finer points about nozzles he taught us have become lost; as fires are less common, learning to handle nozzles has taken a back seat to other techniques.
Following is a quick review of the mechanics of efficient nozzle and fire-stream management.
Body Mechanics
Anchor the line and nozzle in three places: Pin the line under one arm against your body, grasp the hose with your opposite hand and hold the bail of the nozzle with the other hand, keeping your elbow slightly bent. This position offers many advantages, including:
- Nozzle spray is distant from the facemask, improving visibility.
- Should one of the anchor points fail, the others will control the line.
- The length of hose held, when combined with anchors, creates a pendulum effect, so you only need to rotate the hose a small amount to greatly change the direction of the stream. This conserves strength.
- The hand/arm positions create leverage that helps conserve effort.
When you learn this technique, you’ll always be able to find the bail of the nozzle without overextending your arm and shoulder, thus bringing more strength to the task. If you get pushed or fall over, you’ll instinctively be able to find the bail for a quick shutdown. This anchor position also works when you’re kneeling or prone.
Operate nozzles with a ball valve in the full open position. Typically, you’ll want to start off in straight stream. Tip: When you start your shift, ensure your nozzles are in the straight-stream position. You can verify this before you open the nozzle by feeling inside the cup of the nozzle for the depth of the stem. The deeper your finger goes, the straighter the stream. A shallow touch indicates the nozzle is in wide-stream position.
Teamwork
The firefighter riding the nozzle tip has all the fun and takes all the heat, but the second firefighter plays a vital role. They must provide the proper amount of push on the hose so the nozzle jockey needs only to direct the stream, pin the hose to the floor as needed for safety and complement the water-application technique. Tip: Follow each other’s moves and stay on the same side of the hose. In recruit school, we taught this teamwork using a broom handle as the hose. As the nozzle person worked the nozzle, the second person had to follow their moves. This also keeps the hose straight, allowing for better control of nozzle reaction and stream integrity.
Does the nozzle person prefer the “Z” pattern or the “O” pattern? Are you working a fire in an open web steel truss roof and you need to cool the roof? Perhaps you’ve recognized the beginning signs of flashover and can do nothing else but try to pencil the heat back. Whatever the situation, the key is to train together and know your partner, so you as the second person on the line can anticipate the stream needs. The person on the tip often has their mask covered in water, steam, debris or foam. The second person may be in a better position to see what’s going on and direct the stream.
If you have the luxury of a third person on the hose, this person should “hump”: work the hose around doors, corners, cars, tires and furniture. Keep the nozzle in sight as best you can, but primarily provide the other two firefighters with smooth hose movement, free of kinks. This is especially important in a compressed air foam application; because of the lower pressures involved, you can’t count on engine pressure to straighten out the hose.
Conclusion
Pistol grips will naturally make you hold the nozzle closer to your body, requiring you to move your entire body, or to exaggerate the swing of your arms, to change stream direction. This is not always possible and will quickly wear you out. In addition, if you fall forward while holding the nozzle in tight, the stream can rip off your facemask. Holding the nozzle tight doesn’t play to the natural power position of the human body. To efficiently use our strength, we must be able to extend our arms like a baseball player swinging a bat.
With a little training in proper body mechanics and teamwork, you’ll be handling the nozzle like a professional in no time.
