Fire Hose Nozzles & Flow Rates

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Fire Hose Nozzles Flow Rates

• Sugar Land Fire Department
• Driver/OperatorPumper Academy
• Spring 2003

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Fire Nozzles Flow Rates
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Factors Influencing Fire Streams

• Velocity
• Gravity
• Wind
• Friction with the air
• Operating pressures
• Nozzle design
• Nozzle adjustment
• Condition of nozzle orifice

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Stream Types

• Solid stream
• Fog stream
• Broken stream
• Master stream

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Fog Stream Nozzles

• Angle of deflection determines reduction in
  forward velocity and stream pattern
• Wide-angle deflection produces a wide-angle fog,
  and a narrow-angle deflection produces a
  narrow-angle fog
• May be produced by deflection at the periphery or
  by impinging jets of water or by a combination of
  these

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Fog Stream Nozzles
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• PeripheryThe line bounding a rounded surface
  the outward boundary of an object distinguished
  from its internal regions
• DeflectionA turning or state of being turned a
  turning from a straight line or given course a
  bending a deviation
• ImpingeTo strike or dash about or against
  clashing with a sharp collision to come together
  with force.

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Manually Adjustable Nozzles

• Have a number of constant flow settings
• Supply the selected flow at the rated nozzle
  discharge pressure
• Actual flow may differ from that indicated at the
  nozzle if the driver/.operator is unable to
  supply the proper pressure
• Most designed to supply the gallonage marked on
  each setting

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Manually Adjustable Nozzles

• Driver/operator must know flow at which nozzle is
  set in order to properly supply hoseline and
  nozzle.
• Nozzles set on a low flow may not provide proper
  amount of water to sufficiently cool a burning
  fuel

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Automatic Nozzles

• Are also referred to as constant pressure nozzles
• Are basically variable flow nozzles with
  pattern-change capabilities and the ability to
  maintain the same nozzle pressure
• Maintain approximately same nozzle pressure an
  pattern when gallonage supplied to nozzle changes

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Automatic Nozzles

• Require adequate pump discharge pressure because
  stream may look good, but may not be supplying
  sufficient water for extinguishment or
  protection.
• Most designed for a 100 psi discharge pressure
• Are commonly used in high-rise fire fighting
• Acceptable flow varies with hoseline size, nozzle
  design, and incident demand

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Automatic Nozzles

• Serve as a pressure regulatorwithin their flow
  limitsfor the pumper as lines are added or shut
  down, allowing all available water to be used
  continuously if desired.
• Maintain a constant nozzle pressure no matter how
  much the pump discharge pressure is above this
  figure

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High Pressure Fog Nozzles

• Operate at pressure up to 800 psi
• Develop a fog stream with considerable forward
  velocity but delver a relatively low volume of
  water
• Deliver water in a very fast-moving, fine spray
  and may use an impinging stream
• Are best used for fighting wildland fires
• Not recommended for structural firefighting
  because they generally flow only about 8-15gpm

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Handline Nozzles

• Designed to be placed on mobile attack lines that
  can be easily maneuvered by firefighters
• May be of solid, fog, or broken stream type
• Range in size from small booster line nozzles for
  ¾ booster hose, to large fog or solid stream
  nozzles designed to be placed on 3 hoseline
• Generally, can flow a maximum of 350 gpm

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Master Stream Nozzles

• Are powerful and generate a considerable amount
  of nozzle reaction force
• May be either solid or fog streams
• Are usually operated at 80 psi for solid streams
• Are usually operated at 100 psi for fog streams
• Are used when handlines would be ineffective,
  conditions are unsafe, or when manpower is limited

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Master Stream Nozzles

• Deliver large volumes of water and have a greater
  reach than handheld streams
• Are used from fixed positions, so most of them
  have some means for moving the stream in either a
  vertical or horizontal plane or both.

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Master Stream Devices

• Monitor
• Often incorrectly referred to as deluge sets, but
  unlike deluge sets, the stream direction and
  angle can be changed while water is being
  discharged.
• May be one of three basic types
• FixedPermanently mounted on apparatus
• CombinationMay be mounted on apparatus and used
  as a turret or removed and used as a portable
  unit
• PortableCan be carried to the location where it
  is needed

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Master Stream Devices

• Turret Pipe
• Consists of a turret pipe mounted on a fire
  apparatus deck and connected directly to the pump
  by permanent pipe.
• Sometimes called a deck gun or deck pip
• Deluge set
• Consists of a short length of large diameter hose
  with a large nozzle or large playpipe supported
  at the discharge end by a tripod

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Master Stream Devices

• Has a siamese connection at the supply end
• Cannot change the direction or angle of the
  stream while the deluge set is discharging water
• Aerial Elevated Master Streams
• Ladder Pipea master stream device used in
  conjunction with master streams
• Detachable ladder pipes most common on light-duty
  aerial ladders
• Are attached to the rungs of an aerial ladder and
  are supplied by fire hose

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Master Stream Devices

• Must be operated manually by a firefighter at the
  tip of the ladder or by using a rope from the
  ground
• Are limited to vertical up and down motions
• May be permanently attached to elevating
  platforms and prepiped aerial ladders
• Prepiped waterwaypermanent piping used instead
  of hose
• Generally have the ladder pipe attached to end of
  the waterway, which is on the bottom of ladder
• May be operated from the top, either manually or
  by a power control switch located there

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Master Stream Devices

• Usually can also be operated from the turntable
  or pump panel area by remote power controls
• May operate master stream by electric, hydraulic,
  or pneumatic power system
• Elevating Platform Master Streams
• Are basically similar to those with prepiped
  aerial ladders
• Are located on aerial platform and can be more
  easily maneuvered by firefighters at tip of
  aerial device than can aerial master streams
• Some equipped with two master streams on one
  platform

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Water Curtain Nozzles

• Produce a fan-shaped stream designed to act as a
  water barrier between a fire and a combustible
  material
• May be used to protect firefighters from heat but
  must cover a wide area and be reasonably heavy to
  be effective
• Absorb only convected heat from a fire radiant
  heat is transmitted through the water curtain.

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Nozzle Pressure Reaction

• Nozzle Reactionforce counter to the velocity of
  water being discharged from a nozzle directed
  against the person or device holding the nozzle
• Newtons Third Law of MotionFor every action
  there is an equal and opposite reaction
• The greater the nozzle discharge pressure, the
  greater the resulting nozzle reaction.

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Nozzle Pressure Reaction

• Nozzle reaction to a given pressure limits the
  amount of nozzle pressure that can be supplied to
  an attack line.
• Practical working limits for velocity of fire
  streams are within 60 to 120 feet per second
• These limiting velocities are produced by nozzle
  pressures that range from 25 to 100 psi
• Because of a greater amount of nozzle reaction,
  lower nozzle pressures must be used with solid
  stream nozzles.

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Nozzle Pressure Reaction

• As a rule, use 50 psi with solid stream
  handlines, and no more than 65 psi if greater
  reach and volume are needed
• Portable master stream devices equipped with
  solid stream nozzles should not be operated above
  80 psi
• Fixed master stream devices with solid stream
  nozzles may be operated at higher pressures as
  required
• Solid stream nozzles used on aerial devices
  should be limited to a discharge pressure of 80
  psi