An Open Letter Addressing the

Limitations of Field Implementation of the Quarter Turn Coupling

The issue of quarter turn hose couplings and fittings has been addressed and supported by the NWCG. A decision to convert Forest Service fire hose couplings and fittings in national fire caches and in the field appears to be very near, if not already been made. I wish to address some concerns about the application of this fitting to the day-to-day fire suppression job that I am asked to do.

I am familiar with the Quarter Turn Coupling Technology Report, written by Lois Sicking from San Dimas Technology and Development Center. This report does a good job of taking an objective look at the Quarter Turn Coupling (also referred to as the quick connect coupling) and addresses issues of quarter turn technology, materials used in construction, benefits and initial cost of adopting this fitting. It would seem there is room for further field test, standards establishment and specification development. I have no concern with the concept of quarter turn couplings or to the actual couplings themselves. I want all to know I hold no tradition-based bias for threaded hose couplings or against the quarter turn coupling. I would embrace the quarter turn coupling’s use if and when the theme of this letter has been addressed in a competent manner.

The theme of this letter addresses the limitations of field implementation of the quarter turn coupling. The actual coupling is not even at issue. The true issue is standardization of fire equipment between cooperating fire organizations. There are many examples of neighboring fire departments having non-standard equipment and the terrifying results this can have on efficiency as well as public and firefighter safety. A couple of examples should suffice.

Example 1

When I began with the Forest Service in 1971 we had fittings called thread adapters for 5 different thread types. There were garden hose thread adapters, pacific coast thread adapters, chemical thread adapters, national hose thread adapters and iron pipe thread adapters. It was necessary for all involved to understand the application and differences between each thread adapter. As time past and cooperating agencies recognized the need for standard equipment to accommodate cooperation in times of need the number of thread types began to decline. Today we use 2 basic thread types, national hose (NH) and national pipe straight hose (NPSH). (Most departments outside of wildfire organizations only use national hose threads.) When my firefighters have to couple their hose to a cooperators hose there is no issue as to whether the thread types will match. The standardization of thread types within the fire service has not only improved efficiency, it has also improve firefighter safety. We can drive for hundreds of miles to assist others with the full expectation that the threads on our hose will match our cooperators’ threads. Standard couplings are key to efficiency and firefighter safety regardless of the type of couplings used.

Example 2

The 1993 Tunnel Fire (commonly called the Oakland Hills fire) had an estimated dollar fire loss of 1,537,000,000 dollars. 2,843 family dwellings were destroyed and 25 people lost their lives. Cooperating firefighters were hampered because the "standard" hydrant connection in the surrounding area is 2½ inches and in the Oakland Hills at the time of the Tunnel fire the "standard" was 3 inches.

"Several exhausted rural and mutual aid firefighters complained of the fact that their suction connections would not fit the water hydrants in the Oakland area. Many stood by, frustrated, awaiting the arrival of adapters that would allow them to "go to work" on the fire. …."

Emergency Response & Research Institute

As these 2 examples demonstrate the need for standardization of hose, appliances and apparatus connectors is crucial to efficient and safe fire suppression operations. There are hundreds of examples where non-standard equipment determined the difference between successful fire suppression and disaster.

Lois Sicking makes the point as well as anyone in her introduction to the Quarter Turn Coupling Technology Report. She writes:

"Interchangeability of firefighting equipment between Canada, Federal and State agencies has become increasingly important in providing mutual aid. There have been incidents reported where lack of standard couplings and fittings have impaired response in wildland firefighting activities. Adapters for non-standard equipment are being used, specifically quarter turn/thread adapters, providing some interchangeability, but do not address the basic problem of non-standard couplings. The increased emphasis on mutual aid in firefighting between Canada, and Federal and State agencies guarantees more incidents of impaired response in the future and makes interchangeability between equipment highly desirable."

Should the implementation of quarter turn couplings be instituted in R5 (and I dare say most other regions) Lois’ observations will be repeated in the near future as follows:

"Interchangeability of firefighting equipment between Canada, Federal and State agencies has become increasingly important in providing mutual aid. There have been incidents reported where lack of standard couplings and fittings have impaired response in wildland firefighting activities. Adapters for non-standard equipment are being used, specifically quarter turn/thread adapters, providing some interchangeability, but do not address the basic problem of non-standard couplings. The increased emphasis on mutual aid in firefighting between Canada, and Federal and State agencies guarantees more incidents of impaired response in the future and makes interchangeability between equipment highly desirable."

The benefits of quarter turn couplings (as suggested in the Quarter Turn Coupling Technology Report) are insignificant when considered in light of the conundrum that non-interchangeable couplings will create. To create a condition where non-standard couplings and fittings requiring numerous quarter turn to threaded adapters where a condition of standardization currently exist would be highly undesirable.

I appreciate the issues and problems that non-standard couplings have created for fellow firefighters along the Canadian, United States border. I only ask that those issues and problems not be spread further south so that we all have to carry quarter turn to thread adapters and experience the same "incidents of impaired response in wildland firefighting activities". I would respectfully request we maintain the current standard of interchangeable threaded couplings so that we may take advantage of the mutual aid our State, Municipal and Volunteer cooperators offer us and that we may remain a viable cooperator to them when they call upon us

/s/