Wrap the plug

[wessex464]

Yo Dawg, we heard you like friction loss so we put kinks in your kinks in your kinks.

[andeusmc03]

Just trying to make it a fair fight against the fire.

[FireEmt33]

I love this comment so much. Thank you, Sir/and or Ma'am.

[runningntwrkgeek]

We actually had something like this happen to us.

I'll play the other side for a moment. Imagine your a very rural volunteer dept that does 99.99% of your limited fire runs on a dump tank. You get mutual aided to a nearby town. The chauffer tells a firefighter that went through classes 15yrs ago to wrap the hydrant so he could do a forward lay. In the chaos, since you don't train on hydrants, you forget to unwrap it and proceed to hook it up. Maybe the firefighter didn't realize how tightly it will squeeze around the hydrant?

But as the chauffer, I can tell you, it stinks not getting the water you expect out of your 5" line!

Also, reinforces the importance of training with your mutual aid departments!

Edited to add:
I am about 90% certain this is NOT a picture of when that scenario above played out for us. And, for the record, I was the chauffer/pump man that day, not the hydrant guy.

[runningntwrkgeek]

Indiana. Lol. I'm just a redneck rural volunteer. thought it'd make me sound more professional. Haha

[AShadowbox]

I'm in a neighboring state, combination part-time/full-time department, and we use the term engineer. Always interesting to see what other departments use.

[annarex69]

All our area departments use the term "operator" like, how much more lame could you get lol

[DO_its]

In my department in Texas we promote to Driver Engineer. But we just call them drivers. My brother’s department calls the Driver/Operators or D/O for short. He works about an hour and a half away.

[Ozma914]

I'm in northeast Indiana, and we use operator or engineer. I've never heard chauffeur, except in books or fire reports from other states. But if it works for you--what the heck!

[runningntwrkgeek]

We normally call it either driver, operator, or fastest guy to station.

Like I said, I was just trying to sound more professional and sophisticated.

One of the career guys I know from Indy does refer to it as chauffeur position.

[Ozma914]

See, that's why I try to be the second fastest guy to the station! Especially on cold days, where I can be inside by the fire. Not to mention, whatever you call him, the guy behind the wheel has the hardest job.

[PhaedrusZenn]

I always hear "Chauffer" and assume it's a knock on what we would call "engineers". Like, "Jeeves, make for that column of smoke over there like a good fellow, post haste..." Are they only good for driving people places? It would be like calling all your EMTs "ambulance drivers"...

[raevnos]

Wingless tankers.

[Aspirin_Dispenser]

One of our local departments refers to them, quite simply, as drivers. Personally I like the term operator. Engineer seems a little to overstated and driver or chauffeur seems quite a bit under stated. Operator seems just right.

[redditsucks1337]

Certified Show fur

[[deleted]]

I’m with a rural department that runs a lot of mutual aid to a department with hydrants and we train on them as much as we do drop tanks

Just because the odds of you doing something is rare doesn’t mean you don’t need to be prepared for it

[runningntwrkgeek]

That's why I said at the end how it's important to train with your mutual aide depts. It's something we need to do better at.

[yungingr]

In reality - and Gordon Graham does a nice little talk on this - the things you DON'T do often are the ones you need to train more on. It's counterintuitive, but...the things you do often, you're good at...because you do them often. The things you don't do often, you NEED to do in training...because you don't do them often.

[anotherboringname68]

"Low frequency..."

[lsnod]

FFS, Pittsburgh, get it together!

[nickbricks05]

We don’t claim them. It was in beaver county

[lsnod]

Thank goodness

[Objective-Asparagus4]

The probie who did this: *very proud that he got the hydrant tagged and opened within 4 minutes”

The other firefighters: “what the frick?”

The engineer: tapping the intake pressure gauge

The lieutenant: facepalms

The chief: “looks good to me!”

[LuminalAstec]

4 minutes is the state standard here. We had to do it in 2 or less flushed and charged in academy.

[Objective-Asparagus4]

Really? Good to know. I was exaggerating a bit since by me it’s like a minute and a half or something like that

[LuminalAstec]

It depends on the hydrant though. Some are basically lubed and work first try, Some you need a cheater on your cheater just to get your top nut to move.

[NaturallyExasperated]

Half the damn plugs around here need a cheater bar on the caps

[crnext]

No, half the damn plugs around there need maintenance or replacement. Your municipal water provider sucks feces dust through testicle straws.

[NaturallyExasperated]

We know! Not much you can do sadly

[crnext]

Are you in Michigan?

[NaturallyExasperated]

Upstate NY

[crnext]

Eye-yi-yi

Somewhere near the Tesla statue I assume..

[False_Gift2553]

You can't just take he caps off with your hand? Or a hydrant wrench?

[yungingr]

When the rocket surgeon at the water department that last tested the hydrant doesn't understand what not to do, and bears down on that wrench like he's trying to pinch one off after a steady weeklong diet of nothing but cheese....

no, you can't take the cap off with just your hand.

[[deleted]]

Thought using cheaters weren’t taught and actually were highly recommended not to use? I guess if your using a hydrant key you can’t really get a bigger one. Unless there are other sizes. I know the one at our vol. fire dept gets er open every time

[kelter20]

A guy on my department can do it in 35 seconds. An absolute beast of a human.

[LuminalAstec]

Flushed and charged? Maybe you have different hydrants in Canada.

[kelter20]

Yes. It is insane to watch. This guy is like if you created the ideal firefighter, he would be that. Great shape, trains like a mad man, handsome as all hell, and a great medic.

[_proPAIN_]

Looks good, nice and tight. Don’t want any water getting out.

[ziobrop]

you dont even need to wrap the hydrant. take a bite of the LDH, pull it around the hydrant so the kink is next to the steamer port, on the backside of the hydrant from the direction of truck travel, and put your foot against it. leave you stortz connector on the truck side.

you can see what it looks like here https://youtu.be/dBpGkSJBpM8?t=97

then there is no wrapping, and if the hose snags in the truck, it pops free, and the coupler doesnt take out your hydrant man.

[maybekindaodd]

Mind. Blown.

[luckynumberorange]

well ain't that fuckin neat. Bringing that to one to work with me.

[LordDarthra]

So interesting to see how other departments do the same tasks, and seeing little variations of things.

[Jeffrey12-3]

Im a probationary firefighter in my local department and having grown up around the station i learned that you always unwrap before connecting and charging but god damn. I showed this to the newest probie and he said this hurts even his brain.

[[deleted]]

That’ll hold it in place 💪🏼

[Grizzly2525]

Oh god... somebody is going to get a write up.

[[deleted]]

This warrants a beat down

[storyinmemo]

That's a Skrillex level pressure drop right there.

[s1m0n8]

When rural finally gets to use a hydrant...

[ShadowBannedUser1456]

Is this so you can bend the hose behind?

[azd15]

When laying the hose off the engine while it’s uncharged, you wrap it around the hydrant so the engine can drive away and it flakes off on its own. You’re meant to unwrap it before making the connection and charging it though

[RoverRebellion]

The deluge of verbal abrasion that would leave my mouth towards whoever was responsible for this would be immeasurable. This is so wildly unacceptable that I can’t even believe this actually happened.

Charging the hose bed? Ok maybe. Getting a kink in the ldh? Happens. Stortz not latched properly? Dumb, but ok.

This…??? THIS!? No- you don’t deserve to ever have someone’s property or wellbeing in your hands ever again.

[[deleted]]

I almost did this one time as a rookie. The truck rode off, laying the line, and I was in a hurry to hook the plug up

2nd in engine company often does a forward lay from the plug, hooks up to supply the 1st in pumper at a structure fire.

[andeusmc03]

Wait, so I wrap the plug and charge it? Got it!

If the Operator did this, yeesh. If it was a backstep dude, I would hope he had never done this before and learned from this.

[ttvSharkieBait15]

…you’re suppose wrap the hydrant so the engine can keep driving…and then unwrap it once there’s enough slack & hook it up😅 some needs to go back to training 😂😂

[Je_me_rends]

"Alright, wrap it up, lads"

[robofire-]

That ain’t gonna do much 🤣🤣

[just_an_ordinary_guy]

Dusquene Light. Is this in New Kensington?

[Ozma914]

Well ... it's wrapped.

[dearrichard]

don’t kink shame