KVFD came together tonight for training and firefighters reviewed hydrant operations using a 5" Large Diameter Hoses (LDH) on W. Eighth Avenue while our fire police unit went to Christiana for a meeting. LDH is critical to water supply and with the fire load we are experiencing, it can make a huge difference knocking down the fire. But LDH is not easy to maneuver and quite a bit of our district has no hydrants so tanker operations are necessary.

It is an accepted fire service understanding that 5-inch LDH will hold 1 gallon of water per foot of hose. So on the average, a 100-foot section of 5-inch hose empty weighs 110 pounds. But with water weighing 8.33 pounds per gallon, a 100-foot section of LDH filled with water will weigh approximately 944 pounds.

Take a look at the attached video to see how citizens came to the aid of firefighters today here in Pennsylvania to help lay an EMPTY supply line of LDH. That LDH when charged with water was critical to the fire suppression. Great job!