Hose Practices (7th Edition)
Chapter 1 Terms
Hose & Coupling Construction

Attack Hose
Generally, any hose between the attack pumper and nozzles or any hose used to control and extinguish fire.

Banding Method
A means of attaching a coupling to a fire hose with tightly wound strands of narrow-gauge wire or steel bands.

Blunt Start
A flattened angle at the end of the thread that prevents cross-threading when couplings are connected. Synonymous with Higbee Cut.

Booster Hose
A reinforced, rubber-covered, rubber-lined hose generally carried on a reel and used for extinguishing incipient phase and smoldering fires.

Braided Hose
A non-woven rubber hose manufactured by braiding one or more layers of yarn, each separated by a rubber layer, over a rubber tube, and encased in a rubber cover.

Cast Coupling
A coupling manufacturing process in which molten metal is poured into a mold, allowed to cool, then the mold is removed from the hardened coupling.

Collar Method
A means of attaching a coupling with a two or three piece collar, which is bolted into place.

Curing
A manufacturing step in making fire hose in which heat and pressure is applied to "set" the shape of the tube and increase its smoothness.

Drop-Forged Coupling
A coupling made by raising and dropping a drop hammer onto a block of metal as it rests on a forging die, thus forming the metal into the desired shape.

Extinguisher Hose
A braided, rubber-covered hose used on extinguishers made to withstand pressures up to 1,250psi.

Extruded Coupling
A coupling manufactured by the process of extrusion.

Extrusion
Shaping heated plastic or metal by forcing the molten material through dies.

Female Coupling
A threaded swivel device on a hose or appliance made to receive a male coupling of the same thread and diameter.

Filler Yarn
The threads running crosswise in fabrics or woven hose. Synonymous with Weft Yarn.

Fire Service Hose
A specially constructed lined woven-jacket hose designed to withstand the hazards of a fire scene.

Forestry Hose
A single-jacket, small diameter hose used to combat fires in the forest and other wildland areas.

Forged Coupling
A coupling formed by pounding a hot metal pellet into a forging die, which forms the metal into the desired shape.

Hard Suction Hose
A non-collapsible, rubberized section of hose with a steel core that connects a pump to a source of water and is used for drafting. Also called Hard Sleeve.

Higbee Cut
A flattened angle at the end of the thread that prevents cross threading when couplings are connected. Synonymous with Blunt Start.

Hose Cabinet
A recessed wall cabinet that contains a wall hydrant and pre-connected fire hose for incipient fire fighting.

Hose Jacket
The outer covering of a hose or a device clamped over a hose to contain water at a rupture point or to join damaged or dissimilar couplings.

Industrial Hose
Fire hose, usually of lighter construction, used by industrial fire brigades.

Intake Hose
Hose used to connect a fire department pumper or a portable pump to a nearby water source.

Lined Hose
Fire hose composed of one or two woven outside jackets and an inside rubber lining.

Male Coupling
A hose nipple with protruding threads that fit into the thread of a female coupling of the same thread and diameter.

Mill Hose
Single-jacketed, lined hose used only for cleanup and washdown around mill yards and factories. Not for fire use.

Multiple-Jacket Hose
Hose consisting of a combination of two separately woven jackets, or two or more interwoven jackets, and lined with an inner rubber tube.

National Standard Thread
A screw thread of specific dimensions for fire service use, as specified on NFPA 1963, Standard for Screw Threads and Gaskets for Fire Hose Connections.

Quarter-Turn Coupling
A sexless coupling with two hooklike lugs that slip over a ring of the opposite coupling, the rotate 90 degrees clockwise to lock.

Single-Jacket Hose
Hose consisting of one woven jacket, usually lined with an inner rubber tube.

Soft Sleeve Hose
A short length of large diameter hose used to connect a pumper to a fire hydrant. Also called Soft Suction.

Standpipe Hose
A single-jacket hose, lined or unlined, that is pre-connected to a standpipe.

Thermoplastics
A plastic that softens with an increase of temperature and hardens with a decrease in temperature, but does not undergo any chemical change.

Threaded Coupling
A male or female coupling with a spiral thread.

Three-Ply Process
A process of producing rubber-covered hose in which a nitrile rubber is vulcanized to the interior surface of a woven polyester tube.

Unlined Hose
Fire hose without a rubber lining, frequently used in interior standpipe systems and in wildland fire fighting.

Warp Yarn
The threads that run lengthwise in a fabric or woven hose.

Weft Yarn
The threads running crosswise in fabrics or woven hose. Synonymous with Filler Yarn.

Woven-Jacket Hose
Hose constructed with one or two outer jackets woven on looms from cotton or synthetic fibers.

Wrapped Hose
A non-woven rubber hose manufactured by wrapping rubber-impregnated woven fabric around a rubber tube and encasing it in a rubber cover.