Topic: Firefighter Survival: Follow the Hoseline Drill

Reference #: 15-04
Level of Instruction: In service personnel
Time Required: 3 Hours

Instructor Preparation:
This drill requires basic preparation in order for it to be successfully conducted.
Preparation includes having a safe location to conduct the drill and a large enough area.
See “Set Up” for further detail. Safety is a must during the duration of this drill.
Make sure the location selected is protected from traffic and harmful debris. You need a
playground and permission to use it for this drill.

Goals:
The goals of this drill are:
 To improve safety on the fire ground.
 Improve firefighter’s familiarity with
following a hoseline in order to escape a
structure, while operating with little visibility.
 To teach critical survival skills while working in emergency operations environment
Materials:
 Standard equipped fire apparatus for your department
 A large neighborhood playground, equipped with stairs, tunnel(s), and slides. The bigger the
better!
 Full PPE (including SCBA)
 Wax Paper or nomex hood (to restrict visibility)

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References:
Essentials of Fire Fighting, Sixth Edition, IFSTA, Chapter 20 or Jones & Bartlett Fundamentals of
Fire Fighter Skills, Third Edition, Chapter 37.
Highland Park(NJ) VFD Blog http://hpvfdnj.com/2013/09/29/sept-2013-drill-follow-the-hoseline/
Instructor Set-up:
This is a relatively simple drill that doesn’t take much time at all to set up and involves a
minimal amount of equipment.
Student Motivation:
1. The ability for a firefighter to navigate, with little to no visibility, inside a structure is a
critical skill that can help improve their chances of survival.
2. We may be setting this drill up on a playground, and we may have fun while doing it, but
this is no game. Your life may depend on these skills.
Drill:
A. Review of your fire departments SOPs for declaring a MAYDAY.
1. Does your department have an SOP regarding MAYDAY operations?
2. Does your department have SOP’s on personnel accountability?

B. Preparation
1. Start the drill with demonstrating how a hoseline can be used to help guide a
firefighter out of a structure.
2. Our ultimate goal is for our personnel to understand that they eventually
want to reach the female coupling that is attached to the pumper and that
no matter how that hose is laid out, that if they continue to follow it
properly, they will reach safety.
3. Show them first! Then let them try with no visibility. Can they do it by feel
only?

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 4. Once they have demonstrated that they understand the concept, it’s
time to increase the difficulty.
C. Site-Prep
1. Locate a playground that will give you sufficient obstacles to challenge
the firefighters’ ability to follow a hoseline.
2. The inside of a burning structure can be a difficult place to navigate, this
should be as well.
3. Make sure to perform this drill during a time that you will not restrict
access to others that may want to utilize the playground. You may very
well draw a crowd, so be mindful of public appearance.
4. Once you have located a sufficient playground, weave an uncharged
hoseline throughout. Place it up and down stairs and slides and through
any tunnels you may have.
5. Once the hose is laid out to your satisfaction, charge the line and cap
with a closed, and tapped nozzle.

D. General Pointers
1. You can make this fun by allowing for some friendly timed competition.
2. The fun stops once someone gets hurt, so avoid dangerous/unsecured areas
that may lead to a fall or damage equipment. (so no weaving through
monkey bars!)
3. Try to set up some spots that will force firefighters to think. Run the hose
back onto itself, through a tunnel that will require the firefighter to remove
his/her SCBA. You can also add difficulty by removing visibility (cover the
inside of a facepiece with wax paper or drape a Nomex hood over their face.
4. Make sure to have adequate rehab available!

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Review:
Clean up the equipment and return to service. Then come together in the meeting room or
location of choice and take the time to have open discussions on what worked for teams and
what didn’t. By doing this you assist in ensuring that the firefighters learn from each other’s
experience.
SAFETY REMINDER: Anytime we train outside, weather is an important factor we must
consider. Be mindful of extreme cold or heat, rain that may make surfaces unsafe, and
lightning. Personnel will also be in full gear and exerting a lot of energy, so have a rehab area
set up for those that may get over heated.
Remember: Something as basic as following a hoseline can be a challenging task. For many of us,
this is our first line of defense when lost inside of a structure.
Information on Hoseline drills:
http://hpvfdnj.com/2013/09/29/sept-2013-drill-follow-the-hoseline/

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 ATTENDANCE ROSTER FOR FETI DRILL GUIDE 15-04
Topic: Preconnected Hoselines
Reference #: DG 15-04 Version: March , 2015
Level of Instruction: In service personnel Time Required: 3 Hours

Fire Department: ___________________________________ FDID _______

Parish: _________________ Instructor: _______________________________
Number of Students: _______ (from above FD only)
Keep this form for your department’s records
Attendance Roster
Printed name Signature

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