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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Wednesday, June 12, 2002

Fire-hose safety disputed

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

A high-ranking Honolulu firefighter is questioning the department's capabilities for fighting high-rise fires, saying its hoses have not been tested at pressures that would be needed to pump water to the 30th floor or higher.

"Can the Fire Department supply water above the 30th floor in an adequate way to put out the fire and protect people? I'm saying right now, nobody knows," Battalion Chief Jim Skellington said in an interview.

But his boss, Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi, said Skellington is making a "misstatement" that could cause unwarranted concern.

Leonardi said the Honolulu Fire Department's hoses are factory-tested and strong enough to pump water to high-rises 30 stories and taller. But he said he will look into Skellington's concerns and order a review of the department's fire-hose testing procedures.

Leonardi also said he wants to replace old hoses with those rated to work at higher pressures.

"If it needs to be changed, we'll change it," said Leonardi of the testing procedure. "Obviously there's some issues here, but it's not to the point where we can't handle high-rise fires. To say that we're unable to handle a high-rise fire is ridiculous."

According to city records, 71 buildings on O'ahu are 30 stories or taller, with one topping out at 46 stories.

The Fire Department annually tests its fire hoses at 250 pounds per square inch, which Skellington said would be enough water pressure to supply a firefighting operation in a 25-story building.

But Skellington said a fire in the upper floors of a building 30 stories and taller would need water pumped up at about 300 pounds per square inch. He said the department has not conducted a test for that contingency.

"Is the Fire Department prepared for high-rise fires? I'm saying it's not," said Skellington, 58, who has served 30 years in the department and was promoted to the rank of battalion chief in 1995.

Skellington said he is going public with his concerns because he believes that the department is not taking his claims seriously enough and that firefighters and high-rise occupants could be at risk.

It is not the first time he has challenged the department's administration. Seven years ago, he said, he complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about what he said was the department's lack of training for dealing with hazardous materials. OSHA upheld his complaint and fined the city, Skellington said.

Skellington is one of three battalion chiefs in Battalion 5, which serves Sunset Beach, Waialua, Mililani Town and Pearl City. Skellington said he has two 44-story buildings in his area.

In a typical high-rise fire, water is pumped into a building's "dry standpipes" — empty pipes that run the height of the building, with access points on each floor. If the fire is on the 17th floor, firefighters hook up to the dry standpipe access point on that floor.

Skellington's issue is with the ground-level hoses that move water from the pumper trucks to the bottom of the dry standpipe. His concern is that those hoses have not been tested at sufficient pressure — 300 pounds per square inch — to push water up to the 30th floor or beyond.

"We've never trained, we've never exceeded the annual hose test, and we've never even pumped into (dry) standpipes at those pressures," Skellington said.

Skellington said that at high pressures, fire hoses could rip off at their couplings and injure bystanders and firefighters.

Skellington said that the incident commander at the scene decides whether to pump water above the test limit of 250 pounds per square inch and that he himself wouldn't issue an order to pump at a level never tested before.

"I'm telling you right now at above 250 (pounds per square inch), we're not pumping," Skellington said.

"If that's the case, we're not going to be able to get water of an adequate flow above 30 floors."

Michael Jones, chief of the Federal Fire Department here, said the federal force annually tests its hoses at 250 pounds per square inch, which is the national standard. He said that much pressure would normally be adequate for about 29 floors.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman and Battalion Chief Robert Franco said his agency annually tests its fire hoses at up to 300 pounds per square inch.

Skellington said fire trucks and internal building pumps can boost water pressure, but he didn't know how many buildings have internal pumps that would be useful for firefighting operations.

O'ahu's last major high-rise fire broke out on the 16th floor of the Interstate Building on South King Street on April 1, 2000. Firefighters sprayed water through hoses from ground-level fire trucks.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.