Fognail Applications in the Rural Environment

June 1, 2017
Jason Caughey describes how a fognail can be valuable in areas where water is in short supply and resources are strapped.

Piercing nozzles and cellar nozzles have been kicked around the American fire service for decades. Amid great debate about the utilization of piercing nozzles, there have emerged many questions; unfortunately, many of the questions weren’t centered around the science behind why we should or should not pierce, but rather on our culture, fire service myths or egos (e.g., “What about the victim? You will steam them to death!) 

Just like transitional attack, closing the door, vertical vent, VEIS or any of the other tactical options, a piercing nozzle is a tool that provides another option on the fireground. With today’s fire dynamics, fuel loads and building construction limiting the time we have to complete our tactics in a safe and effective manner, it would benefit us to revisit piercing nozzle technology and its impact on our mission—life safety and property conservation. 

Evolve with community needs

For the small suburban or rural fire department, the question is not whether to pierce, but rather how, where and when to pierce. Suburban and rural fire departments are challenged by many critical fireground obstacles: staffing, water supply, response time, etc. With that said, it is important to recognize that staffing is critical to safe and effective fireground operations, and the use of piercing nozzles does not substitute the need for more staffing. However, for many of these organizations, the truth is that they have to make do with what they have. As such, a piercing nozzle—or, in this case, a fognail—becomes a critical tool for suburban and rural fire departments.

One of the greatest challenges that face the American fire service is our need to evolve, change and adapt to our communities as their values, expectations and cultures change. Holding firm to the past will only cause our organizations greater struggles in the future. Our ability to flex and change with society’s needs is critical. An example: Just ask your local taxi company how critical it is to understand your customers’ needs and adjust your business model to match or exceed those needs—right as an Uber or Lyft passes by.

You might think that we in the fire service are immune to the effects of our community’s cultural changes, but we are not. On recent national wildfires, we saw insurance contract engines conducting structure protection outside the incident management team’s incident action plan (IAP). The contract engine’s sole purpose was to protect that company’s client’s property. Our world is changing, and we must be responsible and committed to controlling our own future, thus, the reason we must continue to develop new tactical operations that provide safer and more effective tactical operations for our customers. 

Fognail differences

The fognail is a different kind of piercing nozzle—so different, in fact, that it becomes a controversial topic for the American fire service (but it is widely accepted in other parts of the world). The characteristics that make it different are at the root of many heated debates—smooth bore vs. fog nozzle, size of hose, gpm, transitional or interior attack.

This one tool uses a small, lightweight piercing system to deliver 16–20 gpm through a 1-inch attack line. Wait, what? Yes, 16–20 gpm. I know that contradicts everything we have been taught about fighting fires. I recognize the passion associated with the debate over gpm, hose size, etc., and for me, the ability to comprehend how a small line with low gpms would be affective blew my mind. With that said, it is important to understand the science of how the fognail works. It is also important to recognize that gpm delivery is dependent on knowing when and where to place your gpms. The bottom line: There is a time and a place for all fireground appliances, knowing where and when and how to deliver gpms is the difference between success and failure.

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Selecting the right tactics is dependent on your organizational structure, water supply, response abilities and community risk assessment. What works for one organization might not work for another. The safety of our firefighters in a hostile environment, coupled with the service we provide our community, trumps our image or ego.

There are two primary differences between the traditional piercing nozzle and the fognail: the size of droplet and the delivery method. A traditional piercing nozzle flows 100–150 gpm of large course water droplets. The fognail flows 16–20 gpm of fine mist droplets. 

To apply a traditional piercing nozzle, you must force a 1½–2-inch point through the roof or siding of the structure, which can be time- and labor-consuming. The fognail is easily punched through the siding or roof because it only requires a 5/8-inch penetration hole. Along with the ease of piercing, the fognail utilizes a 1-inch supply line versus a traditional handline. This again provides the opportunity to deploy faster with less staffing.

The first big question is HOW? How can 16–20 gpm effectively combat fire when we have all been taught the need for greater gpm? To answer this, we must first identify where the fognail should be applied. It should be applied in attics, basements, walls or ventilation-limited fires. The common theme here: areas that are traditionally hard to access and fires that are lacking oxygen.

In addition, it is important to understand the difference between surface cooling and gas cooling. The fognail focuses on the efficiency of small water droplets that cool gases by utilizing the full potential of the droplets. What this means to us as firefighters is that the droplet is smaller, thus lighter, and it transitions from a liquid state to a gaseous state faster, allowing it to cool the super-heated gases. This is in contrast to a larger droplet that is heavy and falls to the floor still in its liquid state. Water on the floor is wasted, unless your objective is to surface cool. Only a portion of the large droplet is working to cool the gases, meaning we traditionally need more water to have the same effectiveness of a small droplet.

To suburban and rural departments, this change makes a huge difference due to the limited water supply that is brought to the scene. It also makes a difference to the homeowner because of the potential for less water damage.

In sight, in mind

For our organization, the challenge was breaking our traditional deployment model. Our traditional mindset would have placed the fognail in a compartment, just like we did the cellar nozzle or other piercing nozzles. We first placed the fognail on donut rolls of 1-inch line in the engineer’s compartment. This position put the tool out of sight and out of mind. 

We then took a different approach and made accessibility to the appliance faster by preloading it in a side hose tray and on the front bumper line. The concept was to keep the device in sight, thereby creating the opportunity to deploy it faster. We also made the conscious decision that by having the device in the front bumper tray, we had the ability to use it for car fires, dumpster fires and the dreaded hay bale fires. I know this is a very different thought process, but it helps our organization manage limited staffing, lack of water and long response times.

In sum

For those of us in the rural fire environment, the question should be how we can be more efficient and effective with the staffing we bring to the scene. The ability to pierce a concealed space or a vent-limited compartment provides that additional safety factor for both the occupant and the firefighter. Address your risk, identify your threats, and then be creative and research alternative tactics and determine if they fit your organizational and community needs. 

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