Figure 6-1. Laying the assault hoseline on a road.
Crossing Streams. There are several ways you can ensure that personnel lay the hoseline across a
stream or water course. If there is a bridge, suspend the hoseline on improvised brackets outside the bridge
railing. If there is no bridge, personnel may lay the hoseline directly in the streambed if it is narrow and not
apt to flood. Use the hoseline suspension kit to cross a wide stream. Fabric saddles, with eyes for easy wire
attachment, come with the kit.
Crossing Gaps. Personnel should also use the hoseline suspension kit to span small gaps with steep
sides. For a wide crossing, ensure that personnel build a suspension bridge with a flat deck or floor to hold
the hose. This eliminates the sags that occur when the suspension kit is used.
Crossing Roads. To cross a highway or railroad, run the hoseline under a bridge or through a culvert, if
possible. Personnel can pull the hoseline through the culvert with a rope or push it through with a piece of
lumber or a small-diameter pipe. If there is no bridge, ensure that personnel install the roadway crossing
guard to protect the hoseline. Never bury unprotected hoseline in a railbed. When crossing a railbed,
personnel can either install a piece of heavy wall pipe in a shallow ditch under the rails or suspend the hose
over the railbed at a suitable height. As soon as possible, replace the hoseline at a railway crossing with
welded pipeline because of the fire hazards caused by trains.
Pumping Stations. Assault hoseline pumping stations have one 350-GPM pumping assembly. If you
are using only one hoseline outfit, ensure that personnel place the pumping assembly at the beginning of the
hoseline system. Because this pump does not have a pressure-regulating device, you must monitor it at all
times for changes in hoseline pressure. Personnel must set up pumping stations when they connect hoseline
outfits together. There is a formula you can use to locate pumping stations on level ground using motor
gasoline in the hoseline. If you use a product other than motor gasoline, the distance between pumping
stations (given by this formula) changes. For example, if you use a product heavier than motor gasoline, the
pumping stations should be closer together. If the product you use is lighter than motor gasoline, the
pumping stations should be further apart. The distance between pumping stations (given by this formula) also
changes with the height of the terrain. For example, if you place the hoseline on an uphill slope, the pumping
stations should be closer together. If you place the hoseline on a downhill slope, the pumping stations should
be farther apart.
Hoseline Testing. Once personnel have set up the assault hoseline, they should fill it, pressurize it, and
check the hoseline for leaks. Ensure that personnel start the pumps slowly and raise the fluid pressure in the
system gradually in increments of 50 PSI. Ensure that personnel hold the pressure each time they raise it,
and inspect the hoseline for leaks. Keep doing this up to and including 150 PSI. Even though the design
12-60
QM 5099
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