Repurposed Fire Hoses Used to Enhance School Safety

Repurposed Fire Hoses Used to Enhance School Safety

Firefighters are repurposing their outdated fire hoses, which normally would be recycled, into something that can be used to prevent intruders from entering classrooms.

  • By Sherelle Black
  • September 19, 2019

A fire department in Arizona has sparked a new idea to help schools with their safety.

Rio Rancho firefighter Aaron McDevitt said after he learned of the Glendale Fire Department taking their old fire hoses and repurposing them into door sleeves for classrooms, he wants to do the same for his school district, reported KOB 4.

For the last 10 months, firefighters from the Rio Rancho Fire Department have been cutting up old fire hoses to be used for door sleeves. Each hose equates to about 50 door sleeves.

“We have to test these fire hoses,” explained McDevitt. “And if they fail the different parameters, then they're out of service and we can't use them anymore.”

As of September, they have made about 700. The sleeves are slipped over the door hinge so the door cannot open.

“Not be able to let someone in on a lockdown or shelter in place,” said Rio Rancho Public Schools Director of Safety and Security, Mike Padilla. “I would think that they would feel a little bit safer. Knowing that they're able to do that and secure their room or their library room or whatever room they're in.”

Padilla said the sleeves are now a part of the school district’s safety plan. Currently, the elementary schools do not have them, but Padilla said they are next.

The fire department said as of now they are out of hoses to cut.

The Ambridge Fire Department in Pennsylvania has also been repurposing its fire hoses after they saw how the west coast firefighters were using them to enhance safety at schools.

"It's a unique concept we saw was going on on the West Coast, and we thought it could be done here," Borough Manager Kauer told the Beaver County Times. "The assistant fire chief and fire chief met with Josh (Jones at the school district) and did test runs. It got the support of the superintendent."

Kauer said the fire department will always try and help the school district mitigate any risks to students and faculty.

"It comes down to a very simple concept," Kauer said. "We're a community. We're one and the same. It's for the citizens; they're the ones going to the school and frequenting the schools. We're looking out for the citizens."

About the Author

Sherelle Black is a Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

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