Have you noticed many old buildings no longer have Fire Hoses in their Fire Hose cabinets? There is a good reason why

At one time it seemed almost every commercial building, school , civic  center etc. over 1 story had a Fire Hose Cabinet in it where you found a fire hose and fire extinguisher.
but more and more you will find the cabinet empty.

There is a very good reason why these cabinets no longer have a hose and new buildings are being built with out them..

 It comes down to the fact many hoses where never being properly inspected and replaced as needed
 they where just ragged and tagged as its known  and also came down to the fact Fire Officials  would rather you flee a building instead of trying to fight a fire with an inadequate hose especially if you are not properly trained.

the 1 -1/4 hose is far smaller than the 2- 1/2 inch hose firefighters carry in there High Rise Fire Fighting packs  and the other problem is adequate water supply as many of the pipes supplying these hoses where not maintained and are all barnacled up and corroded causing blockages. improperly tested and not replaced fire hoses also present a very significant danger to a user as well if they attempt to use it. 

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-152/issue-7/features/high-rise-standpipe-hose-packs-a-primer-part-1.html

Fire Officials would much rather you flee a building and allow them to go in and fight the fire than them having to worry about  locating and rescuing you.

Also since firefighters are connecting to 2 1/2  dry pipes in buildings where with there high rise hose packs  where water is pumped in from a fire engine  and pipes must be rigidly inspected on an annual basis there is a much better chance a fire will be knocked down faster than citizens using old 1- 1/4  hoses.  and less danger to firefighters.

The other problem is the actual fire load in buildings has dramatically increased with modern plastics etc and being able to fight the fire with a hose and avoid dangerous fumes is all but impossible  if you can not stop it with a hand extinguisher then its time to flee and get out . 



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