[SML] Fire hoses was Re: Cell phone lasers

[Bill Conner]

First, hoses in a building - like in so many cabinets on stages in the
US - are intended primarily for occupant use, not fire service use.
Just like many of us would not feel comfortable going into an
unfamiliar venue and relying on the house sound system for an
important event, the fire service is not too keen on letting the lives
of occupants and their lives depend upon the hoses installed when the
building was built, nor depend upon them being inspected periodically
and maintained. Further, over perhaps the last 50 or 100 years, the
concept of "occupant fire fighting" has to some degree fallen out of
favor with the fire service, more or less from place to place.

I have heard reports of what you have seen increasingly over the past
several years (5 to 15?).  Consequently, I made a code change proposal
to the Life Safety Code and hose cabinets on stage will not be
required as of the 2018 edition, which might be adopted by early
adopters in 2020 or 2021, but not for many more years in many places.
All somewhat moot until I or someone else gets the same change made to
the International Building and Fire Codes.

But the fire service message is clearly "occupants get out and leave
the fire fighting to us" and I was won over.



-- 
Bill Conner Fellow of the ASTC