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A fire hose is a high-pressure hose that carries water or other fire retardant (such as foam) to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it attaches either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can permanently attach to a building's standpipe or plumbing system. The usual working pressure of a firehose can vary between while its bursting pressure can be up to . After use, a fire hose is usually hung to dry, because standing water that remains in a hose for a long time can deteriorate the material and render it unreliable or unusable. Therefore, the typical fire station often has a high structure to accommodate the length of a hose for such preventative maintenance. On occasion, fire hoses are used for crowd control (see also water cannon), including most notably by Bull Connor in Alabama against civil rights protestors in 1964. While still a common practice in many countries, it is no longer used in the U.S. ==History== Until the mid-19th century, most fires were fought by water transported to the scene in buckets. Original hand pumpers discharged their water through a small pipe or monitor attached to the top of the pump tub.〔Matheson, Ewing. ''Aid book to engineering enterprise abroad.'' London: London New York, E. & F. N. Spon, 1878. Print.〕 It was not until the late 1860s that hoses became widely available to convey water more easily from the hand pumps, and later steam pumpers, to the fire.〔Fornell, David P. Fire stream management handbook. Saddle Brook, N.J: Fire Engineering, 1991. Print.〕 In Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic, the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Jan van der Heyden, and his son Nicholaas took firefighting to its next step with the fashioning of the first fire hose in 1673.〔Sutton, Peter C. Jan van der Heyden 1637–1712. New York: Yale University Press, 2006. Print.〕 These lengths of leather were sewn together like a boot leg.〔"Development of Fire Hose." Firefighter Central. Web. 19 October 2009. (Firefightercentral.com )〕 Even with the limitations of pressure, the attachment of the hose to the gooseneck nozzle allowed closer approaches and more accurate water application. Van der Heyden was also credited with an early version of a suction hose using wire to keep it rigid.〔Gilbert, Darrell. "History of the Fire Hose." Crown Shop Talk. Web. 19 October 2009. (Crownshoptalk.com )〕 In the United States, fire hose was introduced in Philadelphia in 1794. This canvas hose proved not durable enough and sewn leather hose was then used. The sewn leather hose tended to burst so the fabricated of leather fastened together with copper rivets and washers was invented by members of Philadelphia's Humane Hose Company.〔Scharf, J. Thomas, and Thompson Westcott. ''History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884''. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884. 1095. Print. http://books.google.com/books?id=8uYkAAAAYAAJ〕 Around 1890, unlined fire hoses made of circular woven linen yarns began to replace leather hoses. They were certainly much lighter. As the hose fibers, made of flax, became wet, they swelled up and tightened the weave, causing the hose to become watertight. Unlined hoses, because of their lack of durability, were rapidly replaced with rubber hoses in municipal fire service use. It continued to be used for use on interior hose lines and hose racks until the 1960s, and is still used in some areas for forestry applications. Following the invention of the vulcanization process as a means of curing raw soft rubber into a harder, more useful product, the fire service slowly made the transition from bulky and unreliable leather hose to the unlined linen hose, then to a multi-layer, rubber lined and coated hose with an interior fabric reinforcement. This rubber hose was as bulky, heavy, and stiff as leather hose but was not prone to leaking. It also proved more durable than unlined linen hose. Its wrapped construction resembled some hose used today by industry, for example, fuel delivery hose used to service airliners.〔Fornell, David P. Fire stream management handbook. Saddle Brook, N.J: Fire Engineering, 1991. Print.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fire hose」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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