What is "fire hose"

alt. 1 A hose designed to deliver water to douse a fire, usually much stronger and wider in diameter than a garden hose. 2 (context idiomatic English) Any fast, heavy stream (e.g. of information). 3 (context idiomatic colloquial English) A human penis. n. 1 A hose designed to deliver water to douse a fire, usually much stronger and wider in diameter than a garden hose. 2 (context idiomatic English) Any fast, heavy stream (e.g. of information). 3 (context idiomatic colloquial English) A human penis.

n. a large hose that carries water from a fire hydrant to the site of the fire

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.