Use
Most modern American fire apparatus use some sort of variation of the Mattydale lay. There are several different types of "hose loads" in use, which is the way the hose is folded in the lay:
- Accordion load – The hose is loaded so that when it is flat, it is standing on end. The finished load resembles an accordion.
- Flat load - The flat hose is simply placed in the track, so that it is stacked. Most large supply lines coming off the back of the fire apparatus are stored using a flat load because of ease of deployment and re-packing.
- Horseshoe load – Similar to the accordion load, but the whole load is folded in half, resembling a horseshoe. Some departments use a "reverse horseshoe" load.
- Minuteman load – A special load that allows the firefighters to pull a large section of the hose onto their shoulders and have it drop off (called "paying out") in an organized fashion as they advance towards the fire.
- "S" load, more commonly known as the "triple layer" load – The hose is folded three times before being loaded. The threefold resembles a large letter "S". This method allows all of the hose to be deployed rapidly in an organized manner, and is particularly useful for operating in tight spaces.
Read more about this topic: Mattydale Lay
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