On Wednesday August 12, 2009 at approximately 1645 hrs Zephyrhills Fire Rescue was conducting a hose evolution and flow test on a dry standpipe system. This system was one of four (4) identical system installed in a three story, 55 and over, adult residential apartment building nearing completion of construction. These systems as well as the automatic sprinkler system all use 5” storz FDC connections. Soon after the 5” LDH was connected to the 5” FDC connection and charged with hydrant pressure only, a catastrophic failure occurred. The LDH FDC connection separated from the piping extending through the wall. The charged hose and the detached FDC whipped around several times before the line could be shut down. Two personnel were in the vicinity of the FDC and were observing proper positioning and safety measures. Both escaped unharmed, scared but wet! Minimal damage to the surrounding area occurred.    

After the FDC supply line was shut down and secured an on scene investigation revealed that the standpipe FDC piping had not extended an adequate distance outside of the wall. Literally only ¼” of threads were exposed to connect the FDC storz adapter. The FDC was checked before connection of the LDH and appeared tight. The inadequate thread captured by the FDC connection led to failure of the connection once water and weight of the hose were applied. It should be noted that the Fire Protection Company is a National Company with a good reputation. Close inspection after installation and during acceptance tests must be done to ensure similar incidents do not occur. Luckily no injuries occurred and no extensive property damage occurred. Had failure occurred after operating pressures were applied the outcome would be significantly different.