We have had seven sections over the past few years separate at the coupling. Fortunately we did not have nay injuries. The coupling does not break but the hose slips out of the coupling. After extensive investigation and meeting with the manufacturer it was discovered that they are no longer using that style coupling in their manufacturing of LDH. The problem hose had a narrow collar around the hose with a black plastic insert from the coupling. They now only use an aluminum insert instead of the plastic. The older hose had a wider collar with a blue plastic ring that went between the outer metal collar and the hose. This set up had the black plastic insert but with the wider collar and with the extra blue plastic ring the gripping surface was greater and we have had no reported issues with that arrangement.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Always position yourself in a safe place if possible when testing or using 5" LDH. Inspect and investigate all hose failures for potential similarities and follow NFPA and manufacturer recommendations to the letter.