Emergency fireman life-support device

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a fire truck is provided with an adapter for connecting the fire hose to the truck water-pump outlet, and extending from the adapter is an air conduit connected to a compressed-air source for alternate use of the same hose to pump air therethrough as from bottled breathable compressed air whereby trapped firemen may be furnished breathable air through the fire hose normally in their presence, by a mere switching-off the water-valve and opening the air-valve.

This invention relates to a life-saving emergency device for fire engine 
trucks. 
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
Prior to the present invention, there at times occur situations when one or 
more firemen within a burning structure find themselves at least 
momentarily trapped by collapsing structures and/or by encompassing fire, 
such constituting grave threats at their survival, and too often firemen 
are either severely injured or killed for lack of breathable air. Also, 
when advancing a fire hose within a burning structure, particularly when 
having to climb a stairs, several firemen are required to lift the very 
heavy water-filled hose, thus making advance slow and drudgerous as well 
as requiring the attention of so many firemen. In the situations where 
firemen become trapped, even if there is enough available air present, 
communication with outside help is sometimes lost by virtue of broken 
radio or otherwise being devoid of radio communications. Following the 
placing under control a fire, valuable out-of-service additional time is 
lost by the necessity to stretch-out and press all hose to thereby expel 
residual water therefrom prior to the retraction and storage of the hose 
on the fire truck. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, objects of the present invention include the overcoming and/or 
avoiding of one or more of the above-noted problems and difficulties and 
hazards. 
In particular, an object is to provide a device for conveniently and 
speedily furnishing breathable air and/or oxygen to area(s) devoid of 
such, to sustain life on an emergency basis. 
Another object is to provide a device for conveniently and speedily 
establishing or re-establishing communication with trapped firemen. 
Another object is to provide a device for intermittently eliminating the 
excessive weight of a fire hose during an advance thereof and/or during a 
climbing of a ladder or stairs therewith. 
Another object is to provide a device for effectively and speedily 
evacuating water from a fire hose preparatory to storing the hose on the 
fire truck, and accordingly, to thereby provide for reduced out-of-service 
time required for a truck to get-back into service after a fire requiring 
use of the hoses. 
Other objects become apparent from the preceding and following disclosure. 
Broadly the invention may be defined as a conduit such as preferably a fire 
truck hose, a liquid source such as a fire truck water pump mechanism and 
outlet thereof, normally having the inlet of the hose connected thereto, 
and an alternate-use gas source such as an air pump and/or compression 
tank on the fire truck for blowing-out the hose(s), or -- if for 
breathable air, compressed breathable air and/or oxygen, for example; by 
appropriate valve mechanism, the water is turned-off and the gas is 
turned-on, or alternately, the gas is turned-off and the water is 
turned-on, as the circumstances and need may require. Preferably the air 
conduit may alternately be plugged in the receptacle for breathable air or 
oxygen when such is needed, and alternately, on other occasions be plugged 
into an air-pump receptacle -- or compression storage tank for such 
air-pump. 
In another embodiment, an air-pump outlet conduit may be modified by an 
appropriate adapter such that a hose may be removed from a water-pump and 
alternately screwed onto the air adapter for the flushing thereof with 
pumped air. 
In the embodiment having an adapter from which an air conduit extends to an 
air and/or oxygen source, a liquid trap is mounted in air-flow series to 
prevent water from accidentally backing-up into the air-hose beyond the 
liquid trap. 
In order for the various adapters to be practical and adaptable for 
large-scale use at low cost and minimum adjustments to existing fire truck 
equipment, the adapter preferably screws or otherwise attaches to the 
truck in the same manner as a conventional fire hose inlet end structure, 
and has an adapter outlet structure of a structure to receive and attach 
to a conventional fire hose inlet end structure. 
Conduit structure of bottled air, oxygen or the like, includes an 
appropriate and/or conventional pressure-reducing valve, for reducing 
pressure such as from typically about 1980 PSI down to about 75 PSI 
normally. 
The invention may be better understood by making reference to the following 
Figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In greater detail, FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate one preferred embodiment of the 
invention, disclosing in FIG. 1 a liquid and gas-handling conduit device 
5. A major component is the T-shaped valve adapter 6, which could as well 
be Y-shaped or the like, having an outlet male-threaded end--the same as 
is shown for the different FIG. 3 adapter having male threaded portion 36, 
such that the hose 21 may be attached conventionally by its 
female-threaded (not shown, but conventional) attaching element 34 of hose 
inlet 22. The inlet element 24 of adapter 6 is female threaded the same as 
the FIG. 3 female element 42 which has female threads 41. The inlet 
element 24 attaches by its female threads to a male element mounted on the 
truck, as male element 24 having male threads the same as the FIG. 3 
threads 36. From the adapter 6 extends air conduit 7 having a back-flow 
liquid check-valve 8 mounted intermediate of sections of the air conduit, 
in flow series therewith. The air conduit 7 has attaching element 9 which 
mates with element 10 as illustrated also in FIG. 4 in exploded view. The 
element 9 also is designed to correspondingly alternately mate with the 
air-source element 25 having passage 26 through which air-pump compressed 
air is furnished; off-on air valve 11 controls flow of gas from the 
bottled compressed gas source, while switch arm 27 controls off-on gas 
(air) flow from the pump-compressor source through air passage 26. Bottled 
breathable air and/or oxygen or the like, passes a pressure-reducing valve 
12 which reduces pressure from typically about 1980 PSI to about 75 PSI as 
indicated by pressure gauge 12' on the downstream side of the valve, a 
pressure gauge 12" on the downstream side of the valve, a pressure gauge 
12" on the upstream side of the valve. The compressed gas(es) are 
channeled through one or more alternate source-conduits such as conduit 13 
and/or conduit 20, for example. From a particular single-source conduit 
such as 13, there is an appropriate off-on valve such as valve mechanism 
14 such that individual bottles 19 may be removed and replaced while other 
bottles are still in use and furnishing compressed gas, as typically 
through conduit 20 even though valve mechanism 14 is in an off-state. 
Bottled gas conduit 16 is attached by conventional attaching elements 15, 
for channeling flow from conduit 17 past valve 18, for example. It is to 
be understood that these latter noted various valves and minor and/or 
short conduits may vary from one type of bottle to another, within the 
scope of the invention. 
FIG. 1 illustrates typically a fire truck-mounted system on the face of a 
fire truck body 40. 
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an alternate adapter element for the same hose and 
same air-source element 25. In this embodiment, the adapter is mounted--as 
shown in FIG. 2, on the face of the truck body 40. The adapter element 35 
is connected to the truck body 40 by a plurality of screws. The adapter 
also has internal screw threads 41 so that it may be used optionally as a 
conventional connector where desired. Screw threads 36 are for connection 
to hose connector 34. The press-fit member 37 mounts the air-element 38 
for mating with element 25. 
Accordingly, by utilization of any one or more embodiments of the 
invention, water may be pushed-out of a line, and/or breathable air may be 
furnished through the line (fire hose), and or after air-flushing the hose 
may be utilized for communication, or the waterless hose be easily handled 
and/or mounted quickly into storage onto the fire truck. 
It is with the scope of the invention to make such variations and or 
modifications, and/or substitution of equivalents as would be apparent to 
a person of ordinary skill.