AFAC Common Couplings Working Group announce proposal

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Council (AFAC) Common Couplings Working Group comprises of representatives from AFAC, and emergency service operations from Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT.

The group has released the Common Hose Couplings Paper to outline its proposal and recommendations for common hose couplings across Australia by 2028.The intent of this paper is to provide background information and recommendations relating to the identification and implementation of common fire hose couplings for all Australian - AFACmembers.

It was agreed by consensus that:

• Storz couplings or Forestry couplings or a combination of both be adopted as the AFAC standard for delivery hose couplings.
• Storz be adopted as the AFAC standard for suction hose couplings.
• Camlock be adopted as the AFAC standard coupling for applications involving aircraft or fuel.

It is proposed that AFAC endorse these recommendations.

Subject to these being endorsed it is recommended that AFAC:

• Council, encourage and pursue the implementation of the AFAC standard for delivery hose couplings by Australian member agencies by June 30th 2028
• Seek Federal/State Government funding to assist in the standardisation of fire hose couplings for Australian fire agencies
• Support the preparation of AFAC specifications for Storz and Forestry couplings as the precursor to the preparation of Australian Standards for both couplings. Work with building owners and the building industry to facilitate the change to Storz couplings on hydrants and hydrant boosters nationally.

Under the proposed model there is a twenty year window – June 2028 – provided for the implementation of common couplings by Australian AFAC member agencies. This timeframe was set as the expected lifespan of new and replaced appliances, until the time they will need to be refitted.