General
stretch
What does stretch mean?
The act of pulling an attack hoseline off the rig and flaking it out toward the fire, ready to be charged with water. The stretch is the most-drilled, most-second-guessed skill in the fire service — a short stretch leaves you trapped without enough line, a long one tangles in the stairwell. "Make the stretch" is the order; "the stretch" is also the noun for the line itself.
"Two-and-a-half off the back, stretch it to the Charlie side, we're going in through the kitchen."
Origin
Standard American fireground vocabulary; especially associated with FDNY hose-management doctrine.
Frequently asked questions
What does stretch mean for firefighters?
To stretch means to pull the hose line out and get it to the fire.
How do you use stretch in a sentence?
We're going to stretch a line to the second floor.
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