The Hydraulics 4 Jakes system (H4J)
was developed by Jefferson Welle, a career paramedic/firefighter/R.
N. Jeff began his career in 1983 as a U.S.A.F.
Crash Rescue FireFighter/E.M.T. He continued his
fire service career as a federal firefighter in
the state of New Jersey. Jeff became a national
level E.M.T./paramedic and also obtained an R.N.
license. Throughout his career, Jeff has worked
in EMS/Fire Departments in the cities of Newark,
N.J., Philadelphia, P.A. and Albuquerque, N.M. His
nursing experiences included Mobile Intensive Care,
Emergency Department, dialysis and all critical
care arenas. Jeff ultimately became a D.P.S. Fire
Division Battalion Commander for the city of Rio-Rancho
in New Mexico. Due to a previous fire service injury,
Jeff's active fire service and nursing career eventually
came to an end. During his
period of disability, Jeff found himself with
time on his hands and a real desire to do something
to benefit fellow firefighters. He realized
that an area that challenged him and other firefighters
was pump operations. All firefighters understand
a successful fire ground strategy can only be
implemented with proficient pump operations. Jeff
recognized that there was a tremendous need to
develop a simple method to accomplish fire ground
hydraulics quickly and accurately without complex
calculations.
Jeff realized that the ideal pump operator's
system would have to be comprehensive, versatile
and easy to use. He knew that the fire
service industry has a finite number of nozzle
flows and that flow rates are predictable when
the nozzle is operated at the standard nozzle
pressure. Jeff applied these principles to Hydraulics
4 Jakes (H4J) - a platform providing a globally
comprehensive pump operator system.
H4J is an easy to read manual that sequences
a hose's predictable flow range while incorporating
all the industry standard nozzle flow rates. The
hose's flow rates have an associated universal
friction loss number sequence that is easy to
remember and easy to add. This platform allows
H4J to be operated in single, dual or multiple
line configurations. It provides fast and accurate
pump discharge pressure requirements for global
fire ground operations that correlate well with
IFSTA calculations. H4J is presented as a hand
method that is accurate, fast and flexible.
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