Editing Fire hose (section)

==Connections==
{{Main|Hose coupling}}
[[File:Firehose.jpg|thumb|right|Fire hose with Finnish coupler]]
Hose connections are often made from brass, though hardened aluminum connections are also specified.<ref name=Goldwater/> In countries which use quick-action couplers for attack hoses, forged aluminum has been used for decades because the weight penalty of brass for [[Storz]] couplers is higher than for [[Hose coupling#NST|threaded connections]].

Threaded hose couplings are used in the United States and Canada. Each of these countries uses a different kind of threading. Many other countries have standardized on quick-action couplings, which do not have a [[Gender of connectors and fasteners|male and female end]], but connect either way. Again, there is no international standard: In Central Europe, the Storz connector is used by several countries. Belgium and France use the [[Hose coupling#Guillemin symmetrical clutch|Guillemin connector]]. Spain, Sweden and Norway each have their own quick coupling. Countries of the former Soviet Union area use the Gost coupling. [[Baarle-Nassau]] and [[Baarle-Hertog]], two municipalities on the Belgian-Dutch border, share a common international fire department. The fire trucks have been equipped with adapters to allow them to work with both Storz and Guillemin connectors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.baarlenet.nl/nieuws53.asp |title=Baarlenet.nl Euopese brandweer in 2009 Baarle-Nassau en Baarle-Hertog |access-date=18 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728172136/http://baarlenet.nl/nieuws53.asp |archive-date=28 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the United States, a growing number of departments use Storz couplers for large-diameter supply hose, or other quick-action couplings. Because the usage is not standardized, mutual aid apparatus might have a compartment on their trucks dedicated to a multitude of hose adapters.

The different styles of hose couplings have influenced fireground tactics. Apparatus in the United States features "preconnects": Hose for a certain task is put into an open compartment, and each attack hose is connected to the pump. Time-consuming multiple connections or problems with male and female ends are avoided by such tactics. In countries where Storz (or similar) connectors have been used for attack hoses for generations, firefighters drop a manifold at the border of the danger zone, which is connected to the apparatus by a single supply line. As a result, the tiny item "hose coupler" has also influenced the looks and design of fire apparatus.