Norway Fire Department Happily Hands Over Hose Testing to IIA

When he heard good things about FailSafe from his fellow firefighters in the neighboring community of Buckfield, Chief Dennis Yates of the Norway Fire Department in Maine was more than happy to give the company a try.

Now part of the Industrial Inspection & Analysis (IIA) family, FailSafe took over testing of the department’s large, 5-inch diameter hose in 2016 — a task previously performed in-house. Impressed with the results, the following year Chief Yates outsourced testing of all 15,000 feet of the department’s hose to IIA, from 5-inch down to 1-3/4”diameter hose.

With the capacity to test up to 20,000 feet of hose in a single day, IIA’s speed is a huge selling point.

“We used to do the hose testing ourselves, and we would spend all summer doing it. Now, it’s all done in a day,” says Chief Yates, who says no one can repack hose like professionals. “When IIA crews put the hose back on the truck, it’s what I call ‘parade-ready.’ We can’t do it quite as well as they do.”

Along with the skill and speed of our technicians, Chief Yates appreciates IIA’s comprehensive reports, which detail the size, brand, length, age and engine or rack number for each length of hose tested. These well-organized reports help keep the department in compliance with the state’s Bureau of Labor Standards.

Having served the Norway Fire Department for 48 years, and mourned the loss of two fellow firefighters in the line of duty, Chief Yates will never scrimp on safety.

“As firefighters, we play a deadly game. It’s imperative that equipment work the way it’s supposed to,” says Chief Yates, who will retire from a lifetime of community service in December 2022. “We are thoroughly happy with IIA. They make sure everything is how it should be.”

Learn more about IIA Fire Services.