bandy@lll-crg.ARPA (Andrew Scott Beals) (06/28/85)
Well, it all depends. Empty hose isn't very light, but it's nowhere near as difficult to handle as a hose with pressure behind it - a two and a half with "full" pressure behind it can take a 200lb man (I've never seen it happen to a woman - who knows, they may be different! :-) and toss him around like a ragdoll. In any case, sheer brute force and stamina IS a factor in fire-fighting. (knocking holes, carrying people, controlling hoses, etc) When was the last time you jogged up a 600ft hill with 5 gallons of water on your back? -- andy beals bandy@lll-crg.arpa {sun,gymble,mordor,dual}!lll-crg!bandy If you love something, hit it with a club. If it comes back, then it must really like you.