Fire Hose Nozzle Types — A Complete Buyer's Guide

The smooth bore — or jet — nozzle is the oldest type of fire fighting nozzle still in active service. It produces a single concentrated straight-stream of water through a tapered smooth-bore orifice. No flow adjustment, no fog pattern, no moving parts in the discharge path. The result is the longest reach per litre of water of any handheld nozzle, and the simplest mechanical design — there is essentially nothing to fail.

The advantage is reach. A smooth bore nozzle delivers a coherent stream that hits the fire from a safe standoff distance — typically 28 to 34 metres on a standard branchline. The disadvantages are loss of operator flexibility (no flow control, no fog pattern for gas cooling) and high reaction force compared to fog nozzles at equivalent flow. Most professional brigades carry both: smooth bore for long-reach attack from safe distance, adjustable fog for interior and close-quarter operations.

CA-FIRE manufactures four jet nozzle variants: traditional brass branchline (QZG3.5/7.5, 1.5 kg), super-lightweight aluminium-magnesium alloy (QZG3.5/7.5DK, ≤0.58 kg — 60% lighter than brass with identical performance), pistol-grip jet (QLD6.0/8III-E, 550 LPM at 32 m reach), and automatic constant-pressure jet (QLD6.0/8III-A — see Type 3 below).

The adjustable fog nozzle is the modern workhorse of municipal firefighting. By rotating the flow control section, the operator changes the flow rate through 4 or 5 preset detents — typically 115/230/360/475 LPM on a standard 1.5"/2.5" line — and the same motion simultaneously transitions the spray pattern from a concentrated straight jet for direct attack to a wide fog for personnel protection and rapid heat absorption.

The advantage is operational flexibility. One nozzle handles room-and-contents structural firefighting, vehicle fires, ground fuel spills, gas cooling for backdraft prevention, and personnel protection — all without changing equipment at the line. The wide fog pattern is also significantly better at gas cooling and steam expansion than a smooth bore stream, which is why modern interior structural firefighting tactics standardised on adjustable fog nozzles in the 1980s and have remained there since.

The disadvantage compared to smooth bore is slightly shorter effective reach and more moving parts in the discharge path. CA-FIRE manufactures the QLD Series in four flow brackets covering 50 to 950 LPM — from small-flow reel-line response to large-flow petrochemical attack. See the QLD adjustable nozzle page for full model comparison.

An automatic nozzle uses an internal pressure-regulating mechanism to maintain constant discharge pressure regardless of inlet pressure variation. As supply pressure rises, the internal orifice automatically expands to maintain target nozzle pressure; as supply pressure drops, the orifice contracts. The stream pattern, reach and droplet quality stay consistent across the full inlet pressure range — typically 30 percent variation.

This matters on long hose lays, standpipe operations, pumper relay scenarios, and any situation where inlet pressure at the nozzle cannot be guaranteed. A standard adjustable nozzle delivers a strong stream on the first day of a campaign when the pump is fresh and the hose is short, then a weak stream three days later when the same crew is at the end of a 200-metre relay. An automatic nozzle delivers the same stream both days.

The CA-FIRE QLD6.0/8III-A is the automatic variant of the QLD Series — 500 LPM at 7 bar (regulated), 34 m reach, 1.7 kg. See the jet nozzle page for full automatic specification.

A multipurpose nozzle is the next step up from an adjustable nozzle: it does everything an adjustable does, AND switches the working medium between plain water, Type B air-aspirated foam (foam sleeve extended), and Type A foam (head folded). The tip-modular variant accepts removable piercing, foam, chimney or adjustable-flow tips that snap on in seconds without tools — converting one nozzle body into four different fire fighting tools.

The advantage is comprehensive versatility from a single tool. For municipal and industrial brigades that cannot predict the fire scenario in advance, one multipurpose nozzle replaces an entire shelf of specialised equipment. The disadvantage is increased mechanical complexity compared to dedicated single-purpose nozzles, and slightly higher cost than a basic adjustable.

CA-FIRE manufactures four multipurpose variants: foldable large-flow (QD6.0/16III, 960 LPM, 41 m reach), foam sleeve (QD6.0/8III, 115–475 LPM), and two dual-flow QDH nozzles that deliver straight stream and fog simultaneously and independently (QDH6.0/500-250 at 580 LPM total, QDH6.0/1350 at 1,380 LPM total). See the multi-functional nozzle page for complete model comparison.

Foam nozzles are dedicated tools for Class B liquid fires — petroleum, diesel, ethanol, polar solvents and chemical fuels. They mix air into a water-foam-concentrate solution to produce expanded firefighting foam that cools the fuel surface, separates the fuel from oxygen with a sealed blanket, and seals back vapour release. Plain water on a Class B fire either fails to suppress or actively spreads the burning fuel — foam is the only correct medium for these fires.

Foam nozzles split into several sub-types by expansion ratio (the volume of finished foam divided by the volume of foam solution): low-expansion (ratio 2–20) for dense long-throw foam used on tanks and ground fuel; medium-expansion (ratio 20–200) for fluffy fast-filling foam used in tunnels and basements; and Type A air-aspirating for general high-volume foam attack. Self-inducting foam nozzles include a built-in eductor and a suction tube that draws concentrate from a portable container; standalone inline foam eductors retrofit any nozzle into a foam-capable line.

CA-FIRE manufactures the complete foam nozzle range: Type A (PQA600, PQA Large Orifice), low-expansion (PQ 2), medium-expansion (PQZ8/0.8), self-inducting (QP4/8/16 at 240/480/960 LPM), and standalone eductors (FE095/FE125/FE250). See the foam nozzle page for full range comparison.

A piercing nozzle has a hardened spike at the discharge end that penetrates solid barriers — wall panels, vehicle bodywork, container walls, attic decking — and discharges water inside the enclosed compartment behind the barrier. The spike is driven through by hand impact or by striking the rear of the nozzle with a tool. Discharge ports drilled along the spike length distribute water throughout the penetrated compartment.

This is the right tool when a fire is sealed inside something you cannot or should not open. Vehicle engine bay fires (where lifting the bonnet admits oxygen and escalates the fire), cargo container fires (where opening the door admits oxygen to unknown contents), attic and roof void fires (unreachable from inside), mobile home fires (thin sheathing that burns fast), and locked compartment fires all benefit. The piercing nozzle compresses forcible entry and water suppression into a single tool — one firefighter, one minute from arrival to water on fire.

CA-FIRE manufactures the QCG-1 piercing nozzle: 1-metre hardened stainless steel spike, 600 LPM at 7 bar, strong lightweight aluminium body, 2.5 kg total weight, 1.5"/2.5" coupling. See the QCG-1 piercing nozzle page for tactical applications and limits.

A water curtain nozzle discharges water as a wide flat sheet rather than a directed jet or fog. The CA-FIRE standalone Water Curtain Nozzle produces a 180-degree flat curtain measuring 26 to 32 metres wide and 7 metres tall. The curtain absorbs radiant heat through evaporation, blocks the spread of flame and burning embers, cools exposures, and creates a physical shield between the fire and firefighters or equipment that must remain in the heat zone.

Curtain nozzles are essential whenever firefighters must advance through a high radiant heat environment that plain water attack cannot cool fast enough. Petroleum tank rim fires (cooling adjacent tanks); LNG and chemical vapour cloud events; train derailment with chemical tank cars; refinery process unit fires; rescuing trapped victims from a vehicle in a heat zone; building exposure protection.

CA-FIRE manufactures four curtain types: standalone Water Curtain (pure defence, 1300/1600 LPM with W=26-32 m curtains), straight stream + curtain hybrid (QZM-65, 475 LPM with simultaneous attack + curtain), dual-curtain with independently controlled front and rear curtains (QSM118-475 and QSM350-950), and the Assault Nozzle wide dovetail flow for large-area cooling and dust suppression. See the curtain nozzle page for complete geometry and selection.

A marine fire nozzle is functionally identical to a land-based adjustable nozzle — same flow rate, same reach, same operation — but built from completely different materials. The body is solid brass instead of anodised aluminium. The surface has an additional electroplated galvanised treatment. The coupling is brass-on-brass to avoid bimetallic galvanic corrosion at the connection point.

This matters because aluminium does not survive saltwater. Even hard-anodised aluminium develops pitting at threaded sections and seal surfaces within a few seasons of continuous shipboard service — once pitting starts, the flow control and valve seat fail rapidly. Brass has two centuries of marine service history. The double-protection (brass + galvanisation) extends service life from a few seasons to decades.

CA-FIRE manufactures the QLD6.0/8III-B brass marine variant — identical 115/230/360/475 LPM detent flow, 34 m reach, 7 bar pressure as the standard aluminium QLD6.0/8III-B, but at 3.8 kg (vs 1.8 kg for aluminium). SOLAS Chapter II-2 compatible. Class society approval (LR / DNV / ABS / BV / CCS / RINA) available on project orders. See the marine fire nozzle page for complete marine engineering detail.

The specialty nozzle category covers three independent purpose-built tools, each for a scenario where none of the eight types above is the right answer. A chimney nozzle (CA-FIRE QZW-1) has a 360-degree turning head on a 1-metre boom — for delivering water around corners into chimneys, sewer manholes, lampblack channels and large vehicle cabin dead corners. A dry chemical nozzle (CA-FIRE QGH-5) discharges powdered fire suppressant instead of water — for oil depot fires where water would spread the burning fuel. A hydrant pressure test nozzle (CA-FIRE QCY65) is a diagnostic instrument with a built-in 0–1.6 MPa pressure gauge — for annual fire system inspection, flow testing and commissioning of new fire main installations.

These three nozzles share nothing in common except the brand. Each is a dedicated answer to a specific question that no other nozzle type can answer. See the specialty nozzle page for individual product specifications.