Couple turns old firehoses into fashion

(28 Sep 2014) An enterprising UK company has come up with a novel way of turning old firehoses into fashion. The decommissioned hoses have been rescued from the scrap heap and transformed into designer items, like washbags, belts and briefcases. A piece of red material runs through a sewing machine under the watchful eye of James "Elvis" Henrit. He's creating the latest design from his sustainable range of products. Nearby, a colleague hammers a series of holes through a similar piece of material for a designer wash bag. It may look like red leather, but this is actually a decommissioned firehose - deemed beyond repair and destined for landfill. Elvis and his partner Kresse Wesling have set up their own business, recycling the old hoses to create bags, belts, and other fashion accessories. So what's the story behind this unlikely fabric? It's early morning at the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service in Basingstoke, and a crew of firefighters are starting a drill. They unfurl of long red line of "Angus Duraline", which soon inflates and produces a high-pressure stream of water. Stuart Eade, a crew manager at the Basingstoke fire station, says the hoses are extremely tough: "They can be dragged along the ground when advancing into a fire situation, and that means they're taken over rough ground, over glass, vehicles can drive over them. When handling hose, if they're charged, we don't use our hands because the pressure of the hose could then crimp the hose over the hand and break your fingers. So therefore to straighten the hose lines as much as possible to create efficiency, we have to use our feet, therefore going over the glass and the rough ground it can perforate the hose lines." Although the hoses can last up to 25 years, they're often damaged. According to Eade, "Once they've been perforated, they then go away to be tested. They're then repaired. After a few repairs they come to the point where they no longer work to right standard that require." Firehoses are routinely put through a pressure test, with minor damage patched up. But any hoses that are deemed beyond repair are thrown away. That's where Elvis & Kresse come in. A decade ago, Kresse was passing a fire station in south London when she spotted some old firehoses waiting to be taken to landfill. "They were sitting on a rooftop in Croydon (south London) where they go to be evaluated - whether they're going to live another day or whether they're going to be patched up, cleaned or repaired, or whether they're going to be decommissioned. And they were just sitting there, coiled up and absolutely stunning. And they still looked useful to me and they still looked beautiful to me, and I thought there has to be a better life for them, you know. They're heroic materials, they need more than just landfill. It's undignified that they go to landfill," she says. At first, Elvis and Kresse thought the hose could be used to make roof tiles. But when Elvis worked out how to split its two core components, making it softer and more malleable, they realised it was ideal for fashion accessories. He had soon made his first belt - and Kresse went back for more. Since 2005, Elvis and Kresse have reclaimed almost 100 tonnes of firehose from the London Fire Brigade, along with over 150 tonnes of other materials such as decommissioned military parachutes, which are used to line bags. At the couple's converted water-mill in Kent, south-east of London, Elvis starts to work on a recent batch of firehose. To remove a quarter-century of grime, he runs it through an industrial-strength cleaner, before drying it in the sun. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...