Which hand signal is used to Extend?

• A. Retract
• B. Extend
• C. Up
• D. Down

Answer: (B)

In firefighting hand signals, each gesture communicates a specific action for deploying equipment. Extending means lengthening the hose or line toward the task at hand. The signal associated with extending is the one you use when you want to push the line outward and deploy more length, so the action and the word match perfectly. The other gestures correspond to opposite or different instructions: retract is pulling the line back, up is raising it, and down is lowering it. So extending is the correct signal because it directly communicates increasing the line’s reach.