Posted by apb (in NY) on Friday, June 30, 2006 at 12:15PM :
In Reply to: First Paid Fire for the New Tender tonight! posted by Willy-N on Friday, June 30, 2006 at 3:16AM :
Our volunteer fire department relies almost entirely on drafting sea water (99%) and pond water (1%) for firefighting.
We live in an isolated (in terms of immediate mutual-aid access) area, and must rely on our own equipment to protect a 6,000 acre area, 2000 acres of which is a forest preserve.
The equipment value is as follows: one $550K tower ladder, two $300K attack engines, one $200K tanker, one $450K drafting engine "super sucker", and a host of other, older, ancillary equipment, to protect 3000 houses and a few businesses.
We have one all-wheel drive drafting engine that supplies 2800 gallons per minute, at 350 psi. It is powered by a Cummins engine and Allsion tranny with dual PTO's.
It can roll right onto any of many paved boat-launching ramps, and draw bay water from the front hard suction connection. The output is two, 4" lines. The engine carries a mile of 4" hose, and its tender, a 6-wheel pickup with flatbead, carries another mile of 4" hose to be able to allow us to run a parallel line to the fire.
Both Pierce attack engines carry 1000 gallons and a half-mile of 4" hose, in addition.
It sounds like the county fire planners or inspectors need to be more proactive in setting up a worst-case scenario. One (admittedly expensive) drafting engine could make the difference. If the area's workforce depends upon employment at these mills, it would seem that they should be protected to prevent large-scale unemployment in the event of a catastrophic fire. Just my opinion.
Dodge content:
There are no Dodge vehicles on the roster. They just don't make'm like they used to.
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