By Jason Estep
Effective rural fireground operations begin with setting the dump tank. It is the most important decision you can make on the fireground in unhydranted areas. It is the equivalent of laying a line in from a hydrant to secure a water source. Failure begins by not setting the dump tank. My observations have led me to believe that the majority of fire departments are not setting dump tanks; they are instead settling for nurse tanker operations, which often fall short of the desired flow rates. So let’s take a look at why the fire service is reluctant to operate from dump tanks and at some remedies for the problems.
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Q & A: Jason Estep on Rural Water Delivery
• Do firefighters truly understand required fire flow? To be successful in any endeavor, you have to have a goal. Our goal in the fire service is extinguishment by gallons per minute (gpm). We must understand that today’s fires are creating higher British thermal units (Btus) than the fires of just a decade ago and what worked then may not work now. Fire flow can be defined as the fight between Btus and gpm. Higher Btus can be controlled only by higher flow rate (gpm). Two flow rates will be referenced in this article: sustained flow rate, the ability to flow (×) number of handlines at (×) gpm for the duration of the incident. Max flow rate is the ability to “hit it hard from the yard” at a high flow rate for a short period of time. You need to determine what the average sustained flow rate is in your community. The average sustained flow rate goal in our fire district is 400 gpm, with the ability to max flow rates at 1,000 gpm for knockdown application if needed. The Iowa rate of flow calculation and the National Fire Academy needed fire flow formula are effective tools in setting your goal.
• What does it take to sustain the fire flow? I once spoke to a firefighter from a neighboring department about a multicompany water supply drill in a downtown area assuming that the water system had failed. He agreed that it was a good idea and that we would need to simulate sustaining two aerial master streams and four or five handlines! It was at that point that I realized that few firefighters truly understand fire flow or what it takes to sustain it. The target property for the drill was a commercial building with a fire flow of around 900 gpm. His plan was more than 3,000 gpm, which had no chance of being sustained. It is hard to determine proper resources without a realistic goal. Once you have determined your sustained flow rate, then you can determine resources. How many tankers does it take to supply a 150-gpm handline? A good rule of thumb for a conventional tanker is around 95 gpm on a two-mile water shuttle. Some do a little better; some do a little worse. How many fill site pumpers will be required to fill the tankers? Where will I get the water for the operation? What are the personnel considerations? These are questions that have to be answered to meet your goal.
• Nurse-tanker operations are not efficient. Nurse tankers, regardless of pump size, will be limited by the tank-to-pump valve. A three-inch tank-to-pump valve is the minimum allowed by National Fire Protection Association 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, and it is the valve with which most tankers are equipped. This limits you to approximately 500 gpm when flowing from the tank. Nurse-tanker operations are much less efficient than dump-and-run operations using dump tanks. The advantage of using the dump tank is that the pumper is drafting from the dump tank, which allows a maximum flow rate that approaches the capacity of the pumper for short periods of time. This can be a game changer for initial knockdown. Higher flow rates = less time spent on the fireground = safer firefighters! A nurse-tanker operation restricts your capability to accomplish this and can create two empty trucks, the pumper and the nurse tanker. It is more efficient to dump the water in the dump tank and go for more water.
• Train for it. You play the game like you practice. If you never practice rural fireground operations, chances are you will not be able to perform at an actual fire. Practice setting dump tanks and positioning apparatus.
• Myth: We don’t have the personnel or the time to set a dump tank. You can successfully remove a dump tank from the truck, set up, and establish a draft in less than three minutes. It just takes a little practice.
• Set up for the big one every time. It is a best practice in my department to set a dump tank at all structure fires in unhydranted areas. It eliminates the decision of do I nurse tank or set the dump tank. Working from the dump tank will handle small fires, and you are already set up for higher flow rates if conditions change. Operating in this manner will make operating much simpler when you do have the “Big One.”
• Drafting has become a lost art. Many pump operators today do not practice drafting operations. It is a simple operation that maximizes the potential of your fire pump when used properly. Again, it just takes a little practice to become proficient at it. Lack of confidence in the ability to draft is a major reason many departments are reluctant to set a dump tank.
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• Firefighters have lost the ability to recognize water sources. Firefighters need to be able to recognize alternative water sources. The fill site seems to have become the nearest hydrant, adding needless travel time into the equation, often driving by usable water sources. Small streams, swimming pools, ponds, rivers, and cisterns can all be used as fill sites for tankers. Portable pumps can be used to access this water, but extra personnel may be needed to set up.
Being able to access water sources is an advantage that vacuum tankers have over other apparatus. Vacuum tankers are limited only by the suction hose they carry in reaching water sources and can often do vertical lifts of 25 feet-plus (depending on elevation). Another advantage of the vacuum units is that you can fill from shallow streams; a gulp of air will not cause loss of prime and will still allow the truck to fill at 1,200-plus gpm. Learning to use water sources that are available in your community will drastically improve your fireground operations. The closer to the fire you can find water, the higher the flow rate you will be able to sustain and the fewer tankers will be required. Fewer tankers on the road = less chance for accident.
• All tankers are not created equal. Conventional tankers will always have to have a pressurized water source to fill them, whether it is a fill site pumper or a fire hydrant. Most conventional tankers have a poly tank that is restricted to a 1,000 gpm fill rate. The vacuum tanker has the ability to self-fill at fill rates over 1,200 gpm. This means that an engine company does not have to fill tankers, freeing one pumper and three or four firefighters for fireground operations. When you couple the vacuum tanker’s ability to self-fill with its ability to reach water sources, it is easy to see why it is the most efficient water hauler available to fire departments. It makes life easy.
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Rural Connections: The Importance of Training
• Putting it all together. Set a target flow rate, and run a drill to achieve it. Your initial attempt may fall short of your goal; but, with practice, you can achieve your goal. We run a drill with some other departments in the area every fall. We have improved our operations and became very innovative with new equipment and techniques. It all starts with setting the dump tank. Once you understand the importance of this concept, you will not only meet your goals; you will exceed them. Below is a summary of the drill we hosted in October 2014 as proof that these concepts are effective. The rules for the drill followed the ISO two-hour shuttle drill guidelines.
Rural Water Supply Drill
The Morrisvale (WV) Volunteer Fire Department hosted the Southern West Virginia rural water supply drill on October 25, 2014. The drill lasted for one hour, 45 minutes, during which time the average flow rate was 1,042 gpm. Flow was started at the four-minute mark at nearly 1,300 gpm, to check the capacity of the pumper and was dropped back to 584 gpm until the 15-minute mark, when it was increased to 832 gpm. At 24 minutes, flow was upped to 1,012 gpm. For the last one hour, 11 minutes, flow was sustained at 1,204 gpm.
Flow was never interrupted during the drill, and the 1,204 gpm was achieved with a 1,250 gpm pumper while pumping two transfer lines and using only one suction hose on the pumper. The new low-level strainers were used as transfer devices and as the strainer for the pumper’s suction hose. This same pumper maxed out at 862 gpm a few years ago while pumping multiple transfer lines. The strainers eliminated the need to use a second engine to pump the transfer lines, saving valuable resources. Two 3,500-gallon dump tanks and two 3,000-gallon dump tanks were used during the drill, for a total capacity of 13,000 gallons of on-site storage.
The lone fill site for the drill was 1.35 miles away, for a 2.7-mile round trip. No fill site pumper was needed since the seven tankers involved were all vacuum tankers. Four fill lines were used at the fill site, each of which had a vertical lift of approximately 13 feet. The tankers were filling in excess of 1,000 gpm at three of the four suction lines. After the drill was over, complaints were made that one fill line was taking a minute to 1½ minutes longer to fill. During tear down, we discovered that a gasket was missing from a suction hose connection; however, this line still provided a fill rate of 750 gpm, even with an air leak!
Nine firefighters, including the tanker drivers, were involved in fill-site operations. Not only does the vacuum tanker exceed the operational capabilities of conventional tankers, but it also saves personnel.
Rural water delivery is all about efficiency. This drill proves how efficient we can become. Using no fill-site pumpers at the fill site and the simplicity of the vacuum tanker allow this efficiency. The new dump tank strainer allowed us to use only one pumper at the fill site to reach 1,200 gpm. Efficiency is about doing more with less–in this case, moving more water with less people.
This was the most efficient water delivery drill that I have ever participated in or observed. Seven tankers delivered an average of 1,042 gpm for the duration of the drill, meaning that each tanker averaged 149 gpm on a two-mile shuttle, during the one hour, 11 minutes at 1,204 gpm. The average was 172 gpm per truck. Remember, this was a 2.7 mile shuttle. I can’t remember another drill that has produced this type of numbers. Also, keep in mind that we did this with one fill line that was probably only 75 percent of capacity as a result of the air leak. We can all continue to gain efficiency through practice and new innovations and processes. I have seen the group that performed this exercise continue to improve with each exercise. Are you truly efficient?
BIO
Jason Estep is a firefighter with the Morrisvale (WV) Volunteer Fire Department, which has an extensive history of operating on rural firegrounds through the use of tanker/tender operations. Estep has a mechanical engineering degree from Fairmont State University. He developed a course on rural water movement that focuses on moving more water with fewer people
