Outside Box of Hose Lines Offers Station Protection
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How many fire departments have a way to protect their fire stations other than the equipment on their trucks? Do they have any smoke detectors, fire extinguishers or any other means to save their fire station from being destroyed by fire? The sad answer is that very few offer the same protection that they urge the public to have.
The Belle, W. Va., Volunteer Fire Department decided to do something about this. We have implemented a system we think gives us the best chance to protect our fire station.
Because we could not afford a sprinkler system, we had the next best thing installed-a complete smoke and heat detector system. The detectors are hooked to the central fire alerting system of our department. When a fire is detected, the central fire alarm tone alert for our two outlying stations is activated, along with an internal alarm for the men on duty.
We also installed an outside hose box with 150 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose connected to a gated wye. We then hooked two sections of 1 1/2-inch hose to each side of the wye and added plastic nozzles. The hose is loaded with the 2 1/2-inch sections on the top.
If we arrive at the station to find it on fire, we pull the hose 100 feet to the closest fire hydrant. After the gated wye clears the hose box, the hydrant is then turned on with a hydrant wrench which is tied to the end of the hose. We can then place two 1 1/2-inch attack lines in service until units from our other two stations arrive with their engines.
With this system we feel that we can protect our station from the embarrassment of having our fire station burn.
