On Wednesday, July 2, volunteers with the Second District Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad participated in a training exercise focused on rural water supply techniques. This training is crucial because most of their primary service area lacks pressurized fire hydrants, necessitating proficiency in establishing continuous water supply from static sources like rivers, lakes, ponds, and even swimming pools.
The training covered two primary methods for water delivery:
* The Rural Hitch: This method is employed for incidents requiring a quick and simple water supply. It utilizes a HUMAT Valve as a pressure clapper, allowing two separate tankers to connect simultaneously to the attack pumper. Through coordinated pump pressure manipulation, a continuous water supply can be delivered.
* Folding Dump Tank System: For incidents demanding greater water flow, or those expected to be more prolonged or complex, the folding dump tank system is utilized. While more intricate and time-consuming to set up, this system is capable of delivering a larger volume of water to an incident.
Volunteers regularly practice these skills to ensure a reliable water supply at incidents within the 2nd, 9th, and all other districts they serve through automatic and mutual aid agreements.