- Details
- Category: Current Issue
caption:
Firefighters at the debriefing after the water supply training hosted by the East Putnam Fire Department April 21. More photos on page 6 and expanded photo array on Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — One of the many challenges for fire departments in small/rural towns is water: Where are our water sources and how do we get it to the fire expeditiously.
April 21 the East Putnam Fire Department hosted a training session for shuttling water. The East Thompson Volunteer Fire Department set up at the bridge on Five Mile River Road, transferring water into tanker trucks that were rotating through. The tanker trucks went to the “fire” on the property across from Ross Recycling and transferred the water into “dump tanks.” From there water was pumped to the Putnam Fire Department ladder truck which was pumping water.
East Putnam Fire Department Chief Abe Walker said the planning for this training started last year after the Elmwood Hill Road fire in East Putnam last December. Finding water and getting it to the fire site proved challenging. When a fire department is called out, once it’s ascertained there is a structure fire, the water supply task force is activated with mutual aid departments.
Walker said that 1,000 gallons per minutes was pumped onto the “fire” for two hours.
He added that the next water supply training would be for "what would happen if the fire was on Liberty Highway." That would involve more trucks as the water would have to be shuttled from the hydrant at the DOT garage on Rt. 12, up Hurry Hill and then to the fire. “We’d probably need eight trucks for that,” he said.
Atwood Hose Fire Company Chief Robert Duval said each participating company made three trips. The supply was only lost for five minutes, due to a navigation error.
He made several suggestions to the firefighters gathered around for the debriefing including buying a soccer ball to find the vortex in the dump tank, putting a tarp to protect the dump tank, to protect against rips and creating signs with numbers on them so the tanks can be numbered, to make the filling process quick and smooth. He also recommended “know where your exhaust is.” “You saw how labor intensive this was,” he said. “I’d recommend there is one person assigned to guide tankers.”
Departments taking part included: East Putnam Fire Department, Putnam Fire Department, Thompson Fire Engine Company, Attawaugan Fire Department, East Thompson Volunteer Fire Department, Central Village Fire Company.
“This is the world of rural water supply,” he added.