Rural fire departments with limited water resources have improved their fire water supply capabilities by using larger-diameter hose, portable dump tanks, and larger tanker/pumper apparatus equipped with quick dump valves. All of these improvements, used with regional tanker task forces or shuttles, have allowed the delivery of larger volumes of water with reduced friction loss. Despite these improvements, rural fireground water supply is still vulnerable to delays, operational difficulties, and even unsafe practices and conditions.
Quick delivery and supply continuity are the primary objectives for the water supply sector. There is no substitute for good preplanning and drills at the departmental and regional levels and established standard operating procedures/standard operating guidelines (SOPs/SOGs) to manage rural water supply operations consistently and safely.
Several fire water demand models and methodologies are available to help the incident commander (IC) determine how much water is needed. In some rural departments, the increased use of standard Class A or compressed air foam systems (CAFS) has actually reduced water demands. In addition to the strategies and tactics used by the IC, the water supply sector must observe specific operational practices and procedures to ensure quick delivery and water supply continuity while ensuring fireground safety.
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