No Hydrants? We Have You Covered

A water source is one of the top priorities for a fire department. In cities or other densely populated areas, existing fire hydrants are the solution to this problem. But, what about those of us that live in areas that do not have hydrants? How does the fire department get its water to extinguish a fire?

The answers to these questions are tankers and a process known as a tanker shuttle to supply the water during a fire. The capacity of water carried by these tankers varies from 2,000 to 3,500 gallons of water and are located both here in Montville (one at the Oakdale Fire Department) as well as surrounding communities.

In the event of a reported structure fire, some of the out of town tankers are automatically started to quicken the delivery of the water. If needed, then a tanker shuttle is placed in operation. Here is how it works: A portable drop tank is placed set up near the fire engine supplying water to the fire. The tankers then fill these portable tanks, then drive off to a local fill site (usually the nearest lake or pond) to refill and then return. Once filled, the fire engine drafts the water out of the tank and supplies the hose lines combating the fire. This process continues until the water is no longer needed.

An evolution like this is not easy to orchestrate and we continually train/practice with neighboring departments to ensure efficiency during a real emergency. Some of our goals during these drills is to continuously flow water without the tanks running dry. We have had scenarios where we were flowing over 1,000 gallons per minute for over 2 hours without losing water. That is an incredible amount of water and that kind of volume is beyond what is needed for a regular house fire.

     So, if you live in these areas without a fire hydrant, you can rest assured there is water available to fight a fire. The only difference is that we have to carry it to these areas.