Last weekend, members from several fire departments in the Old Forge, NY area took part in our 16-hour Rural Water Supply Operations Seminar. The seminar began with four hours in the classroom, where participants reviewed best practices for hauling water with tankers. Following the classroom session, eight hours were dedicated to hands-on training. Firefighters practiced skills such as attack tanker operations, rural hitch, portable dump tank setup, and fill site management.
The seminar concluded on the second day with a two-hour water supply drill. Five tankers, three pumpers, and one fill site worked together in a shuttle operation. The highest flow achieved during the drill was 750 gallons per minute. Due to a mechanical issue, one tanker was unable to continue, and the flow decreased to 500 gallons per minute.
The Town of Webb Fire District #1 sponsored the seminar, and the Old Forge Fire Department hosted the event. Instructors Mark Davis and Tim Legore led the training throughout the weekend.
Units:
Old Forge Tanker 325, Old Forge Engine 517, Otterlake Tanker 1, Otter Lake Tanker 2, Eagle Bay Engine 132, Eagle Bay Tanker 315, Big Moose Engine 133, and Big Moose Tanker 324.
Saturday afternoon's work concentrated on dump tank operations.
Sunday morning's work concentrated on tanker loading operations.
Learning about open relay ops for loading tankers.
A 3-dump tank operation was used to achieve a peak flow of 750 gpm.
