On Sunday afternoon, August 26th, folks from several departments in Dutchess County, New York gathered at the Amenia Fire District to participate in a large-scale relay pumping drill. The drill was the culmination of our 8-hr LDH/Relay Pumping Seminar that was sponsored and hosted by the Amenia Fire District. A 5,300-ft lay of 5-inch LDH was used to examine the flow capabilities, pumping requirements, and best practices associated with pumping water over long distances. The drill also examined the use of in-line relay control valves.
Using just a source pumper (2000 gpm) and an attack pumper (1500 gpm) a peak flow of 857 gpm was achieved. Using a source pumper (2000), three relay pumpers (1500, 1250, 1500), and an attack pumper (1500), a peak flow of 1285 gpm was achieved. Interestingly enough, the 1250 gpm relay pumper was removed from the relay and the flow then peaked at 1356 gpm. Most likely, the discharge piping on the 1250 gpm proved flow restrictive.
In summary, participants were able to witness the flow capabilities of LDH, the advantages and disadvantages of different types of in-line control valves....and of course, they got to refine their hose packing skills.
Many thanks to the Amenia Fire District for hosting the seminar and providing excellent logistical support. A complete summary will be posted in a couple of weeks. The instructor for the one-day program was Mark Davis.
Participants lined up for lunch...which included a couple types of subs, plus salads, chips, and dessert. Good thing the afternoon was full of outside work!
Amenia Engine 31-17 equipped with dual beds of 5-inch LDH, each 2,000-ft in length.
Amenia Engine 31-17 - 1750 gpm and 4000-ft of 5-inch LDH.
Millerton Engine 51-14 (1250 gpm) served as the first pumper added to the relay operation.
Making the initial hose lay...
Sharon Engine 5 (1500 gpm) the second pumper added to the relay. The crew had to connect in at an LDH manifold.
Dover Engine 36-12 (1500 gpm) the third pumper added in the relay. The crew had to connect in at a TFT Oasis valve.
Amenia Squad 31-12 (1500 gpm) was used as the attack pumper. All water was discharged either through a ground-based monitor equipped with a 2-inch tip or a combination of the monitor and a Hose Monster flow diffuser equipped with a 2-1/2-inch orifice.
Each of the three relay pumper crews got a chance to review how they were going to add their pumper into the relay.
An LDH manifold (left) and an Oasis (right) valve were demonstrated in the hose layout. Crews had to figure out how best to insert their relay pumper using these valves...which were already in position when the pumper crew arrived.
The Millerton crew had the most difficult job adding in a pumper because no control valve was left and they could not use a hose clamp. Thus, the flow had to be stopped before the line could be broken.
The Millerton crew also had to combat some head pressure, even though the ground looked pretty level.
The Sharon crew got use an LDH manifold as the point where they added in their pumper. While operations had to be shutdown in order to connect in the pumper, at the manifold provided a control valve.
The Sharon pumper is all connected and flow is back underway in less than 2-minutes.
The Dover crew got use the Oasis valve and were able to connect in their pumper without ever shutting flow.
5,300 feet of 5-inch LDH was used as the hose layout.
All water flow occurred through Amenia Squad 31-12.
Union Vale Engine 67-12 (2000 gpm) served as the source pumper and drafted using dual, 6-inch suction lines and one, 2-1/2-inch suction line.
