Keeping It Simple - Engine Company Set-Up
 
By President Mark Davis
June 18, 2015
 

During our rural water supply operations seminar last month on Prudence Island (Rhode Island) we got to see Prudence Island VFD's Engine 83 - an older Maxim pumper that the department did a great job with setting it up for ease of operation. There are only about 100 inhabitants on the island and the island is about a 25-minute ferry ride from Bristol, so any mutual aid response is delayed.

The Prudence Island VFD provides fire, rescue, and EMS response to all areas of the island - one of the many challenges is to keep operations as simple as possible - and this includes apparatus operations. The folks at PIVFD did a very nice job of using a color-coding system to simplify pump operations on their engines and tankers. While the department may not run many calls during the course of the year - they have worked hard to develop a system that keeps things simple!
 
Engine 83 - using color to keep it simple! This pumper was built well before the NFPA standards recommended the use of color coding on control valves - that did not stop the folks at PIVFD from using some color to keep things simple!
Engine 83 - using color to keep it simple! This pumper was built well before the NFPA standards recommended the use of color coding on control valves - that did not stop the folks at PIVFD from using some color to keep things simple!
If it allows water into the pump - it is painted "blue."
If it allows water into the pump - it is painted "blue."
 
Control valve handles and attack line hose match colors.
Control valve handles and attack line hose match colors.
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The Prudence Island VFD station.
The Prudence Island VFD station.