When running a tanker shuttle operation a critical feature of a successful operation is keeping the tankers moving between the dump and fill sites. When setting up a tanker fill site, folks have to envision the route of travel of incoming and outgoing tankers as well as how the loading process may block up access in and out of the site. Once the fill site pumper is positioned and ready to load tankers, there is little opportunity to make a change....so it is important to consider the flow of tankers before setting u the site. It does not seem like a big deal...but it certainly can be a "big deal!"

A few photos from our 2009 drill in Strafford, NH show how the crew from Strafford FD's 25-M-2 drafted from a pond along a 2-lane road and ran a tanker fill site that only took up one lane of traffic. This was important at this operation because loaded and empty tankers had to pass each other on this road. Had the crew decided to load tankers in a position beside the draft pumper, the second lane of traffic would have been blocked...possibly trapping a full tanker on the other side waiting to head back to the dump site.