| On Sunday afternoon, March 22, approximately 65 participants from Dorchester County, Maryland, and neighboring counties took part in a two-hour water hauling exercise using tankers. This exercise served as the practical component of a 16-hour Rural Water Supply Operations Seminar, organized by the Dorchester County Firefighters Association and hosted by the East New Market Volunteer Fire Department.
Throughout Saturday and most of Sunday morning, attendees learned about best practices for transporting water with tankers during emergency situations. The hands-on drill on Sunday afternoon gave participants the opportunity to apply what they had learned in a simulated response.
The primary objective was to practice the Dorchester County Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on rural water supply, allowing teams to integrate all elements of the response process. The drill began with an operation featuring an attack engine and attack tanker, progressed to a rural hitch setup, incorporated a tractor-trailer tanker, and concluded with a dump tank operation. Two fill sites were used, and teams worked collaboratively to address challenges that arose during the exercise. At its peak, the operation achieved a water flow rate of 750 gallons per minute, providing valuable insight into the effectiveness of the SOP procedures.
This event was made possible through the coordination and support of the Dorchester County Firefighters Association and the East New Market Volunteer Fire Department. The seminar was led by instructors Mark Davis and Tim Legore. |
