| The following story was provided by Doug Alexander of the MSFA and the pics were provided by Tom Fleming from the Mount Airy VFC, Carroll County, MD.
This is a wrap up of the Maryland State Fireman's Association's Rural Water Supply Committee drill held in Denton, MD on Sunday October 30. Once again, we had a great exercise. The host company, Denton VFD did a terrific job of planning the event and Chief Robert Small from our committee did a great job of coordinating the event. Thanks to all that participated in any way.
We had 60 personnel in attendance from 6 Maryland counties and 1 person from Ohio. We had two tractor trailer tankers, 6 straight tankers, 3 engine/tankers, 6 engines, and 1 water supply support unit in use at the drill.
We flowed a total of 104,500 gallons of water in a 1 hour and 50 minute period for an average of approximately 1190 gallons per minute. Our maximum flow was at 1254 gallons per minute for the last 35 minutes. We got a bit greedy and ran out of water with 10 minutes left, and although we had 3 tankers arrive about 2-3 minutes after we ran out, we decided to terminate the drill. Our fill sites were approximately 4.1 miles from the dump site making for just over an 8 mile loop. The water was dumped into the two tractor trailer tankers then sent through a 2900' of 5" hose relay and two engines to the attack engine.
We were a little late getting started as traffic was a mess from the western shore and we waited for all to arrive. We started the safety briefing at 0915 and got the drill going at 1000 hours. We were all back at the Denton station for lunch before 1300 hours and we completed the drill by 1330 hours. There were no injuries and no damage to any apparatus. We did have one section of hose couplings damaged when hit by a unit, and one section of hose broke during the drill.
We had two fill sites set up and they were fantastic. It is obvious to me that our folks have been working hard on their fill site evolutions as all three fill engines were up and running before the first Tanker arrived for filling. Most of the tankers were filled and away from the fill sites in 5 minutes or less. A great job at the fill sites by all.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Frank Underwood and his daughter Jennifer Wilbanks for attending and taking photos. President Lewis and 1VP Denver also attended and we appreciate their support. We would like to recognize Chief Parker Browne from the Medina Township Fire Department in Medina, Ohio who is with the Ohio Emergency Response Plan Team. He attended the drill and took in the exercise for the experience and to take back home for possible use there.
Once again, another great drill, or "practice session" if you will. It is so gratifying to see our folks from areas not close to one another working together towards a common goal, and solving problems with mutual thoughts and ideas. The different approaches to getting the same job done is also an enriching experience for all. Thanks again to all that participated.
Our next activity will be the two day rural water supply seminar provided by GBW Associates, LLC on the last weekend in March, 2012 at the Solomons VFD. Larry Callison has stepped up to be coordinator for this seminar. I expect we will begin registration in early January as this two day seminar may fill up fast. Of course we will need plenty of apparatus for the practical on the second day so keep your eyes open for the flyer. We also have a regular shuttle drill planned for the spring in Jarrettsville. That date has not been set yet but will most likely be in late April or May. We will get more out to you on that after the holidays.
Thanks - Doug Alexander |
