Help Us, Help You: Rural Homeowners Asked to Put in Water Tanks For Fighting Fires

Facebook status of the Southern Humboldt Fire Chiefs Association:

Southern Humboldt Fire Chief's AssociationIn the fire service we have AAR’s, After Action Reviews, where we talk about how things went on a call. One of the biggest challenges we face in rural SoHum is water availability to fight fire. Time and Time again, firefighters arrive at structure fires and vegetation fires that are nowhere near fire hydrants where we can just fill up our trucks or tie into them to fight a fire. Help us Help you, put dedicated fire use only water tanks on your property and tell your local VOLUNTEER fire department where they are and how to access them.

 

Got questions? Ask on the SoHum Fire Chief’s Facebook page.

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Maryellen
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Maryellen
8 years ago

So, if a home has a water tank that is dedicated for fire prevention, can it be situated near the home so the fire trucks can access the tank and pump water from it with the fire trucks own pumps? Or, does it need to have gravity or a pump. My reason for asking is many water tanks are far from the home and where fire trucks can’t access. So if a homeowner was to get a dedicated tank what would be the best case scenario?

eurekajim
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eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  Maryellen

They can pump straight from the tank, it doesn’t need to be pressurized, it just needs a special valve to hook to the truck but they can pump it out into the tank on the Truck if they need to and then use it. That’s what a fire truck does, pumps water from a built in pump. The onsite tank shouldn’t be right next to the building, that might cause problems accessing it if your house is on fire, trucks carry plenty of hose to reach 100′ which is about how far away from the building they want them if I remember right. Uphill from your buildings would definitely be a good thing as long as you can get to it easily.

MaryAlice
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MaryAlice
8 years ago

“Put in a water tank” is a broad request for me. I’d have to research, figure it all out, try to find someone to do it, plan how to pay for it if it is very expensive, etc etc. But then I followed the sohumchiefs Facebook page, then got to Mendocino information and found something I can understand, except who and how.
http://firesafemendocino.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Developing-Water-Supplies-pamphlet-2011.pdf?hc_location=ufi