I would like to know how many departments still draft from a lake or pond or river because this is part of are driver training is it a thing of the past ?
Permalink Reply by John on November 12, 2008 at 9:51am
We still talk about it and train on it some but not nearly enough, our area is pretty much set up with hydrants but the neighboring depts. still draft and I think we need to practise more on that part.
Unless your area is covered in hydrants, this is an essential skill to master. While it is still taught here in the Houston area, there is not as much emphasis placed on the practice. I see new students coming out of the academy, who know the theory, but have never actually done it.
My department trains several times a year on drafting ops from dry hydrants, and directly out of ponds both natural and man made.
We're not even ordering apparatus with hard suction hose anymore. I'm not going to debate the merits of this, but here in the big city, I doubt any of the newbies could even spell drafting.
At one of my departments we have the hard suction on the wall of the bays. some of the new guys don't even know what they're for. but in nearby more rural departments, they draft much more frequently.
Wow its nice to see whats going on out there we still draft we are a hydrent town but we must draft to pass as driver and pump operater me i think it good to learn you never know when you need to Thank for all the input
In rural America drafting is a required part of pump operator training. In many areas the lack of hydrants requires the use of folding takns into which tankers dump their water load. The scene pumper then drafts out of the tank to supply the hand lines playing on the fire.
Every time we need water. While we do have dry hydrants they are not on city water and simply eliminate the float dock (we do carry a float dock incase we need it) and make it easier to draft water from a frozen pond or river. We have gotten away from the 300 gpm portable pump and have a truck designed and designated to set up draft at our water point for the purpose of filling tankers. It has a 549 CI International V-8 hooked only to the pump and can fill a tanker in under 2 minutes.
Back in Ohio we learned to draft with our eyes closed with one hand taped to our back and a rabid attack alligator lurking in whatever we were drafting from.
Down here in Charleston, we have a couple pieces of hard suction hose laying out back somewhere behind the training tower.