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By Second Assistant Chief Roblee

Sunday June 1, 2025

In an effort to improve rural water supply tactics, we brought in Henry Lovett from Water Supply Innovations LLC for an all day training on Saturday.  Chaffee-Sardinia Fire Company members were joined by members from the Holland and Strykersville Fire Departments for this training.

The training kicked off with a classroom session reviewing rural water supply techniques as a whole.  This was very thought provoking and encouraged exploration of different water supply methods.  An important takeaway from this lecture was that there is not one correct way to deliver water to the fireground; each method must be evaluated and practiced regularly to be effective on our firegrounds.

After a brief lunch break, crews moved outside to practice some of the water supply tactics mentioned in the classroom.  First, crews from Sardinia and Holland attempted the "Rural Hitch," which is an expandable relay pumping method that uses a siamese appliance at the end of a forward lay.  The first due apparatus lays in to the driveway using 5" large diameter hose.  The second and third arriving apparatus can then provide their tank water through the siamese appliance, providing a seamless transition when one tank is empty.

The second hands-on evolution was building a tanker fill site using Turbodraft eductors.  Turbodrafts allow firefighters to obtain water from static sources (ponds, creeks) that are not within reach of traditional drafting.  Using two Turbodrafts and two engines, firefighters were able to flow high volumes of water that could be used to fill tankers.  Tankers would then take the water to the fire scene for firefighting operations.

No matter the methods or equipment used on the fireground, our members and mutual aid partners need to be knowledgeable and on the same page.  Having our mutual aid partners from Holland and Strykersville present for this training stregthens our ability to work efficiently together.  Thank you to Holland and Strykersville Fire Departments, as well as Henry Lovett from Water Supply Innovations for contributing to a valuable day of training!