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Number	Year	Manufacturer	Type	Pump	Water	Supply Line	Preconnects
E5210	2001	Peterbilt	Pumper/Tanker	1500	1500	1500 feet 4"	2 - 200' 1-3/4", 1 - 250' combo, 2-1/2" x 1-3/4"
E5220	1991	Peterbilt/Beck	Pumper/Tanker	1500	1500	400 feet 4"  2000 feet 3"	2 - 200' 1-3/4", 1 - 250' combo, 2-1/2" x 1-3/4"
E5230	2007	Custom	Pumper/Tanker	1500	1250	1400 feet 4"	2 - 200' 1-3/4", 1 - 250' combo 2-1/2" x 1-3/4"
M5240	1996	International	Rescue/Utility	300P*		Spare	(combo lines are 100 feet plus 150 feet)
M5250	2008	Kubota	Brush/Forest/Unit	300	300	600 feet 1-1/2"	2 - 200'' 1" Forestry (pending)
Methodology							* Means Portable Pump

(Note: 1997 page partially updated) 

 E5220

E5220 was our main line engine for 20 years. Purchased in 1991, this was truck was designed from the ground up by our members and was the first Peterbilt in Ulster County. Sporting a 350HP cat turbocharged diesel and allison 740 automatic transmission, this vehicle was used (with our permission) by the dealer as a sample to show prospective buyers. He sold several similar vehicles. The truck is designed to negotiate grades of up to 15% with power to spare. Pump tests have shown a flow of over 800GPM at idle and over 1500GPM at 180psi with RPMs well under the governed maximum. Thus far in relay situations the limiting factor has always been getting enough water into the pump.

At large fires with long or high lifts we supplement the 6" suction with a parallel 3" suction or portable pumps. We estimate that under good conditions we should be able to pump about 2000 gallons per minute with this truck. (We are told by our resident Hale pump factory trained technician that all impellers in their larger pumps can flow 2000GPM, it's the piping and number of discharges that restrict the flow.)

E5220 is our tanker and relay pumper. I can conduct initial attack but carries no ladders. It has two 200 foot 1-3/4" preconnected lines, one 300 foot combination 2-1/2" to 1-3/4" line, and one 100 foot 3" line for extending and as a quick feed to other trucks. We can also use this line in combination with our "deck gun" for a ground based blitz attack. There is also a 3" pipe and mount directly off of the pump manifold to power the deck gun from the top of the truck at full pump capacity.

E5220 carries a full complement of personal gear, firefighting tools, five positive pressure air packs and 17 spare air cylinders. It also carries a 2000 gallon dump tank, piercing nozzle, foam system, some rescue tools, a rotary cutoff saw, and a 4.5 Kw portable generator.

For lighting, we have a pair of truck mounted "nightfighter" tower arrays and ground lights. This truck also carries half a dozen hand lights. You can almost never have too much lighting on the fireground.

With E5220 we can lay dual 4" and 3" supply lines 1000 feet long. These will easily carry 2400 GPM of water and are easier to pick up than 5". Alternately, we can lay a single 2000 foot line for long driveways and to reach water sources. In this case we will lay a parallel line with the other two trucks if it is needed. (see methodology below.) In 2001 we purchased a sister to this truck, E5210.

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The 1997 Fleet

E5220

E5210

T5221

M5240 (Rev B)

E5210

At large fires with long or high lifts we supplement the 6" suction with a parallel 3" suction or portable pumps. We estimate that under good conditions we should be able to pump about 2000 gallons per minute with this truck. (We are told by our resident Hale pump factory trained technician that all impellers in their larger pumps can flow 2000GPM, it's the piping and number of discharges that restrict the flow.)

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E5230

M5240 (Rev B)

M5240 at the car wash and flea market in1993.

M5240 (Rev C)

M5240 is powered by a 210 HP diesel engine attached to an allison automatic transmission. It sports a ten ton rear axle and five ton front axle. It, like E5220, was designed from the ground up by the firefighters here at Saint Remy.

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M5250

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Methodology

1. Pump pressure and Fire flow
2. Supply hose
3. Structural fire Strategy and Tactics
4. About Tanker shuttles
5. Why two stations and main pumpers?

Fire Flow

Our Standard Operating Guideline is to set the pump output pressure to 150 psi for the intital attack. This is the same for all of our pumps and will provide a fire flow of very close to 150GPM through each nozzle. If more water is needed, the pump operator simply raises the pump pressure to 200 psi for a flow of about 210GPM. These two pump pressures are all that the pump operator needs to remember. No calculations need to be done on the fireground. Upon the arrival of an officer or senior pump operator, the scenario can be adjusted, although this is seldom needed.

Each of our pumpers also carries a long/blitz line for special conditons. These lines are composed of 150 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose followed by 100 feet of 1-3/4 inch hose. We have found this combination very useful for reaching to the rear of large structures while maintaining both low friction loss and hose flexibility near the nozzle people. It is also useful for reaching brush fires and is often wyed off to feed two or more handlines.

The long line will flow about 175GPM and 250GPM at our two "standard" pump pressures. It can also flow over 300GPM at 250psi, but this is done only under specific direction of an officer, as this much flow requires more than two nozzlemen.

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Supply Lines  - needs updating

Because we are a mostly rural fire district, we often have to traverse long driveways or narrow roads to get to the scene of a fire. It is our practice to "lay in" to any substantial fire off of the main roads, and in all cases we lay from water to fire. (The outdated practice of laying fire to water has no place in the repertoire of the first in engine.) This practice enables us to have a main pumper at the fire, with a good water supply, while keeping water supply, tanker shuttles, etc on the main road where operations are faster and safer. Our second in engine usually picks up this line and sets up either a draft or a dump tank / tanker shuttle operation. Generally, our tanker will respond directly to the main attack engine to support it until the main supply is set up.

E5220 carries LDH supply line to extend or supplement the LDH on the firs tin engine. The reason that we carry a split lay of  hose on our supply engine/tanker is simple; that's all that fits! The lay is split for this reason; It gives us a choice of laying two parallel lines or one very long supply line. Most of our driveways are under 1000 feet long. A dual lay for 3" hose 1000 feet long will supply about 850 GPM at the fire with a 10psi residual pressure and only a 150 psi pump pressure at the source. At 200 psi, the flow is about 1000 GPM. This is more than sufficient to supply any normal residential fire, and the redundant supply line adds a margin of safety. For the several very long driveways in our district, we can lay 2000 feet of hose as a single lay. This lets us reach the fire quickly while still providing fire flows of 300GPM at 150psi and 400GPM at 250psi. For these long lays, we try to lay a second line in parallel to the first as soon as we can.

Yes Gwendelyn, a four inch LDH in parallel with a three inch LDH will flow about as much a a single five inch line.  (and it's easier to carry).

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Strategy and Tactics

This topic will be discussed in our "Training" and "Smokey Says" sections, but here are a few general principles;

• Safety First!
• Do a complete sizeup
• Use proper ventillation
• Attack from the uninvolved part of the structure
• Know the benefits of direct attack vs indirect attack and use each method appropriately
• Establish a water supply greater than what you need right now (problems happen)
• [For the officers in charge] Think about medical care, relief crews, fresh air bottles, rest and rehab, refreshments, special equipment, traffic control, crowd control, salvage, coverage, the press, etc. (Do you STILL want to be the chief?)

Tanker Shuttles

If you are from a rural area, then you already know the value of a good tanker operation to effective fire supression. If you are from a "hydrant" area, you might be wondering what it all means.

Basically, if a fire is not near a pond or stream, we have to bring the water with us if we want to extinguish the fire. At Saint Remy, we will usually set up two dump tanks adjacent to the supply engine. These tanks are linked together with a water operated "power siphon". Tanker trucks back up to these tanks and drop their water into them. Then they drive to a water source where another pumper refills their tanks. Finally, they drive back to the scene and repeat the entire operation until the fire is out. At Saint Remy, our first option is always to try relaying water directly from the water source to the fire. Often, especially during the summer months, the nearest water source is one to two miles from the fire and we must set up a tanker shuttle. There are four main problems with a tanker shuttle. 1) Dumping time, 2) Travel time, 3) Refill time, 4) Two way traffic of fire equipment over country roads.

Good planning and efficient operations can minimize these factors but they cannot be ignored. As a rule of thumb, under good conditions and with a one way travel distance of about a mile, you can count on each tanker in the relay to provide the equivialent of 200 gallons per minute. Thus, for a fire of 600GPM, three tankers are required. It is a good idea to always add one to the number needed because of unforeseen problems. Also, each additional two miles of travel will add the need for one more tanker. {All tankers are assumed to be of 1500 gallon capacity, trucks with smaller tanks are not true tankers, and trucks with larger tanks are useful, but add certain twists to efficient operations.} Always try to have every tanker in the relay hold about the SAME amount of water, whether it is 1250, 1500, 2000 or some other amount.

Where do we get all of these tankers to haul water? From our neighbors, of course. Rifton, Esopus and Bloomington FD can supply us with five trucks within a few minutes and there are many more available through the County Mutual Aid system. There are also two very large (about 6000 gallons) tankers available to us, but they will be discussed elsewhere.

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The Reason For Two Stations

Under ideal conditions, our fire district is about a twelve minute drive from end to end. Even with a central station, (which is currently beyond our reach) travel time to the ends of the district would be excessive. We have two stations with duplicate equipment in order to reduce response time and provide our residents with the best possible protection. Each of the two main engines can function as an attack or supply truck, and even as a true tanker (with 1500 gallons of water). The tanker and largest pumper are kept at station two near our industrical complex and, paradoxically, the most rural part of the district. The rescue is kept at station one where the roads carry the most traffic. Our Kubota brush rig is housed at station 2.

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