Ch. 13 Water Shuttle Operations Flashcards
When/why are water shuttle operations used?
-to provide water supply to incident where relay pumping is not a viable option
-Based on distance of water supply, type of fire flow, and equipment
Most favorable aspect of water shuttle operation
ease with which it is terminated when the incident is concluded
Water Shuttle Apparatus Pumpers
fill site and dump site pumpers
- Most water shuttle requires two pumpers unless vacuum tanker or use of hydrant
- Fill site pumper- At water source and fills empty tenders
- Dump site pumper- Located at fire scene and is used to draft water from portable water tanks filled by water tenders
-May also operate as attack pumper or relay water to attack pumper - Water tenders must fill at rate of 1,000 gpm
- Must be equipped with hard intake hose and strainers
Water Tenders
- Capacity based on local water supply and road conditions
- Vehicle weight limit single rear axle to max tank of 2,000 gallons
- Tandem rear axle, tri-axle, or semitrailer carry 2,000 gallons or larger
- Tenders with 750 gpm or larger fire pump are called pumper-tenders
- Vacuum tender:
-improve water shuttle efficiency
-is able to self-fill from static source at a rate up to 2,000 gpm with a lift up to 22 feet and discharge rate up to 1,750 gpm - May be designed where tanks fill from the top
-Top tank inlets should be placed so hose may be connected easily from ground - Using medium diameter hose should have at least two external fill connections
- LDH uses 1 but is difficult to move when charged
- Multiple dump valves help improve efficiency and safety
- Front dump valves may not meet the 1,000 gpm flow requirement
- Efficient filling and dumping achieve faster operation
- Two primary discharge gravity and jet-assisted dumps
- Gravity Dump- Gravity is used to empty water from tank with an 8-inch or larger round or square piping with a valve that extends to exterior of vehicle
-Manual operation from discharge location (side or rear of apparatus)
-or operated from cab, or both (increases safety) - Jet-assisted Dump- Employ use of small diameter in line discharge that is inserted into the piping of large tank discharge
-Creates venturi effect
-Operational issues:
1. must have fire pump
2. pump must be engaged, adding time
3. w/o engaging pump, lower rate than gravity dump
4. high velocity, may miss portable tank and strike people
5. may freeze
water shuttle variables that can be controlled:
- filling and dump times
- success depends on it’s efficiency
Jet-assisted dump operational issues
- must have fire pump
- pump must be engaged, adding time
- w/o engaging pump, lower rate than gravity dump
- high velocity, may miss portable tank and strike people
- may freeze
Decisions When Setting Up a Water Shuttle
-Location of dump site
-Location of fill site
-Route of travel
-Number of vehicles necessary
Selecting the Dump Site Location
-Location of dump site must be in close proximity of incident
-Best location may be clear intersection where tenders can have a clear access
Selecting the Fill Site Location
-Most suitable site to meet safety and flow requirement of particular incident may not always be the closest site
-Best site are those where drive straight into site and drive straight out of site
-Large-scale water operations may require the use of multiple fill/dump sites
Selecting the Route of Travel
- May be most hazardous task for driver
- Selected based on safety and operational effectiveness
- Circular route is the optimum arrangement for a water shuttle circuit
-Fill tenders follow route while empty tenders follow different route
-Eliminates the need of tenders passing each other on narrow roads - If there is substantial hill or grade full tenders drive down hill and empty tenders drive up hill
Water Shuttle Route Safety Issues
- Narrow roads- Difficulty passing other vehicles, and rollovers
- Long Driveways- Require tight maneuvering, backing out
- Blind curves and intersections- Risk of entering path of oncoming vehicle
- Winding roads- Momentary lapse may cause collision with another vehicle or being driven off the road
- Steep grade- Uphill grades slow operation and increase wear on apparatus. Downhill requires constant attention of speed to maintain control
- Inclement Weather
- Freezing Water
Water Shuttles in the Incident Command System
-Adhere to National Incident Management System (NIMS)
-When water supply group is established person is charge is Water Supply Group supervisor
-Only one report up chain of command to operations chief or incident commander
-IC may establish water supply branch
-Water Supply Group Supervisor appoint individuals for the fill and dump sites (Company Officer or Driver)
-Large-scale incidents may be necessary to establish two or more water shuttle operations
Positioning the Fill Site Pumper
-Positioning at the fill site must allow for drafting or hydrant connection and the best possible approach and departure route for water tender traffic
-Position fill site pumper to allow view of both water source and water tender
-Fill water tenders at rate of 1,000 gpm
-Hydrant driver must connect with all available hydrant discharges
-Static source position that requires a minimum lift to maximize flow
-High volume portable pumps to reach inaccessible water source
Fill Site Layout
-Position so that min amount of house is required
-Each tender has two 2 ½-inch direct tank fill connection or one LDH direct fill connection on the rear of apparatus
-Booster line should be flowed in view of driver to prevent loss of prime
-Balance distance with a position so tenders may enter and exit fill site without having to turn around or back up
-Place traffic cone or marker to denote the stopping point for water tender
-When using LDH only one line is generally required
-If an inline gate valve is not available for this hose it is possible to place LDH manifold between the last two sections of hose to act as a valve
-Medium diameter hose requires multiple hoses to be used to fill apparatus
Top Fill Method
- One method: permanent or portable overhead pipes at a static water supply source
-A pumper discharges water through small diameter hose into an inline water siphon that is outside the fill pipe, which results in adequate flow rate through fill pipe
-Used when there is no other way of filling than through the top - Another method: portable or permanent manifolds
-Manifold is located adjacent to water source and fed by the fill pumper
Operating the Fill Site
- Fill site pumper remains in pump with waste line flowing to prevent loss of prime
- Make and break personnel- Responsible to make the fill connections when tender arrives and disconnect when full
-Driver should remain in cab when filling - If space allows a second set of fill lines may be established from fill site pumper
-2nd tender can be positioned and connected while 1st is filling - Hand signals by one individual should be used when area is clear to allow next tender to fill
Shutting Down the Fill Site
-Tenders should fill tank before returning to quarters
-Only exception is if the fill site was being supplied by static source
3 Primary Methods for Operating a Dump Site
-Direct pumping operations
-Nurse tender operations
-Portable tank operations
Dump Site Operations:
Direct Pumping Operations
-Water tenders pump water from tank directly into pump intake of attack pumper
-First tender supplies attack pumper, second tender may connect to other inlet of the Siamese
-When first tender empty second tender automatically starts the feed to attack pumper without any delay
-Generally when a minimal volume of water is required
Dump Site Operations:
Nurse Tender Operations
-Involves positioning a large water tender immediately adjacent to the attack pumper serving same role as portable tank
-Advantage is tank is so large operation is usually over before need to refill
Dump Site Operations:
Portable Water Tank Operations
- Using one or more portable water tank located near the incident scene to eliminate the need for backing or turning around to manage dump site
- Dump site pumper- Deploys hard intake hose with low-level strainer
- Water tenders do not need fire pump as long as they have adequate size direct tank discharge valve (dump valve)
- Considered to be the simplest and quickest method
- Pumping through discharge is less efficient than using a dump valve
- Open Butt- End of charge hose line that is flowing water without nozzle, must be secured
- Tank Baffles- Reduces the surge effect in a partially loaded liquid tank
-Must have opening sufficient size to allow free movement of water
Dump Site Operations:
Single Portable Tank Operations
- Simple dump site may have one portable tank
- Operations that require low flow rates less than 300 gpm
- Portable tank- Collapsible storage tank that holds water
-Most common style of portable tank is folding type
-Other style may require framework to be assembled at the scene - Frameless tank must be set up on a level surface to hold maximum capacity
- Must have a capacity of at least 500 gallons larger than tank on apparatus supplying
- A dump site spotter or dump site officer guides tender into position
- When finished unloading, the first tender should proceed back to fill site
- If space available in the portable tank, the next tender may begin to dump its water until the portable tank is full
- Use low level strainer for drafting to a point of about 2 inches
Dump Site Operations:
Multiple Portable Tank Operations
- Incidents that require flow rate greater then 300 gpm
- Most multi-tank operations use 2-5 tanks
- Keep tank full on attack pumper drafting from
- Each tank must be positioned so that water may be transferred from one tank to another tank
- Portable tanks can be connected at their drain opening
- Jet siphon:
-attached to section of hard intake hose or piece of PVC
-Most efficient way to move water between portable tanks
-Has an inlet for a 1 ½-inch or larger hos line
-End of jet siphon is placed into tank from which water is transferred
-For operations that require more than 3 tanks and a jet siphons and flow over 500 gpm parallel jet siphons should be used
Evaluating Tender Performances
Factors
- Complete round trip determines flow rate of water shuttle under realistic conditions
- Factors:
-Loading/Unloading Time
-Drive-train capabilities
-Tank size
-Availability of personnel to operate the apparatus
-Vehicles ability to traverse local roads and bridges
Actual Field Test Conducted Under Realistic Water Shuttle Condition
Formula
Complete round trip determines flow rate of water shuttle under realistic conditions
-Tender is parked ready to dump load into portable tank
-Start clock when the dump valve is open
-Keep running as tender dumps, leaves site refills and returns
-Stop clock when dump valve is in position to dump load
Flow= (0.9 x Tank Size)/Trip time
What is flow rate for 3,000-gallon tender that makes round trip in 12 min?
Flow= (0.9 x 3,000)/12= 225 gpm
Insurance Services Office (ISO) Method of Evaluating Water Tender Performance
Series of Formulas
Travel time and Handling time
Travel time(minutes)= 0.65+(1.7) (distance(miles))
Five-mile operation
Travel time= 0.65 + (1.7) (5) = 9.15 minutes
Handling time= fill site time+ dump site time
4,000-gallon tender fill/dump rate 2,000 gpm with 2 min travel time
Fill site time = (2 min + [4,000 2,000]) = 4 min
Dump site time = (2 min + [4,000 2,000]) = 4 min
Handling time = 4 min + 4 min= 8 min
