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Rural Fire Protection |
Dry Hydrants, What are they?
A Dry Hydrant is a non-pressurized pipe system permanently installed in an existing surface water source to provide a readily available supply of water to a pumper truck. This allows natural, untreated water supplies to be used for fire protection.
Why Dry Hydrants?
| In many rural areas, a lack of water mains and domestic fire hydrants can impair a fire department's ability to do its job quickly and efficiently. Tanker trucks must be used to carry large amounts of water to the fire scene from "fill up" points around the county. Unfortunately, in many cases, the fill-up points are often a long distance from the fire, and fire fighters cannot maintain an uninterrupted water supply. The installation of a pipe system into ponds, lakes, or streams provides a ready supply of water to tank trucks. As illustrated, one end of the dry hydrant sticks out of the ground to give tankers a hose connection, and the other end is a strainer submerged in the pond, lake or stream to draw water directly through the system. |
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Armed with a water supply on wheels, and dry hydrants for a water source, fire departments throughout rural America are becoming part of what will be recognized as a "New Breed". Automatic aid and new time saving techniques in operating a water shuttle, are solving the age old problem of water supply. |
Planning for
A well planned and designed dry hydrant water delivery
system can improve fire fighting capability of rural fire departments, save fuel, and reduce cost of operations.
Without the ability to deliver large volumes of water to the fire scene, even the best fire departments are hampered trying
to prevent loss of property and lives.
Dry hydrants enable a pumper to draft water from established surface water sources such as
lakes, ponds or streams to be pumped or shuttled to a fire scene.
Such water should be a minimum of 12 feet deep and have a minimum surface area of one-half
acre. The site should be a maximum of five miles from an existing, improved water source such as
a water-fill station or an existing dry hydrant.
Accessibility is another important factor. Is the site close to
a hard surface, all weather road? Other factors taken into consideration are special need areas such as population
clusters or isolated schools with no improved water sources in close proximity.
Dry fire hydrant systems insure an adequate water supply in
areas where conventional fire protection is not available. Energy is conserved by using raw surface water instead of
treated drinking water. Time and energy are saved by reducing travel distance for shuttling water.
In addition, adequate supplies can reduce fire losses, save lives, and result in lower insurance
cost. Improved fire protection can stimulate economic growth by making an area more attractive to
homeowners and developers.
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BENEFITS OF DRY HYDRANTS: |
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Latest Revision: Wednesday September 23, 2009 09:56:10 AM
IMPROVES FIRE PROTECTION