Carl J. Haddon

Now that the seemingly endless snows of winter have ended, it appears that spring may have actually sprung. With the spring thaw comes runoff. With runoff comes a rise in creek, river, and lake levels.

Often the aforementioned are accompanied by flooding, which in many areas of the country (including my own) causes tones to drop for water rescue calls. As many of us know, moving water is a force of nature that rarely loses its battles.

I am still amazed by the number of firefighters I meet around the country who do not know how to swim. The ability to swim is rarely a condition of hire for a fire department. I am also astounded at the number of fire departments I encounter around the country that do not carry life jackets or personal flotation devices (PFDs) as part of their personal protective equipment (PPE) cadre. Many of us still rely on the ability to draft water for firefighting purposes. Whether we are drafting water from a pond, a lake, a creek, a river, or even a swimming pool, shouldn't we have some sort of PFD to help prevent the unthinkable should we accidently fall in, especially if we are in turnout gear?

Do you know what the average depth of running water needs to be for it to be able to wash your vehicle away and carry it downstream? The answer is 12 inches. Did you know that it takes less than 12 inches of running water to sweep you off of your feet and carry you downstream? I know this from personal experience, as I almost drowned on a call in 18 inches of cold rushing Rocky Mountain creek water some years ago. At the time, I didn't think a life jacket was called for. I do now.

TYPES OF LIFE JACKETS

When you think of a life jacket or PFD, you picture an orange inflatable jacket with white straps that you are required to wear when you rent a fishing boat or that sits beneath the seats of the harbor cruise boats when you are on vacation. Yes, those are typically U.S. Coast Guard-approved Type II Square Top Yoke standard duty life jackets. Are these life jackets good enough for use by on-duty rescue or emergency services personnel? No, they are not.

The U.S. Coast Guard recognizes four classifications of PFDs:

• Type II: described above.
• Type III: typically worn by water skiers, personal water craft pilots and passengers, and for paddle sports such as canoeing.
• Type IV: throwable, such as handled seat cushions.
• Type V: designed and rated for swiftwater and whitewater activities; also the classification for life jackets designed for swiftwater rescue work. They typically come with a number of features not found in recreational life jackets. Some of these features include a place to affix a blunt tipped rescue knife, zippered pockets for essential gear, and an emergency whistle. Some of the newer, better models include an integral web belt strap with a heavy duty D-ring on the back for tying rescuers off to rescue lines. These straps/belts always include a quick-release, high-strength buckle that allows rescuers to activate and jettison the connection should they become entangled or otherwise need to immediately disconnect from the rescue line in an emergency situation.

Do you know what type of PFDs you have in your department? I ask for the obvious reason but also because I recently came upon some new whitewater rescue kits (donated to our team by local la

By Alan M. Petrillo

Tankers (tenders) are quickly taking on additional roles in fire operations, many of them being not only capable of supplying and shuttling large quantities of water, but also serving in the roles of pumpers and rescues.

Manufacturers report they are building more tankers that can be classified as multipurpose vehicles, and departments are using these multirole tankers to handle situations traditionally dealt with by other types of apparatus.

Increased Pump Sizes

Ken Sebo, pumper product manager for Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says in his 26 years with Pierce he's seen tankers evolve from vehicles for shuttling water-featuring large tanks, small pumps, and low side compartments-to rigs carrying similar-sized water tanks but much larger pumps, hand-line crosslays, hydraulic ladder racks, hydraulic folding tank racks, and high side compartment space that might include hydraulic rescue gear.

"We are seeing pump sizes of 1,500 to 2,000 gallons per minute (gpm)," Sebo says, "and they are going on both single-axle and tandem-axle tankers. The pump house on a tanker is getting to be the same as on a pumper, and now we are putting foam systems on about 75 percent of the tankers we build, with many of them being our Husky 12 foam system for Class A and B foams."

Ryan Slane, product manager for the pumper-tanker group at KME, agrees with Sebo's assessment of the increase in pump sizes on tankers. "The old-school tanker usually had a 500- or 750-gpm pump on it, usually to move water," Slane says, "but with the larger pump sizes of 1,500 gpm to 2,000 gpm, the tanker can take on the role of a pumper if the pumper is out of service. Essentially, a tanker outfitted like that would be a sort of reserve pumper, complete with all the preconnects on a traditional pumper."

The Waunakee (WI) Fire Department went to Pierce Manufacturing for this dry-side pumper-tanker on an International Navistar chassis, carrying a 500-gpm Waterous power takeoff pump and 1,800 gallons of water. The vehicle also has low crosslays, a Husky 12 foam system, and a Hercules CAFS. (Photo courtesy of Pierce Manufacturing Inc.)

The Ocean City (MD) Fire Department recently had KME build a pumper-tanker that would complement its four KME pumpers. Chris M. Shaffer, assistant chief of the career division at Ocean City, says the pumper-tanker carries 2,500 gallons of water, 25 gallons of Class A foam, 100 gallons of Class B foam, a Waterous Advantus 6 foam system, and a 2,000-gpm pump. Shaffer says the department replaced a 1985 pumper with a 750-gallon water tank and a refurbished 2,650-gallon tanker with the new KME pumper-tanker.

"We wanted more water but the same pump module and cab configuration as on our pumpers," Shaffer says. "So the pumper-tanker has five discharges in the hosebed with 200 feet of 2½-inch hose, 150 feet of two-inch, 200 feet of 2½-inch preconnected, and two preconnected 1¾-inch hoselines of 200 feet each."

Shaffer adds that the pumper-tanker carries 1,800 feet of five-inch large-diameter hose (LDH) in its low hosebed-68 inches off the ground-which