Quote:
Originally Posted by SIKSUKR
I have a question for PBFF.I happen to have a pond accross the street from my house.About 10 years ago a hydrant/pipe was installed to draw water from the pond.Is something like this feasible for a lakeside home for more protection.I'm sure there are limitations but my question is how high can trucks pull water up from a source?
|
Typical fire hydrants drain down to the water main to prevent freezing above ground. These are the hydrants we see along the roads. You may be describing what's called a dry hydrant or what us city boys call a standpipe. You will see these dry pipes on the grounds of most buildings that have a sprinkler system. In those cases we pump water INTO the pipe to feed the system. In a pond, obviously, the pipe is used to draw or draft water from the source.
If that's what is across from your house, it's plenty of water for a single house fire. If there is elevation from the pipe to your house your local fire department should know whether they need to park a pump at the hydrant, pump the pond, then relay pump to the truck higher up the grade. I would guess that's the protocol for rural departments that use hydrants like this.
Hopefully this pipe is tested at least annually and shoveled during the winter.
I posted a picture of what I think you mean.
I would not want to be in a place like the incident in Tuftonboro. If, as said before, the closest hydrant is a mile or even a quarter mile from the house, you have almost no chance of knocking down a house fire. It just takes too much time to lay hose, relay pump, etc. The Tuftonboro response took 13 minutes on a dry, snowless night. They used 1,000 gallons (probably their tank water) and got no advance. 1,000 gallons is about 5 minutes of water, tops. Any house with a water source that far away is an accident waiting to happen. I'd have plenty of smoke detectors if I lived in that situation.
I have an aerator that keeps ice away from my docks. I wondered if homes along the lake with no hydrants used these bubblers to keep an open access of water in case of a fire. That would only work if the home owner informed the department and the dispatchers notified responding companies of this option to draft instead of looking for a different water source.
It's a whole different ball game up here from what I'm used to.
Hope that answers your question.