Some rural fire services explained
Posted Jul 1, 2010 By Eli El-Chantiry
Email
Print
Tweet This
Click to Enlarge
EMC News - My office frequently receives calls of concern that "fire lanes" to the river are blocked. The city has made significant investments to provide more efficient access to water supplies in the event of an emergency.
John Graydon, West Carleton EMC
The fourth annual Pakenham Fiddle & Stepdance Competition took place June 18-20. Two days of preliminary competitions were followed by a Stepdancing Finals Showcase event. The competition featured many participants and was hosted by the Pakenham Fiddle and Stepdance Association. Here, young Russell McMillan of Constance Bay kicks up his heels in competition.
Ever wonder what those blue pipes near lakes or rivers or blue boxes sticking out of the ground, both with hydrant signs, are?
These are used by the Ottawa Fire Services to refill their "Tankers" - fire truck that carry as much as 2,500 gallons of water, once they have emptied their load of water at a fire scene.
These reservoirs are called "Dry Hydrants". In other words, they are like hydrants you see in the city only they are not pressurized. They require a "Pumper" truck to suck water from them.
Some are pipes into the river and are classified as an unlimited water supply, and some are underground storage tanks that usually contain 10,000 gallons or more.
When a fire happens in and around rural communities these hydrants allow shorter turn-around times for tanker trucks to return to the fire scene in order to dump the water into awaiting portable tanks. If one of the hydrants is out of service or inaccessible due to weather etc. others will be accessed nearby.
The City of Ottawa, in cooperation with the Ottawa Fire Services, has been creating these sites across rural communities in order to better protect them.
As always, please contact me at any time:
Eli El-Chantiry
Proudly Serving West Carleton-March, Ward 5
5670 Carp Road, Kinburn, On K0A 2H0
www.Ward5Eli.com
Phone: 613-580-2475, Fax: 613-580-2515
Email: Eli.El-Chantiry@Ottawa.ca
blog comments powered by Disqus
