Floating pumps (split from SACFS future ideas)

[mattb]

I will start, please try to follow this kind of format.

Idea: All off road fire appliances not directly supported by a tanker or larger appliance be fitted with a floating axillary pump. (I.e. 24&34 appliances and up)

Reasons:

• With the current drought, us firefighters are finding it much harder to find decent water sources to draught from.
• Floating pumps can be much simpler to set up and use as a water source and from what i have seen are much more reliable than trying to maintain suction on a 20+ year appliance.
• It would be much easier for irregular members to remember how to use a stand alone floating pump that to deal with some of the potential woes of draughting.
• if a truck is ever trapped with no support in an area with a suitable water supply, and the main pump fails, they will at least have some water to protect them selves with.

Approx Cost: Around $1000-3000 per appliance. Depending on quality.

Possible negative effects:

• Loss of storage space.
• The requirement for more training of members

EDIT: Cost as per matt's post

Good idea Pix, Floto pumps do certainly have a place in our service, especially given the difficulty we have in finding water these days. We have a number of areas in our own group where you can no longer get physically close enough with an appliance to draught from, you could however use a Floto pump and still get water.

Approx Cost: Around $500-1000 per appliance.

For info the one we purchased was closer to $3000

[EDIT:  quoted Pixie's post so this thread would make sense..]

[Alan J]

Agreed.  We carry a little petrol pump on both our appliances.
Is frequently used. Frees us from being tied to a tanker - we
get water as & when we need it. One night in Onka Gorge, our
little pump kept 5 appliances on the ground mopping up. Saved
a heap of time & effort repeatedly making up & trekking out to
the tanker.  Similar story at Mt Bold - kept us operational for
several hours without tanker support.  So convenient that we
rarely bother draughting directly with the appliance.