Fire pump/hose to protect rural shop

[user.69169]

This here thread begins,

"I live in a rural area surrounded by wheat fields and I'm a part-time helicopter mechanic in my shop 200' from my house. My neighbor's shop just burned to the ground due to no firefighting capabilities and I am very concerned the same thing could happen to me-that'd be a very expensive problem. I have a private well with 4,000 gal holding tanks. I'd like to install some sort of electric fire pump with about 200' of fire hose so I could hopefully save my shop in the event of a fire."


So let me see here, fellow posts how he lives in a rural area and his place is surrounded by wheatfields, pretty much a brush fire waiting to come along, and has himself 4000 gallons of water to work with and wants to set himself up for fire protection.

You might just take note he doesn't say one thing about the fire he's looking to fight, but I drew the presumption he thinks them wheat fields just might bring that fire. Then I posted how 4000 gallons wasn't enogh to get the job done, but he just might be able to help himself considerable by having Barricade Gel available. I even took the time to point out how one man with 200 feet of hose wasn't going to be much of a firefighting operation.

Next thing I know people are jumping up and down accusing me of selling something, and another guy is yapping away about how you can put out a trash can fire with a 21/2 gallon extinguisher, and somebody else gets his mouth in motion about where I got my firefighting training. If that don't just beat all! I'll tell you where I learnd to fight fires, I learned from the Gulf Oil Company. You think they just might know a thing or 3 about fires and how to fight them or let them burn themselves out?

Then somebody jumps up with "which is why they dont sell ANY fire extinguishers that only work for a few seconds and they NEVER succeed in putting out fires".
Well there sonnybuck I'm not too sure where you learned manners, but you sure need to go back for some remedial work. I happen to have extinguishers in every room of my house, because that whole idea is based on hitting the fire fast as you see it and having to go from the bedroom to the kitchen to get the extinguisher and run back with it just might be the difference in time between that extinguisher doing the job and not. I drove a truck for years that had an extinguisher right there in the cab next to the seat, and I will guarantee yo or anybody else that extinguisher was good for one thing and one thing only, getting ol (removed)'s but out of that cab. After I got clear the extinguisher might or might not have put the fire out, but it sure as shooting wasn't going to stop much.

Dam I'm almost sorry I even wasted my time on this here post. The fellow who started it didn't even bother to say if he was looking to protect a wood building with a shingle roof from a fire coming across a wheat field or a building with a steel roof. The fellow who came up with sprinklers didn't even bother to factor in if freezing was a potential problem let alone how many gallons a minute a sprinkler throws out or the pressure necessary to make that sprinkler work. AND LETS NOT FORGET THE FELLOW WHO STARTED THIS HERE THREAD is planning on working alone dragging 200 feet of hose. Maybe he ought to just get himself one of them kid express wagons and sit a few fire extinguishers on it so he can run around the shed in circles squirting.

 

[marimus]

I'm not sure where (removed) is coming from, but it does sound like spam to me. He has a product to sell?

Standard attack on field fires is an "Indian" tank, a 5 gallon backpack tank with a hand operated pump. Been there, done that. A little water does an amazing job on a field fire. Many "grass fire" pumper trucks are nothing more than a 50 or 100 gallon tank with a pump and a garden hose on a reel.

Of course, it's prudent to keep the area around any buildings mowed if there is risk of a field fire.

Ken

I agree with this 100%
All the people saying 4000 gallons isn't going to do anything, well I don't know where they get that idea.

I have a 150 gallon tank that slips onto my truck. I have an ONGA Blazemaster pump powered by a Honda 5.5HP engine. I have two 100' 1" hoses. I generally start the pump and wind back the RPM. Using just one hose and the fire nozzle just barely on work along the firefront.

You can extinguish a fire burning along approx 1000' of dried grass thats around 1-1/2 to 2 feet high. Then your going to need more water.

I have a second no-name transfer pump with a Honda 5.5HP engine to refill with, I drop the pump at the nearest water source. It has a 3" suction hose and 3" output which fills my slipon tank in about 1 minute.

Then its back to the fire. 1 man do alot with a setup like this. All my neighbors have a similar setup. We can't rely on a "fire department" like an urban area, so we have to be the fire department

 

[DaveOmak]

Ken45101,
Pretty much rude comments about (removed).
I find his post very interesting and a wealth of
knowledge that was learned by doin'.
Dave

 

[charliepff]

I am late into this thread and not sure if was mentioned. We use class A foam most of our eqiupment. It makes the water absorb into the material and coat it better for quicker extinguishment and less chance of rekindle. You do not have to buy brand name class A foam though. Dawn dish detergant works as a great substitute for it. Sorry if this was mentioned already.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The best way to fight a fire is for it not to get started. Outfit your shop with a Class A fire resistive roof - either metal or 3-tab shingles. Then clean the gutters. Most buildings that burn down in wildfires have dirty gutters. The fire starts in the gutter, burns up under the eaves, and you lose the building.

Then buy yourself a big jug of glyphosate (roundup or generic) and kill all the vegetation around your building. In wheat country, 20 feet will be enough, but if you have brush or trees, give yourself a generous 50 feet of defensible space.

With a good fire break, you can protect the building with a squirt gun.

 

[RobertN]

The last couple posts mentioned good info.

- foam - We use foam on our engines. As mentioned, even Dawn dish soap works great. It breaks the surface tension, and lets the water actually absorb into the material(grass, wood ect).

- don't let it start - Defensible space, and a clean structure. Cant tell you how many properties there are in my area that are too dangerous to even approach during fires. Other things, like the clean gutters are a good start, as is keeping things like firewood stored away from the house.

 

[RobertN]

Good info on protecting your structure. Start by protecting your property before there is a fire

Wildfire is Coming. Is Your Home Ready? - Defensible Space

Wildfire is Coming. Is Your Home Ready? - Harden Your Home

 

[RobertN]

Standard attack here is with a Type-3, and a 1.5" line. 1" peanut lines are for mop-up and cleaning tools. We have "Indian tanks", but attack is with 1.5" lines.

Agree, you can stop a fire with less water, but "standard" is not typically local SOP's, not standard across the country, or other countries.

totally agree, the OP(a 1 post poster) should get training and know how to use the equipment he has. Otherwise, it may be a rescue in addition to a fire response.

I'm not sure where (removed) is coming from, but it does sound like spam to me. He has a product to sell?

Standard attack on field fires is an "Indian" tank, a 5 gallon backpack tank with a hand operated pump. Been there, done that. A little water does an amazing job on a field fire. Many "grass fire" pumper trucks are nothing more than a 50 or 100 gallon tank with a pump and a garden hose on a reel.

Of course, it's prudent to keep the area around any buildings mowed if there is risk of a field fire.

I'm not sure where he got his "fire training". An early attack will accomplish a lot more than a fire truck and crew can accomplish 20 minutes later. I've fought plenty of fires with less than 4000 gallons of water. I've even fought some where we only used a couple of gallons of water and one man on the hose. A good supply of water from a stationary fire pump is as good or better than a fire truck. I know some rural departments that make the initial response and attack with only a two man crew. I suspect some even do it with a one man crew

Of course it all depends on the particular situation. Some fires cannot be safely handled even with a 5 alarm response. But many can be handled with a fire extinguisher or a garden hose. Knowing what you are doing and what you can safely handle is wise, that's why I earlier recommended that the OP get some experience in a fire department training exercise.

Ken

 

[Cat_Driver]

http://www.kimtekresearch.com/pictures.shtml

Look at this all in one unit......
http://www.darley.com/pumps/pump-guide/fast-attacks/fast-attack-1.html

One thing a lot of peopel are leaving off. Fire retardat. If the shop is wood you could buy a couple three five gallon buckets of fire retadant and go crazy.

http://www.firefree.com/ff88.php

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but anyone that says 4000 gallons of water won't do anything - well nough saod about that.

FYI 4000 gallons is just about half of a swimming pool. Will 4000 gallons put out a forest fire, nope, will it put out a trash fire yep, is 4000 gallons better that NO THOUSAND gallons - YEP!

 

[Cat_Driver]

Put a set of forks on your trctor and this can go anywhere.