Aggressive Water Supply Without Hydrants

This week, our guest is Assistant Chief Matthew Dhoore, Chief of Operations at the Clay Fire Territory in St. Joseph County, Indiana. That department is a Blue Card department that has large populated areas without the benefit of any municipal fire hydrants. That has prompted them to adopt an aggressive alternative water supply strategy

We talk through how to build sustained fireground water when there is no hydrant, the hydrant is too far away, or the municipal system cannot deliver what the fire demands. We share the tactics Clay Fire uses to forecast water early, run tanker shuttles safely, and keep command focused when water supply turns into its own incident.

• Clay Fire Territory’s mixed response area and why dense neighborhoods can still be non-hydranted
• Initial attack setup using high-capacity engines and “give me your water” nursing
• Porta-tank operations supported by wells and identified fill sites
• Why every department needs a water plan B even with hydrants
• Using command simulations to force water supply decisions and build habits
• Simple tanker shuttle math for estimating sustained flow and tanker needs
• Preplans for long lays, relay pumping and driveway access constraints
• Triggers for assigning a water supply officer and moving tanker traffic to a support channel
• Staging, dump site layout and safety practices to prevent bottlenecks and backing
• Tanker specifications that speed dumps and reduce staffing demands
• Hydrant assist valve (Humat) basics for uninterrupted water on long lays

Free downloads

Here is the water supply worksheet for incident commanders: https://bshifter.com/download/blue-card-command-worksheet-may-2024/

Sample Water Supply Strategy document: https://bshifter.com/download/water-supply-strategy-document/

Sample Water Source Guide: https://bshifter.com/download/water-source-guide/

Order the 3rd Edition of Fire Command here: https://bshifter.myshopify.com/products/new-fire-command-3rd-edition

For Waldorf University Blue Card credit and discounts: https://www.waldorf.edu/blue-card/



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