Taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather last week, firefighters from the West Grove Fire Company traveled to the old quarry in London Grove Township off of Lake Road to train on moving large volumes of water.

Because much of the WGFC's territory remains very rural, firefighters often face the dilemma of having a ready source of water at major fire scenes. Of course, fire hydrants address this issue, but many communities across the 70+ square miles of territory covered by the WGFC don't have fire hydrants. In those circumstances, water must be brought to the fire scene in tankers. Sometimes, the best source of water may be a pond, quarry, or stream which dictates that firefighters know how to draft water. And, at some fire scenes, portable tanks are set up so that tanker trucks can drop off 3000+ gallons at a time quickly -- fire engines then draft water from the portable tanks to supply the fire scene.

Drafting water involves using the suction power of the fire engine's pump to pull water from a source (like a pond or portable tank), and then pump that water for firefighting purposes. The special suction hoses and pump operating techniques for drafting are only utilized a few times per year, so getting hands on practice and training is crucial for fire engine operators. Access to the huge source of water at the quarry makes such training possible.

On Thursday, firefighters used Engine 22-1 to draft from the quarry. Once a draft supply of water is achieved, flowing water is important -- the very act of flowing water helps maintain the draft. Engine 22-1 was hooked to Ladder 22 to flow a high volume of water from the ladder truck's aerial ladder. Engine 22-1's truck-mounted deluge gun also flowed water, with operators maintaining high flows from both the deck gun and the Ladder truck while maintaining a reliable draft water supply.

Drafting water is an ages-old technique used by fire companies everywhere -- the concept is not new. Today's modern fire pumps and fire trucks and associated equipment can turn a pond into a source of thousands of gallons of water flow. All it takes is technique and time to practice and train.