rural water supply at prairie fire

All posts tagged rural water supply at prairie fire

North Dumfries Fire (Ontario) had their second large grass fire in less than a week.  This one on April 18, 2015 along West River Road in Brant County at 13:15. North Dumfries (Waterloo County) covers this area for the first hour under contract with Brant County. Approximately 25 acres of corn fields and heavy brush burned before the fire was contained, 2.5 hours after the initial dispatch.

North Dumfries responded with two pumpers, two tankers, and their rescue. Mutual aid was requested from within Waterloo County 10 minutes after arrival. New Dundee responded with a pumper and tanker, and Cambridge with their wildland 4×4. Additional mutual aid from Brant County saw St George respond with two tankers and a 6×6 brush unit from Paris.

This was the second large grass fire of the day for New Dundee, they had approximately 8-10 acres consumed an hour earlier. Box 690 Canteen responded to both of the these grass fires as well as a third  in Wellesley Township (Waterloo County) that was dispatched 15 minutes after this call. It was a very busy day in the area for grass fires. A large loom up was visible from this call. St George pumper and rescue were dispatched for a grass fire that spread to an abandoned house approximately five miles away. St George firefighters on the scene of the West River Road fire were picked up in a Gator and transported approximately a mile back to their tankers. At the same time a barn fire was dispatched near Cainsville, also in Brant County.

Gary Dinkel

Box 690

New Dundee Fire Department fire engine

New Dundee pumper. Gary Dinkel photo

fire department water tender dumping into a portable tank

North Dumfries Tank 2 and P4. Fire started behind the tanker, spread up the hill, and jumped across into a second corn field to the left of the trucks.. Gary Dinkel photo

huge field after grass fire

Gary Dinkel photo

fire department AWD ATV at brush fire

Gary Dinkel photo

fire department AWD ATV at brush fire

Gary Dinkel photo

fireman extinguishes brush fire

Gary Dinkel photo

huge field after grass fire

Gary Dinkel photo

huge field after grass fire

Moderate winds pushed the fire up into the heavy brush. Gary Dinkel photo

Cambridge (Ontario, Canada) Pump 5 was dispatched to 1498 Cheese Factory Road for a grass fire April 12, 2015 at 13:45. Cambridge covers this portion of North Dumfries Township (Waterloo County) for the first hour. P5 had smoke showing from the hall and requested their tanker to respond. P5 arrived on scene and reported a large field on fire and hundreds of large connected hale bales burning. They immediately requested a second tanker (North Dumfries) and an additional Cambridge crew to the scene (A1).

Cambridge firefighters worked to contain the fire which was spreading very quickly. North Dumfries responded with two pumpers and two 2,500-Imperial gallon tankers (3,000 US gallons). Once on scene they were tasked with assisting Cambridge firefighters in extinguishing the fast moving grass fire. An excavator was being used to create a fire break in the hay bales which were over 1,000 feet in length. Once the perimeter fires were knocked down, Cambridge picked up and returned to the station at 15:00.

Command requested crews respond from neighboring Brant County. St George firefighters responded with two 2,500-Imperial  gallon tankers and 10 firefighters. Water was shuttled from a hydrant in Cambridge approximately a mile and a half from the scene, and from a hydrant in St George approximately four miles away. The fire was declared out at 18:15.

Box 690 Canteen was on scene 4.5 hours to provide rehab.

 All photos by Gary Dinkel, Box 690 Canteen

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Grass fire extended up to forested area in left of shot. The blue pipe in the middle of the shot is a 24” high pressure gas line. Gary Dinkel photo

rural water supply operations in Canada

North Dumfries P4 setting up to take over from Cambridge P5. Gary Dinkel photo

rural water supply operations in Canada

Gary Dinkel photo

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Gary Dinkel photo

Canadian firemen work at grass fire

Gary Dinkel photo

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Gary Dinkel photo

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Gary Dinkel photo

Canadian fire department water tender

Gary Dinkel photo

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Gary Dinkel photo

hundreds off rolled hay bales burn in a field

Gary Dinkel photo

Canadian fire department water tender

Gary Dinkel photo

Montgomery County, NIST, Howard County, Carroll County, and Frederick County units responded to a 50+ acre brush and woods fire on Tuesday (3/31/15) near Damascus Road in Laytonsville, MD.  Wind hampered initial efforts to contain the blaze, but firefighters worked hard to gain control and surround the fire preventing it from spreading further.  Multiple brush trucks, engine tankers, large capacity tankers, and assorted other apparatus including forestry trucks and tractors worked in tandem on the scene.  Company 717 (Laytonsville) worked all of their first line units on the fireground.  Fill & dump sites for tankers were established and the brush units filled up at these water supply areas, and then proceeded into the fire zone.

Here are some photos I took from the Halterman Road water supply zone, established in a neighboring farm/cornfield, adjacent to the fire zone.

More photos can be viewed on my Flickr site:

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Trevor James

fire departments battle prairie fire

Trevor James photo

fire departmetn brush truck

Trevor James photo

fire department water tender dumping water into a portable tank

Trevor James photo

firemen add water to a fire departmetn brush truck

Trevor James photo

fire engine drafting from portable tank

Trevor James photo

fire departmetn brush truck

Trevor James photo