Why do I see firefighters setting up a “portable swimming pool-like tank” and other fire engines putting water in the tank? Did the first fire engine not have water on it?
All of our fire engines have internal tanks that carry a minimum of 1,000 gallons of water. At larger fires, especially a fire involving a structure, it may require more water than the 1,000 gallons brought by the first engine. All of our fire engines carry a portable tank, capable of holding 2,100 gallons of additional water and each fire engine is capable of “drafting” (vacuuming) the water from the portable tank into their internal tank. The other fire engines will transfer their water from their internal tanks to the portable tank and proceed to a predesignated water refill point (this may be a fire hydrant, pond, boat ramp, etc.). This process is called a “water shuttle” and is used in areas of the county where there are no fire hydrants within 1,000 feet of the fire.
