Dam Can Improve Drafting Source

Dam Can Improve Drafting Source

Salvage tarp and ladder make the dam.Place rocks on the downstream side to anchor the ladder.

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CHIEF

Finding a drafting source can be a problem in some rural areas. Suppose you have a creek with 2 to 3 inches of flowing water. It’s too shallow to draft, right? Not if you build a dam. And it doesn’t have to take too long.

Most engines carry the equipment needed as part of NFPA 1901 requirements: one 14-foot roof ladder and one standard salvage tarp. A folding ladder would be substituted for narrow creeks. The creek will usually supply the needed stones for anchoring.

You can easily collect about 9 inches of water in about five minutes if the creek has any flow to it at all. If you have practiced placement and planned your drafting sources, you can easily get more depth.

Be sure to take the stones for securing the downstream side of the portable dam from the area where the suction strainer will be placed. After we take these stones out, we place a large flat rock in the deepest spot and place the strainer on the rock so sand will not be sucked into the pump. Additional stones are piled along the upstream face of the unit to plug the water going under it. This slows the water considerably, thus increasing the depth in the pond.

We had about 12 inches of water after 15 minutes. We were drafting with a 1000-gpm pumper and supplying a ladder truck at a drill where the photos were taken. □ □

More stones placed on the upstream side keep water from flowing under the dam.

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