USING A TENDER-ENGINE

In a wildland response where a crew has responded with a tender-engine (e.g., E642) there may not be a type-1 engine equipped with hard suction hose that is not already committed at the fire scene. Therefore the tender-engine will have to be utilized as the drafting engine. Since this engine does not have a front suction hookup and uses older style rigid suction hose, setting up a draft is more problematic.   4½ INCH HOOKUP PROCEDURE Spot the apparatus correctly The engine must pull alongside about 8 feet from the hydrant. At the Sleepy Hollow Reservoir, this requires pulling inside the access gate. The engine should be parked with the expectation of making final adjustments to its position after the hose is laid out. Remove the 3" hard suction Remove the 3" hard suction which is stored inside the 4½" hard suction. Remove the 4½" hard suction Remove one length of 4½" hard suction, a LDH double female adapter, rubber mallet and spanner. Hook one end to the engine Hook the female end to the engine's Keystone valve. Be careful as there is virtually no clearance between the valve ratchet and the ears on the hard suction coupling which can catch your fingers. Tighten the coupling with a mallet and make sure that there is room for the Keystone valve to operate. Hook the other end to the hydrant Connect the LDH double female to the hydrant. Position the hose to couple it to the hydrant. Direct the engineer to move forward or backward slowly in order to align the end of the hose to the double female adapter. Two people will be required to handle and couple the hose as it takes some muscle to bend it into position. Tighten the adapter ears with the mallet. Prepare to pump Open the hydrant and Keystone valve fully. Close all drains and the tank to pump lines. Purge the air from the line and pump using the primer. There will be trapped air in the suction hose so the pump may appear to have taken prime a couple of times before all air is expelled. Circulate water using the tank fill valve until ready to discharge into the supply line to the fire. During trials we were able to reach 1000 GPM with this layout. Continue to Making a 3 Inch Hookup Return to Part 1 Return to Water Supply Index Back to Information Section