Closed Circuit Relay Pumping
Closed Circuit Relay Pumping
Today we were training with Fire and Rescue Lawson (P359 from memory) and Lawson RFB.
The objective was to supply water to P359 using two RFS Cat 1 tankers in closed relay mode and maintain water continuity. In real life this is what we would have to do if a Fire and Rescue pumper was attending a structure fire and was away from a hydrant supply.
The first exercise saw Lawson 01 at the hydrant delivering to Bullaburra 01 which was delivering to P259. As usual the first time did not go smoothly! We had a debrief and identified some of the issues.
Lawson 01 and Bullaburra 01 then changed positions and the second time worked like a charm!
We probably need to practice more! A valuable exercise and interaction!
WHAT IS CLOSED-CIRCUIT RELAY PUMPING?
Relay pumping is used when a source of water, a hydrant or a dam, is away from the incident. It consists of several pumps connected in series spaced at intervals between the water source and the incident.
In a closed-circuit relay, water is pumped from a hydrant or dam by the “supply” pump to the inlet of the next pump in the relay. Each pump is pushing water directly into the inlet of the next. This creates an uninterruptible water supply even if one pump fails.
