2022 ANNUAL REPORT-Final

37

EMERGENCY SERVICES

Frederick County Fire and Rescue Rural Water Supply Efforts

Many areas throughout Frederick County have fire hydrants hooked to the municipal water systems to support firefighting efforts; however, many do not. Typically, the absence of fire hydrants is located in the more rural regions of the County. Our firefighting tactics need to be adaptive and dynamic to handle both situations. Areas, where we provide fire protection not supplied with fire hydrants, are considered to be rural water supply operations. What is the difference in rural water supply operations? The primary initial water supply we utilize in these operations is carried on large water capacity apparatus called ‘Tankers’. Locations without fire hydrants have been pre- determined and warrant the automatic dispatch of these ‘Tankers’ which usually carry 3,000 gallons or more of water compared to a normal fire engine which carries only around 1,000 gallons of water. Our initial firefighting efforts are supplemented by these tankers until we transition to a more formalized water source. These water sources could include but are not limited to ponds, rivers, streams, dry hydrants, or regular fire hydrants in relative proximity. What is the difference between a regular fire hydrant I see along the street or a dry fire hydrant? Regular fire hydrants are connected to the municipal water system and have water in them at all times in some capacity which usually resides below the grounds frost line. Once these fire hydrants are opened, they receive a continuous water supply of various pressures from the municipal water supply. A dry fire hydrant is a non-pressurized pipe system permanently installed in water sources such as ponds, rivers, or streams that permits the withdrawal of water by drafting from a fire truck to provide a reliable water source for fire suppression close to the incident scene. In 2022, Frederick County Fire and Rescue spent many hours strengthening the ability to provide water to rural areas of the County for fire suppression efforts. These efforts include planning for the future installation of 30,000- gallon cisterns, installation of a new dry-hydrant in the Wolfsville area, repairs to several dry-hydrants that were rendered inoperable, and two regional multi-company water supply drills in the Thurmont area. Our response policy was revised to improve rural water supply operations to meet industry standards and best practices. Funding was approved in FY2023 through the Capital Improvement Projects budget to allow for improvement to our rural water infrastructure and equipment. Allocated funding will be used for the bi-annual installation of a 30,000-gallon cistern in remote areas, installation of additional dry hydrants, continual maintenance of current dry hydrants, as well as additional equipment to improve our effectiveness in tanker shuttle operations. Frederick County Fire and Rescue’s mission regarding rural water supply operations is to provide rapid, efficient, expandable, and uninterrupted water supply to the non-hydrant areas of Frederick County, Maryland.