District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (DNVFRS) continually assesses and enhances its capabilities to fight fires in remote communities and residential neighbourhoods within the Wildland Urban Interface the areas where homes meet the forest.
When considering the potential need to transport large volumes of water to locations in the District where fire hydrants or other water sources are not readily available, DNVFRS Assistant Chief Scott Ferguson recently devised an innovative solution.
He knew that the DNV Streets Department had large brining tanks mounted on its Snow Command fleet, which were used to combat snow and ice during the winter. Since these tanks sit idle during the summer months, Ferguson wondered if they could be repurposed to carry water during wildfire season.
"This option hasn't been used by us or, to my knowledge, by any other fire department," said Ferguson. "It's a bit of outside-the-box thinking and an attempt to be fiscally responsible by utilizing resources we already own."
Piloting the concept
After discussing the idea with DNVFRS, members of the Streets Department retrofitted the brine tanks to serve as water supply sources.
On July 22, members from DNVFRS and Streets teamed up for a pilot project to test the idea for quickly transporting hundreds of gallons of water to fight fires.
At the new Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre training area, a Snow Command truck equipped with a brining tank pumped water into a pair of pillow-shaped portable water tanks commonly referred to as "bladders."
Wildland 1, the department's new rugged, four-wheel-drive vehicle designed for off-road and wildland-urban interface fire response, then drew water from the tanks and discharged it through its water cannon.
"It was a success," Ferguson said. "Using the brining tanks can be a viable solution for getting the water we need to quickly respond to wildfires."
Find out more about how DNVFR stays wildfire-ready