Why call it a wetdown when no water allowed

[trauma74 111]

Up here in Orange County you will now hear many departments calling Fire Control and saying "Units out of service to a drill in (insert town name here)". That way they have the event covered in case of any firefighter injuries.

I have been to wet downs where things got out of control and people got hurt. It takes all the fun out of the day when you get hurt.

I like when a bunch of departments all show at once for a wet down. Last year for our new Ladder Truck (T-917) we had a big wetdown at Station 1. I think 11 or 12 FDs all showed at the same time. They hit hydrants and used tankers. There was water flowing everywhere. It was an awesome site to see. It was one of the biggest wetdowns that I have seen in my 16 years as a member here in Chester FD. Everyone followed the rules and used low PSI and fog streams. Nobody got injured or anything. Everyone had a great time.

[AndyC3J 190]

The only thing I don't like about wetdowns for aerials is that more often than not, the unit is all jacked up on outriggers with the stick way up in the air, so you have to get there 2 hours early, or more, to get a decent pic of it (or stay until the end, which isn't good if it's in the late afternoon/evening).

[mlcougar2001 8]

I my Wet down for Eng 61 Port Chester we had water flowing and the trucks were parked outside and we ended up having a water fight and everyone outside got soaked... We geared up and battle against an out of town Eng. i forgot which one. It was a good time and it made it a memorable experience and I hope I am here for the next Eng 61 wetdown like 30years from now...