The Hudson River Hydrant

[x635 4,066]

Are there any fireboats on the Hudson in Westchester that are strong enough to feed a 5 inch supply line to units on land?????

[gpdexplorer 46]

I don't think Marine 5 can handle that kind of volume, but we have fed engines on the Tappan Zee Bridge with 2 1/2 inch line.

[Dondestro 9]

Although not in the hudson Brookfield,CT has a boat with a 1500 gpm pump on it. This boat is kept on candlewood lake

[Remember585 815]

Are there any fireboats on the Hudson in Westchester that are strong enough to feed a 5 inch supply line to units on land?????

We can "feed" a 5" line a "snack," but not a real "feed." At best we can move 250 GPM, but an upgrade is being explored.

[Danger 160]

Are there any fireboats on the Hudson in Westchester that are strong enough to feed a 5 inch supply line to units on land?????

I believe Hughsonville's new boat can up in Dutchess

[Tanker 10eng 140]

is there a reason why we may need to do this, where a engine couldn't ??? or it just for discussion sake...

[efdcapt115 1,511]

is there a reason why we may need to do this, where a engine couldn't ??? or it just for discussion sake...

On 9/11 in lower Manhattan the explosions and subsequent collapses of the WTC did major damage to, and disrupted the water supply of the hydrant system. One might think "how in the world could the greatest city in America ever possibly need to pump water from boats onto land, besides dock/ship, or waterfront structure fires?", yet Marine unit/s were employed to supply water quite a distance to be able to power master streams that began to tackle the aftermath of the collapses and the fires that burned for weeks/months.

Think about the possibilty of.....say an earthquake in lower Westchester that had the same effect on the Hudson River/Sound Shore communities' water supply systems, then think about the massive fire load and life hazard in these same communities and I'd say you'd have a pretty good reason to not only think about, but also pre-plan for, and be ready for such a contingency.

There may be many obstacles that prevent engine companies from directly pumping out of static water supplies, particularly in lower Westchester where this is not the normal SOP, and fireboats could be an absolute neccessity, as proven on 9/11.

(much of the information I learned about the immediate actions of the FDNY on 9/11 came from Dennis Smith's "Report from Ground Zero", and first-hand accounts of brothers who were there and survived one or both collapses.)

Edited August 9, 2009 by efdcapt115

[TAPSJ 30]

Also some places might not be able to get the Engine close enough or conditions might be really bad for the Engine to be on. Plus much easier to get a draft with it in the water then trying to get that draft up the hard suction line.

Thomas

[MJP399 4]

San Francisco uses Fire Boats to pump in case of natural disasters such as earthquakes. Taken from a web page that I found is one of their emergency action plans.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM

1906 EARTHQUAKE

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan...quake_4-12.html

Firefighters and police have also gotten extra training, thanks to money given for homeland security. Exercises like this mock bioterrorism attack are becoming frequent throughout the area.

But the fire department will need water. In 1906 the underground pipes broke. As a result, San Francisco pioneered an auxiliary water supply system, the only one in the nation that provides high pressure water separate from the drinking water supply for use against fires.

Assistant deputy chief Lorrie Kalos says the city also installed these pumps to suck salt water from the bay, in case freshwater mains break or there isn't enough fresh water.

Lorrie KalosLORRIE KALOS, Assistant deputy chief: We also have fire boats and we have portable hydrant systems that we can put into place so that we can bring water to where we need it.

Edited August 9, 2009 by MJP399

[Guest RAAEMT6785]

On 9/11 in lower Manhattan the explosions and subsequent collapses of the WTC

- Call me what you want and I could honestly care less, but I still think it wan an inside job.

Edited August 9, 2009 by RAAEMT6785

[mfc2257 464]

RAAEMT6785..... My post won't last long before it's pulled, but I'll call you a friggin jackass who by submitting a post like that, completely disrespects the individuals who died in that attack. You've got a lot of nerve. Was WTC's first attack an inside job? Maybe OK City was an inside job... Now that you mention it, I think Hurricane Katrina was an inside job too!

Not to mention the fact that you aren't smart enough to spell all the words in your post correctly.

You're pathetic!

Edited August 9, 2009 by mfc2257

[TAPSJ 30]

I have to agree my the souls rest in peace everyone that was lost that day, but please lets keep to the main reason of this topic. Which is Fire Boats at any emergancy pumping water to land. Please keep to it. This is a very good topic and could go far and we can all learn something on here. Please dont ruin it over saying a seriouslly stupid comment like that. Thank You.

Thomas

[ny10570 745]

Its not a mark of disrespect to those who gave their lives to question the story presented to us. Its sad to see conspiracy theorists grab at straws in the face of logical explanations and clear facts. Its scary to thing how vulnerable we were and still are to the evil people out there that want to do us harm. Its a lot like being scared of the dark. If you can identify something clear and tangible to blame for your fear then you can begin to wrap your mind around it. In this case its the government since they're this big ambiguous thing that becomes a convenient scapegoat.

This is also why all FDNY apparatus are carrying large diameter hard suction. Remember, its much easier to push water up hill than pull it. Unless you can get right on the water catastrophic failure of the water supply is going to need some outside the box options. There is the NJ super pumper system that I'm sure could be called in to Westchester, but wouldn't be available to use in the initial hours.

Edited August 9, 2009 by ny10570