PCFD Start Pump Training

[Tim_w]

Hello Everyone  ,

I think you all know by now that Bill and some of his men from the PCFD are here in England for specialist training. Aside from this they are going to be allocated places on working crews and will be expected to turn out to emergency call's. Before we can let them loose they have to be taught how to use our equipment.
One of the biggest differences on our engines is the pump bay's. All of our frontline appliances have water tanks, pumps and rear mounted pump bay's. The pump pumps the water from the tank, hydrant or other water source through the hoses and out onto the fire through the jet. The pump bay is the buisness end of things. It is where all the controls to operate the pump and connections for the hoses are mounted. It is the job of the driver to operate the pump but all of Bill's men will have to learn how it works. And that is where the our first training lesson starts.

Bill and his men gather round ready to start training. It was a very cold morning and no-one was looking forward to getting wet


Ted the driver of the appliance starts his lesson with the help of Tom one of our fire fighters


PCFD's fire fighters are extremly professional and listen intently as the lesson unfolds.


A close up of the pump bay showing the different controls and the various bits of pipe work.

[Tim_w]

While i strive to make this as factually correct as possible there will be errors . I have compiled this to the best of my limited knowledge on fire appliance pumps. I apologise in advance if there are any mistakes.

This is the radio telephone. The driver can use this to keep radio communications open while operating the pump and away from the cab


This is the hydrant pick up. Running a length of hose from the fire hydrant to this pipe will allow water to enter the appliance. It can be used to provide water to the tank or through lengths of hose using hydrant pressure alone to 'push' the water through the hose. It is a safer option than using the pump to do the work (more on this later).


This is a delivery. There are 4 delivery's running across the top of the pump. These are the pipes that the fire fighters connect their hoses to, so that water can be 'delivered' to the fire through lengths of hose. Each delivery has a pressure gauge so that the water pressure can be controlled by the driver. There is also a tap on each one so that the water flow can be stopped and started when needed.


This is the business end of the pump and is called a collector head. You can attach a hose to this and actually 'pump' water using the pump to provide positive or negative pressure. In other words it will either suck water up or pump water out. You can use the collector head to take water from a hydrant and in turn pump it through a fire fighters hose at a higher rate of pressure. Doing this is more risky than using water pressure alone as the pressure can be varied to a greater degree. (More on this later)

[Tim_w]

Ted instructs Tom to start the fire appliances engine which will power the pump and asks him to fetch a length of hose on his way back.




Once Tom returns with the hose Ted tells him to go and connect it to the hydrant and wait there ready to turn it on.


Ted reels the hose back towards the appliance while Sub Officer Wright helps out preparing another length of hose.


Ted connects the hydrant to the pick up and then connects a length of hose to the delivery.




Sub Officer Wright attaches a branch to the end of the hose. The branch is used  to produce different water patterns from a jet to a fine spray. I guess the only way to describe it in simple terms is that it produces a similar effect to a shower head or nozzle on a garden hose .

[Tim_w]

Ted shouts over to Tom to turn the Hydrant on and gets ready to turn the tap on so water will flow down the hose.




With the tap on and the hose fully 'charged' with water Sub Officer Wright opens the lever on the branch and water is released from the end.

[Tim_w]

"OK Lad's, its as simple as that. Now do you have any questions ?"


To which Axe the 'joker' of the group replies. "Yes Sir When do I get to drive it?"


The rest of the group burst out laughing.

[Tim_w]

Ted decides to show the PCFD fire fighters a 'trick of the trade' before everyone goes in for dinner and well deserved cup of tea. This time we are going to do the same thing but instead of using the hydrant pressure we will be using the collector head and pump pressure to controll the water through the hose. Its a risky process but gives the pump operator greater controll over the water pressure. The men gather round and listen intently.




Ted attatches a hose to the collector head and starts to issue instructions to the PCFD fire fighters.


"Ok Axe grab hold of that hose and attatch it to the delivery. Your going to be doing the work on this one seeing as you want to be driver "


Two PCFD men attatch a jet onto the end of the hose. This is used to produce a powerfull jet of water and unlike the branch has no other settings.


One of the PCFD fire fighters is instructed to turn on the hydrant


The tricky part is controlling the speed of the pump with the throttle. This throttle actually controll's the fire appliances engine which is in neutral gear but running the pump through a power take off. The more throttle the faster the pump turns and the pressure increases. Too much power, too much pressure and you can blow the men across the yard. This is why its such a risky process. There are still some drivers who prefer to use this method because it gives greater controll over the water pressure helping the fire fighters at the end of the hose.

[Tim_w]

Two PCFD fire fighters brace themselves as the water is released and Axe increases the pressure using the throttle


It seems as though Axe is a dab hand and manages to controll the pressure really well. Maybe the promise of being able to drive the appliance is focussing his mind on the task at hand

[Tim_w]

Ted de-briefs the men and tells them all how proud he is of them. They have passed their first training session with flying colours.


"Thank you Gordon, lets go and grab that cup of tea, I think you have earned it!"

[Tim_w]

Thank you very much for taking the time to look at the pictures. There will be more story's taken from PCFD's adventures in England soon .

Merry Christmas, Tim 

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hi Tim  ! Another EXCELLENT episode  ! The jokes you've put in the story are great  ! I am truly enjoying this series of photo stories, because I actually feel as if I'm in England, & find myself constantly looking to see what's going to happen next  ! Tell Playmofire that the pictures of the apparatus are "spot on" ! I'm really impressed with your appliances rear custom pump panel detail, it's EXCELLENT  !

Merry Christmas to you Tim  !