Kathleen Snodgrass Project Leader
Many locations across the Forest Service fill fire tankers and engines using equipment, such as fire hydrants, that could contaminate drinking water. This practice exists because practical, code-compliant plans have not been easily accessible when a water tanker fill station was needed. In addition, an air gap mechanism that would handle the required flow without splashing and drenching the employees responsible for filling the tanker has not been available commercially and had to be developed (figure 1).
Water tanker fill station standard drawings are now available on the Forest Service internal Web network. These drawings should meet the needs of any water tanker fill location and eliminate the possibility of contaminating drinking water.
Highlights....
- Forest Service fire engines and tankers are often filled by using fire hydrants and other devices that don't protect drinking water supplies from contamination.
- Standard drawings for water tanker fill stations are now available.
- The drawings include pressure and air gap-type fill stations and options to suit almost any location.
Figure 1—Testing the air gap prototype. The prototype,
built by
mechanical engineering technicians at the
Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC),
produces no splash while operating.
The standard drawings include pressure- and air gaptype fill stations (figures 2 and 3) that prevent backflow and potential contamination of the potable water supply. Both fill stations can be used with either a steel or wood support structure and either a camlock quick disconnect or a pipe clamp connection between the tower and the fill hose. The steel structure has an optional swivel that allows the fill arm to swing away from the fill location when not in use. The air gaptype fill station can be constructed with either a self-draining blowoff or a gravity drain for winter shutdown. The standard drawings include keyed notes and details that support all fill station types and options. An engineer must assemble the kit of drawing parts and ensure the tower and foundation meet local structural requirements. The standard drawings for the fill stations, as well as sample operations and maintenance plans, are available to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees in Acrobat PDF and AutoCAD compatible formats at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/water/tankerfill.htm.
Equipment, such as fire hydrants or other devices, that does not prevent backflow should no longer be used to fill tankers. Use of the standard drawings will eliminate unnecessary costs for each National forest to independently develop a design. The uniformity and consistency resulting from using the standard drawings will make training and operation easier for crews that work on more than one unit.
Many thanks to these Forest Service employees:
- Chuck Coleman, Lou Janke, Jennifer Knutson, Jason Peterson, and Shanisha Reese for their development work.
- Wayne Harpel, Satgur Klar, and Donna Wians for their suggestions for improving the fill station designs.
- Scott Gilmore and Doug Lausch for building and testing the air gap prototype.
Figure 2—Part of the elevation view of the pressure-type fill station
with a steel tower from the water tanker fill station plans.
For long desciption click here.
Figure 3—Part of the elevation view of the air gap-type fill station
with a wooden tower from the water tanker fill station plans.
For additional information about fill station standard drawings and options, contact Kathleen Snodgrass:
USDA Forest Service
Missoula Technology and Development Center
5785 Hwy. 10 West
Missoula, MT 59808–9361
Phone: 406–329–3922
Fax: 406–329–3719
Email: ksnodgrass@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC's documents are available on the Internet at:
