Why do we need to discuss water? It's just always there isn't it? Until it isn't. Let's look together at some things we need need to know about fire fighting water.
Why do we specify "Fire Fighting Water"?
Why not just say water storage? This is because this water should be separate from the water you use on a day to day basis. You may ask, again, why? Well because it should always be full and ready to use for nothing but fire fighting.
Fire fighting water should be clearly identified/labelled so that Fire authorities know that they can use that water to save your house or other asset.
We hear this a lot "I have an infinite supply of water as I am on mains so I'll just use that". This is a very bad idea! For 3 main reasons:
- You're not the only person trying to use mains water during the fire. This often results in the pressure at your home being completely unusable, even to fill a bucket, let alone fire fighting.
- Domestic mains water supplies are designed to service your home: having a shower, flushing the toilet, filling the washing machine or watering the garden, NOT FIRE FIGHTING.
- Local fire authorities quite often use roadside mains water supplied standpipes to fill up their trucks. This means with more people using the mains water, it will take longer to fill the trucks and get back to fighting the fire.
What if I only have mains water?
All is not lost if you only have access to mains water, it is all about planning in advance. We suggest installing a tank that you can fill, ideally with a float system, so that it is always full and ready to go.
There is no simple answer to this. Factors to consider include:
- How big is the asset you are trying to defend?
- How many assets are you trying to defend?
- How much water does your fire fighting/protection equipment use?
As a very general rule, an absolute minimum amount of fire fighting water you should have on hand is 22,500L. Possibly even double this depending on your situation. Remember, you can never have too much fire fighting water.
What material should my fire fighting water be stored in?This is a debate that has long been fought out over many beers at pubs all over Australia. When choosing a tank or water storage option there are many different types, all with there own benefits, some of which are outlined below:
- Concrete
- Offers the most robust and reliable solution available. Concrete is also the most expensive so may not be an immediate solution depending on your own circumstance.
- Plastic
- Plastic melts – yes it does. However these tanks do stand up to some radiant heat if they are full of water. It is probably the most common choice due to easy installation and low upfront cost. Ideally this is used as a back up tank rather than the main source of fire fighting water.
- Fibreglass
- While not as common as it used to be, Fibreglass takes out our vote for the best features VS value for money.
- Fibreglass has good heat resistance regardless of it is full of water or partially emptied.
- Easy installation and long service life expectancy.
- Corrugated iron
- This is another good option, however it should be noted that some have plastic aqua linings. They are fine when used in normal domestic settings but when partially emptied and exposed to radiant heat, they can melt and compromise the tanks ability to hold water.
- Generally these tanks will rust after being exposed to a fire
How or where do I position my source of fire fighting water?
This may seem simple in theory, but possibly requires a bit more of a thought process than you might think. Factors to take into consideration include:
- The tank should be positioned where your fire fighting equipment can be quickly and easily connected to it while being close to the asset you are protecting. This ensures the most effective fire protection of your asset – remember this is its main purpose.
- Shelter for the tank. Depending on the type of tank you decide upon, it is a good idea to try and provide some protection against radiant heat. A simple iron/colourbond fence can be a cost effective way to do this.
- What is around/near the tank that could harm it? I know this seems silly but we learnt the hard way. We had stored our cut up firewood in potato bins within 5m of one of our fire fighting concrete tanks. During the bushfire we found out this was a really bad idea as the amount of heat that came off the nearly 20 tonnes of burning fire wood caused damage to the concrete tank even though it was full of water!
- It is a good idea to have a couple different outlet types. All my fire fighting tanks have a T piece out from the main tap with both a country fire authority compatible fitting (generally Storz 65). To learn more about these see our blog Fittings/Couplings - Are they all the same?
- If the tank is used for other purposes, the outlet for the these purposes should be around half way up the tank so it can never be emptied. The fire fighting outlet should always be at the bottom to allow all of the water to be used in an emergency situation.
- Positioning out outlets should be away from high traffic areas to make sure they are protected from being hit by wheel barrows or ride on lawn mowers.
Both have pros and cons, but essentially both do the same job.
- Ball valves
- Quicker to operate
- On larger taps they can require quite a bit of force to move them (I leave a 1 foot piece of pipe next to ours for extra leverage)
- Can be damaged by heavy frost. When the water inside the ball freezes, it expands and can damage the ball mechanism (quite uncommon)
- Gate valves
- Slow to operate (requires many turns to open fully)
- Requires some maintenance over time
- Generally requires less initial effort to operate
