Fire Warnings

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Yeah I'm supposed to be getting a hose joiner to be able to make a longer hose at some stage today. In 2003 water pressure dropped quickly so the hose became useless.

We have a hydrant tank at the back of the house, was wondering how a community could gain access to that in these situations, there appear to be two large tanks in the park behind us.
I think you’ll be fine getting joiners, but hoses and nozzles were largely gone at 10am.

Ive been wondering whether to get a generator powered pump to connect to our rainwater tank in the longer term, but not really sure what products I should be looking at. Obviously if it comes to dire situations realistically I should have left anyway.

Did water pressure drop significantly well before things got bad in ‘03?
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Canberryians if you didn't catch the latest briefings some info I gleaned from local radio this morning:

  • The current fires will not reach Canberra tomorrow, 99% certainty, thus we are in a state of alert
  • If new fires start in the wrong place they could easily reach Canberra with results possibly worse than 2003, lightning is a possibility, so is a state of emergency and forced evacuations
  • Heavy monitoring is going on, including use of drones to keep the services informed and they will be passing on live information, ABC local radio, ESA web and Fires Near Me will be kept up to date
  • Despite rhetoric about how bad the fuel load is across the state and country, ACT has had a solid and much more well funded program of hazard reduction since 2003, including installation of tanks and maintenance of roads to enable remote fire fighting within the Territory
I think the main message was that we're a lot more ready for this but the same result could ensue given the conditions, so be ready for the worst case scenario.
there is also the fact that there is no longer large pine plantations bordering the housing areas, this was one of the major issues around weston creek and lower tuggers back in 2003..
clear your gutters and try to block up the down pipes with something, then fill the gutters with water..good for reducing the fire risk if ember attacks start up
 

FigBo0T

Puts verniers on his headtube
I think you’ll be fine getting joiners, but hoses and nozzles were largely gone at 10am.

Ive been wondering whether to get a generator powered pump to connect to our rainwater tank in the longer term, but not really sure what products I should be looking at. Obviously if it comes to dire situations realistically I should have left anyway.

Did water pressure drop significantly well before things got bad in ‘03?

Not a generator, but a petrol motored water pump, suitable for pumping out of creeks and rivers, as well as tanks.
A generator could work in conjunction with a submersible dirty water pump. But simplicity is key.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
An interesting read:


I knew that hazard reduction activities don’t always result in a favourable outcome, this is explained within.
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
Yes, because one of the first places to get hit was the Cotter and the pumping station feeding out of the dam
I can ask my neighbour when the pressure dropped, he was hosing our yards at the time.

What I heard was that local reserviors were losing pressure because of the amount of people turning their hose on at once. Can't find specific info but Wikipedia says the sewage plant was damaged but nothing about the pump station.
 

FigBo0T

Puts verniers on his headtube
A 2018 research article published by the CSIRO indicated that "intensifying prescribed burning treatments in public land in the [wild-urban interface] achieves a greater reduction in damages compared with applying the majority of the treatments in rural areas.

"However, prescribed burning in the WUI is significantly more expensive and, despite additional benefits gained from this strategy, in most cases it is not the most economically efficient strategy."
Bolded is the bottom line.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
I can ask my neighbour when the pressure dropped, he was hosing our yards at the time.

What I heard was that local reserviors were losing pressure because of the amount of people turning their hose on at once. Can't find specific info but Wikipedia says the sewage plant was damaged but nothing about the pump station.
pumping station was intact, but Ithink the distribution lines for the High voltage supply to the cotter was shut down..the cotter picnic area at the base of the dam was razed to the ground, the pub was destroyed along with the swing bridge...that place rocked back in the day
 

nzhumpy

Googlemeister who likes bikes and scandal
After looking at this you can see why they are getting everyone out of the mountains...if that spread prediction comes to fruition and joins up with the fires to the north and in Victoria it will become a monster.

358553

Stay safe all.
 

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
Yeah I'm supposed to be getting a hose joiner to be able to make a longer hose at some stage today. In 2003 water pressure dropped quickly so the hose became useless.

We have a hydrant tank at the back of the house, was wondering how a community could gain access to that in these situations, there appear to be two large tanks in the park behind us.
Household hoses will do squat against a fire. Handy for flooding the gutters and small spot fires or just keeping things around wet, but what you really need is a petrol powered fire fighting pump and proper hoses. Something with enough force to cover your house without you having to run around all over and also form a shield wall in front of you should the worst happen.

When the 02 Fires hit Berowra we had one. Now we have 2 and run them periodically to make sure it’s all good to go. But I’m also ready to walk away if the conditions are right.





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pharmaboy

Eats Squid
That is fucking scary. They know all too well how much air they have, no idea how far to walk out, yet still hoofing it. We’d all do the same thing.

So RFS employees get breathing apparatus, volunteers nothing?
had a look, and some proportion of RFS (all pro firies have them)have pressure breathing tanks, but i cant figure out how many - it looks like RFS that deal with anything from car fires to building fires because they are from a small town get them, but those from the cities and regional centres would only get respirators which filters the smoke.

im guessing they put them on in case they got caught in flames again - breathing in super hot air kills you - as in running through a building to rescue someone...... if youve got them, then use them i suppose, but it doesnt mean that they would have perished if they didnt have them - if you know what i mean
 

FigBo0T

Puts verniers on his headtube
Household hoses will do squat against a fire. Handy for flooding the gutters and small spot fires. What you really need is a petrol powered fire fighting pump and proper hoses. Something with enough force to cover you house and form a shield wall in front of you should the worst happen.


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You also need a supply of water. You can't rely on the mains. 30 litres per minute just doesn't cut it. (if they're working)
 
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kiwiinmelb

Likes Dirt
Just driven home from work ,

Hawthorn to the mornington peninsula , never seen the smoke haze sit so low , usually you have to look up to see it , its at ground level ,

Very Eerie
 

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
You also need a supply of water. You can't rely on the mains. 30 litres per minute just doesn't cut it. (if they're working)
Yes good point I should have mentioned.
static water supply is a must. Swimming pool is great or tank water but sufficient volume for the pumps capability. Don’t squander your stored water wetting down. That’s what the garden hose can be utilized for... if you have pressure.


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Scotty T

Walks the walk
You also need a supply of water. You can't rely on the mains. 30 litres per minute just doesn't cut it. (if they're working)
Yeah it's for gutters and wetting stuff, won't be trying to fight anything more than early embers but if anything happens like this article describes we'll be out of here. Ignoring political content, this brings home the severity when the same place burns twice in a few months.

 

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
Yeah it's for gutters and wetting stuff, won't be trying to fight anything more than early embers but if anything happens like this article describes we'll be out of here. Ignoring political content, this brings home the severity when the same place burns twice in a few months.

The last line says it all really....


Pray for rain, pray harder for leadership.

Without getting into politics as has been prescribed for this thread. I think they need to look at a full scale water bombing fleet that can hit these fires right when they start. It needs to be here at all times ready to go when needed. Not leasing the gear from overseas and having to wait until it arrives. A full compliment of sky cranes and VLAT bombers.


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fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
but what you really need is a petrol powered fire fighting pump and proper hoses. Something with enough force to cover your house without you
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good in theory if the fire is a small spot fire or conditions are fairly calm, if the fire front is knocking at your front door there is no fucking way I want to be near anything that contains petrol, add to that a 40°+ day and you have a recipe for disaster.
petrol has a flashpoint (turns to vapor) at temps above -43°C, the hotter the air temp the faster this happens causing more flammable fumes which can lead to explosion..
I work with Milspec Jet fuel, and we get a little touchy at temps above 38°...its not the fluid that is the dangerous bit its the vapor and the air mixture around it!
358557
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
good in theory if the fire is a small spot fire or conditions are fairly calm, if the fire front is knocking at your front door there is no fucking way I want to be near anything that contains petrol, add to that a 40°+ day and you have a recipe for disaster.
petrol has a flashpoint (turns to vapor) at temps above -43°C, the hotter the air temp the faster this happens causing more flammable fumes which can lead to explosion..
I work with Milspec Jet fuel, and we get a little touchy at temps above 38°...its not the fluid that is the dangerous bit its the vapor and the air mixture around it!
View attachment 358557
We had (and I'm sure they still have) petrol Honda pumps on the firefighting vehicles.
 
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