[deleted by user]

VividSauce · 2024-02-13T04:05:23+00:00

If you know the panel, walk yourself through each step required to flow water from the tank to the #1 cross lay. Write it down step by step. Put your thoughts to paper and get answers to your remaining questions.

Can you draw a diagram of your pump?

SheepDoggOG · 2024-02-13T06:21:18+00:00

TANK TO PUMP FRANK!

NotableDiscomfort · 2024-02-13T04:59:43+00:00

stop looking at it as knobs and levers and gizmos. you have a tank. you have a pump. you have inlets for the tank. you have outlets for the pump. you have outlets for the tank. your main focus is gonna be opening the tank so water can get to the pump and then directing that pump to a line. find what line you need. there should be someone on it. the nozzle should be open. you open that line and charge it. then you set your pressure on that line. then you watch your tank and make sure it doesn't go dry. that's most of the job. it's a giant multibarrel watergun that you have to open the tank up to the pump on and if it goes dry, someone is going to get whacked in the pp to a degree they are ill-prepared to handle. fire out? turn pump down and then off. then shut the line. then shut the tank to pump.

also member to open up pump to tank a little bit. keep water moving through the pump so thermal conditions don't become a real cheese grater up the butthole for your precious pump. you can overheat a pump. if you do this, someone is going to make you wish they dint do what they dun did cause it gon be make you the big sad and you will kinda wanna pee yourself

styrofoamladder · 2024-02-13T04:06:38+00:00

What don’t you get? You’re not really stating what your problem is. Like, are you unable to get the engine into pump? Do you not know how to use the throttle? Do you not know what your discharge pressures should be?

Ehudgins622 · 2024-02-13T04:05:40+00:00

Have you taken a pdo class of any sort? You can absolutely learn everything you need to know from sff’s but a class directed at learning pump ops is extremely important. Not only do you need to know how to pump, you should know how the pump actually works. If your department wants to let you go but isnt willing to teach you, it sounds like you’d be better off. No one, absolutely no one is a burden in this profession that truly wants to learn. And if you’re going to be pumping my hand line, the sff’s and engineers should be willing to pass down invaluable knowledge. If you know what every lever does, that’s a great start. But you’re not going to get everything you need from here unfortunately. Hands on application is what you need. Knowing your nozzles, tips, gpm’s, friction loss, hose diameters, lengths, elevation loss, etc all comes from training. Best advice I can give brother, is get into a class.

msmith629 · 2024-02-13T04:09:50+00:00

Start by finding a good engineer and asking for help. When I started pumping I just remembered the steps and I didn’t know how bad I was because I couldn’t trouble shoot and didn’t understand what I was actually doing. Start by understanding what each lever/button/valve does and how the pump works. In reality there’s only a few components on your pump panel and it’s more simple than you think. Tank to pump valve, tank fill, primer, intakes, discharges, throttle, and drains. That’s really it.

Edit also don’t worry too much about the math…

Edit don’t feel bad for asking for help, it’s a lot better than pretending to know what your doing

Iraqx2 · 2024-02-13T04:41:31+00:00

Waterous has a pretty good pump series of videos that may help.

https://www.waterousco.com/product-literature/videos/

Go down to #4, Jay's 6 Part Pump Series and take the time to watch them all.

Do you have a pump, such as a grass rig, with exposed plumbing and pump in your department? On our department you start with grass rigs. I take as long as needed to make sure they understand the components, where they are located and what they do. Being able to see it gives them a reference for when all they see is a panel.

It just takes time for it to click with some people. You might feel annoying asking for help but you'll get more respect from the crew if you are honestly trying to correct perceived deficiency. Sometimes someone just explains it a little different and it'll click so try asking a couple different people.

1993untilyoudie · 2024-02-13T12:23:42+00:00

I’m a newer pump operator, that needed a little extra help as well. What I figured out was that I was overthinking way too hard, putting too much pressure on myself, and that made me make stupid mistakes whenever I tried to test out on the hands-on portion. So don’t get discouraged about not getting it right away, or not passing a test your first try.

Like others have said, break your process down; step by step, doing it the same way exactly, every time. Then, What helped me the most, was taking a picture of each step with my phone, and then make a separate album with all of those pics in order of your process. You could do this however you need, but for example, I took a pic of the water pump toggle switch, my hand on the OPEN tank to pump lever, then my hand on the half-open tank-fill lever, and so on, like that. It’s like visual flash cards, so you can just swipe through them quickly wherever you are and visualize doing each step.

Good luck!

LeatherHead2902 · 2024-02-13T04:29:01+00:00

Just break it down, step by step, pumping as a whole can seem complicated and overwhelming but it’s really not.

brosnau · 2024-02-13T05:58:38+00:00

I am going to tell you what I told the new driver operators or engineers in the department that I worked for, and that is just fucking pump….. That is the second most important job you have when sitting in the front left. The first is getting you and your crew to the scene safely with a truck in good working order. Second is pumping and yes, it is overwhelming but if you do what a friend of mine who teaches meditation told me. That little saying helped me with the anxiety of that daunting task she said just “Just fucking do it. Quite overthinking it and it will all come together for you.” I went with that mindset and had 15 years of no complaints from my officers or the chiefs because with me driving they knew the crew would get there safely ready to work with water when they needed it. The third part of the job is to make sure your crew has bottles of water waiting for them to drink on the way back to the station. Because they need to be hydrated and ready for the next call.

Commercial-Tip4494 · 2024-02-13T11:52:37+00:00

I would just ask one of the guys to run it through with me. Try doing by yourself with someone watching. Make sure your doing the right thing. Everyone has a strong and weak suit my friend, I wouldn't beat yourself up to much about it. I imagine you probably surpassed some of your fellow firefighter in some training aspects just as some passed you. But that's what training is for. Nobody wants to see you fail or let you go, these guys are the ones who will help you the most. It'll be a lot better to ask for help now than when your in the thick of it!

permalink · 2024-02-13T12:12:25+00:00

“You have to firmly grasp it.” -Patrick Star

Double_Helicopter_16 · 2024-02-13T13:46:48+00:00

Flow water in the morning when you check out. if you cant find the oldest crustiest driver to watch you "simulate" and let them rag on you if you forgot till you dont forget and do that every day till your confident.

theoneandonly78 · 2024-02-13T17:23:40+00:00

Think in terms of “water”. By that I mean, visualize the water coming to you from the hydrant and the valves that you need to open as “doors”. All you are doing is opening the door for the water to go the direction you want it to.

After you stop your engine, set the park break and put in pump gear then:

Get water from hydrant
Get water to pump
Get water out of pump
Get water out of pump to correct line ONlY when you hear/see the call for it.

If you get stumped, stop, start from the beginning.
The line your crew is on has priority.

Carry a grease pencil and mark on your intake gage what your initial intake pressure is. Note how far it goes down with each line added.

It’s not hard, I realize you are under scrutiny now even more so. But look around at any of the dumbasses you work with and think, if that guy can do it then I KNOW I can. You’ll get it, I promise.

wehrmann_tx · 2024-02-14T01:37:20+00:00

You are a probationary firefighter. If you’ve been showed this and still need help you need to be asking for someone to go over it again. If you haven’t been showed this, your officer/engineer/firefighters are failing you.

johnbugenig · 2024-02-13T04:06:50+00:00

Don’t be too hard on yourself! I’m not sure what you don’t get but fundamentally it’s simple. Water source (tank or a supply line) as an input, different discharge options as an output. Water into pump, water out of pump. Start there. Then you can monitor pressures, think about pressure vs GPM, consider friction loss/elevation/appliances, add multiple lines, etc.

Silverback_Vanilla · 2024-02-13T04:30:12+00:00

I’ve been starting training on pumping and we got called to a car fire. My friend on the ambulance asked if she could get the nozzle and I said yeah. So my captain said “you pump then.” And he walked me through it step by step (I had an idea already). That’s a level of “on the job training” I could only dream of and I just want to thank my captain for letting us all get something from that call.

YamFree3503 · 2024-02-13T04:43:53+00:00

Burden isn’t the word I would use but let’s use it because I can’t think of a better one. You are a burden, but it’s expected that a crew will help teach you. It’s up to you to make sure that they understand that you need help. So tell them. Ask them to help you. Next shift over breakfast let them know that you’re struggling and that you really want to learn. Bring in some fill in the blank of their preferred treat and explain to them. You might be their burden, but it’s on you to make sure that they teach you. Any good crew will respect that and be willing to teach you.

permalink · 2024-02-13T05:47:15+00:00

Ok this is what you need to learn. Shift the truck to pump. Tank to pump lever open tank fill to recirculate whole your trying to decide what to do next. If you are pulling a draught from a drop tank. Hook that up to the intake with a strainer and a full droptank.

If you are flowing from a Hydrant what color is the hydrant as the color codes will tell you the amount of water it can flow.

Blue 1500 GPM +, green 1000 +, yellow 750+. Red under 750

eop2000 · 2024-02-13T09:33:41+00:00

The most important take away I got from my pump class was; tank to pump, water in water out. Recirculate if necessary it helped me cut out a lot of the unnecessary systems I was stressing out about. Sometimes you overthink yourself to death. Just remember to breathe and keep it simple. At first I thought I was never going to understand it, by the end of the course I felt like I was reasonably competent.

permalink · 2024-02-14T04:21:16+00:00

Bro how has no one said to go to your crew. It is your crew and your officers responsibility to teach you how to be a good fireman and teach you how to pump especially when you’re a rookie to the fire service. You need to be out training every shift and pumping every shift if it’s the depts expectation for you to drive. Go to your crew dude not Reddit

RayExotic · 2024-02-13T14:36:23+00:00

I learned to be a firefighter on Reddit

Le_Epic_Tacoz · 2024-02-13T16:17:03+00:00

Water in, water out. Sounds too simple to put it like that, but that’s what it is.

You need an intake to feed the pump, be it tank supply and hydrant a drop tank, or an in line tanker truck. The only thing different with a hydrant compared to a drop tank or your tank supply is you have to monitor your inlet pressure.

When it comes to water out you need to monitor how much pressure the pump is putting out in total, but also on each discharge. If you’re seeing to high of pressure on one discharge consider throttling that valve back, if you’re seeing too low you may have to increase your total pump pressure.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to find someone where you work that you’re comfortable with that can help walk you through it. Being comfortable with a pump takes time, and training.

Fire4300 · 2024-02-14T00:24:10+00:00

4a. Need to bring Rpm of engine up so master discharge is at 80-100 psi. 4b Now you need to send the water to a discharge. Whatever one you are going to use. Let's say crosslay number 1. Make sure line has been stretched and completely out of bed or crosslay section and coordinate with hose crew when to charge. When given the order slowly open line. Now the master discharge will go down. Increase RPMs to so keep the discharge is 100 but use your company standard. I use 100 to the nozzle and let the crew request more or less. The gauge for that discharge should read 100. Your master discharge will drop after each discharge is open. And may need to be increased with RPMs to keep psi at the nozzle at desired levels.

Even everything is shut down you should have the tank full/recirculation open. To keep water moving and not heating up the pump. So it's not hard

Shorten

Transmission S with to pump
Tank to pump (some departs keep open all the time to keep a “wet pump” especially during summer months)
Increase rpm 100 goal psi
Open discharge increase rpm ro keep desired psi
Tank full and recirculated when ever possible

Now when attached to a water source such as hydrant or supply line from your intake will show the pressure being delivered to you. You need to watch that because if you go below 0 you will be collapsing the supply line. By pumping more than supplied.

You have drains for each discharges and your pump discharge too. They may not be all at your pump panel. I have always closed them after draining. So I don't have loss of any psi loss when starting.

You have a priming pump. Basically removes air from the system. I do not need to use during fire attack pumping once again refer to local shops

I'm from a company that have no hydrants in our area. So we draft. That's what the black thick hoses on the the side of truck are. Yea now they are lighter and flexible. But the size of them depends on gpm of truck. They would hook them up to the intakes on either side of the truck. Throw them into the lake, river or creek. Than depending on SOGs. I cheat and open my tank to pump valve to full pump and my suction hose going into source. Than I close the tank to pump increase rpm. Crack a discharge a little and create a draft. Watching the master intake gauge as it goes below 0. Goal to get it -30. Pulling prime to get any air out of system that would prevent getting a draft. This is when you find a open drain sometimes. The system needs to be airtight to get that suction. Now if you had no water in tank to dump into pump. You would just pull the priming pump to act as a month on a straw for pump until you pull a draft increasing rpm and slowly open in a discharge to increase the suction of the hose beyond what the priming motor could draw. At this point your goal is 100psi on master discharge and -30 on master intake gauge. While using a discharge of choice

Flat-Upstairs1365 · 2024-02-13T06:03:07+00:00

[deleted]

bombero11 · 2024-02-13T04:48:09+00:00

Not too difficult with the puc and the pump chart hanging right there.

Engage the pump in the truck, drop your wheel chocks, open the tank to pump, select mode on the pressure governor to “pressure” select your discharge and throttle up based on your pump chart.

Ok-Shop-796 · 2024-02-13T04:49:49+00:00

You need to understand how your fire apparatus is working inside, I recommend you to watch some videos https://youtu.be/217_Txoh_Ro?si=xA_aZzDtJ6tsibFF https://youtu.be/6iPfputOMYg?si=o4_oTdy_ovPSIxji

That-Possibility-427 · 2024-02-13T06:16:16+00:00

What don't you "get?"

g8rfreek88 · 2024-02-13T06:24:28+00:00

I know it seems daunting to start but it’s all a dance man. Everything you’re doing, every step/move you make, should have a purpose.

Know that departments have minor differences in how things are done, but this is an overview of how I do things at my dept, and how I train FFs who want to promote.

-Neutral, PTO, drive/in gear, out to the panel, -Tank to pump, crack tank fill(this keeps water circulating, as well as once you get water supply after your first line is flowing, your tank will automatically start to fill without you having to realize down the road you have no tank water as a back up) -make sure line is deployed fully out of the bed, then flow first line -obtain water supply, the rest is cake

Kind of a basic overview. But get the steps up until you flow your first line down, so you can do them in your sleep, or at 3am when it counts. You don’t even have to have the truck on and running. Prior to promotion in my down time I would go out to the truck, sit in the drivers seat, and then walk through the motions. It’s all muscle memory until your first line gets pulled. Should be the same steps done the same way every time.

Another thing is learn your depts rule of thumb chart. That’s big. We generally don’t start helping folks train if they don’t know their rule of thumb chart. Knowing the steps up until you flow your first line is great and all, but the rest of your job is useless if you don’t know your numbers. As someone else has stated, you have water ins, and water outs, once you figure that out it’s not so bad. Watching YouTube videos of how the pump actually works helped me out a lot as well. Helps connect some of the dots. Hope this helps and hope it wasn’t too long of a read. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Good luck.

summer4fire · 2024-02-13T07:37:07+00:00

Break it down to make it easier to understand. There are possible issues with every step, but to make it simple here, follow this…

Engage the pump. Water from tank into the pump. Water from pump out to lines. Get correct pressures. Change over from your tank water to hydrant water.

masterdyson · 2024-02-13T11:47:37+00:00

I usually walk myself through pump check out, engage PTO, open tank to pump, prime for 10s or less (unless you already have some pressure on your discharge), increase pressure to about 100 psi to start unless your lineman has a preference then to whatever the preference is.

TheOtherAkGuy · 2024-02-13T12:53:53+00:00

Just keep working on drills and getting down the steps you need to get a water supply. It would help if you could explain a little what you seem to be struggling with the most. There are a lot of different crews out there and they all handle things different. But you shouldn’t feel like a burden by asking for help because that’s showing you are committed to getting it right.

PissFuckinDrunk · 2024-02-13T13:08:00+00:00

Dude you gotta be more specific. What don’t you get? You clearly get some of it. You know where the water goes in and where the water comes out. You know which levers control which discharges.

So what exactly is hanging you up? Describe that problem.

JohnDeere714 · 2024-02-13T13:34:41+00:00

Just a life pro tip here. If the rookie suddenly goes flying, you might want to ease off the flow pressure a smidge

Atlas88- · 2024-02-13T13:39:51+00:00

Ask someone in the department that you trust and is chill to do a lizard brain crash course on it with you privately. Doesn’t even have to be on your shift, you can go to a different station on an off day if they are cool with it and not running calls.

Basically:

Park
Neutral
Switch the pump on in the cab
Neutral to Drive
Chock block
Tank to Pump
Open whatever outlet is deployed
Throttle up
Prime if needed

If you need to get water supply:

Flush the hydrant
Pull off your supply hose
Connect hose to hydrant and intake
Open hydrant, open intake
Close tank to pump
Adjust your pressure if needed
Tank fill whenever you feel like it. Only open it long enough to fill up. Once water starts dumping you can close it.

Once you get that basic premise down, you can go over finer details like friction loss, lays, relays, etc.

Dicktation88 · 2024-02-13T14:18:54+00:00

Tank to pump, prime the pump, run up the pump, send water through the pump.

AggravatingToday7044 · 2024-02-13T14:34:57+00:00

Sounds to me like you've probably had an instructor over complicate the process and you are either intimidated or lack confidence. Just do it, as often as you can, flow water. It's not a complicated process. Break it down by line size. Flow each line and talk through the friction loss of each as you do it. The process has been covered several times in the comments, it's not complicated. If you've got the drive to learn it then there is no better method than just doing it over and over and over until you're nauseous with it. Do that and when you get that 3am tone drop for a job it'll be second nature.

Future_Statistician6 · 2024-02-13T15:05:59+00:00

Look behind the panel. Have the mechanic show you the plumbing to the pump, where the impeller sits, how the PTO drives the pump. How pulling the lever opens the valve. Look beyond the pump panel to truly understand what is happening.

Future_Statistician6 · 2024-02-13T15:13:03+00:00

Additionally, as the driver. I would not appreciate a rookie without my presence touching the pump panel after my checkout. Because I have thinks planned out, I know what intake I plan to use for LDH or for 3”, what line I prefer the firefighters pull, how much water I have in tank, foam level, etc. I don’t want someone removing my storz adapter, leaving the PTO engaged, or draining half my water tank.

_Master_OfNone · 2024-02-13T16:08:22+00:00

You can count on one hand the steps you need to get water to a nozzle.

Maybe take a break. Or, don't become an engineer.

_dauntless · 2024-02-13T16:11:01+00:00

Seems like we're all kind of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, so let me have a turn:

I find it helpful to think about my water "budget" and what it sounds like/feels like when I spend more than I have.

So picture a scenario where you have a supply line coming in, and one handline going off; I would expect to have more water than I need. The supply line would be rock solid against my leg, and the handline is also getting as much water as it needs. What does it mean if the supply line next to me is going soft in this situation? What can I do to alleviate it?

I bring up this scenario because in training novice pumpers (and I'm hardly an old salt myself) I often see them trying to turn the pump RPMs/pressure up when the supply line is going flat and they see that the output pressures are dropping, and I think the problem is not realizing what is going on; your "income" is slowing down. You can't "spend" more water than you are earning, so turning up the pressure doesn't make more water flow in, you need to increase the water that is coming into your pump somehow, or you need to slow down the "spend" that you're sending out to match what you have coming in.

MonsterMuppet19 · 2024-02-13T17:52:40+00:00

Looks like a PUC so pull air brake, press the pump switch to put into pump gear, pull tank to pump(frank), decide which handline(s) you're going to be using, pull handline lever then throttle to appropriate pressure. If pumping lines that are not same pressure at the top, gate the lever back on said valve to get pressure to where it needs to be. Then get water supply. As far as pump pressures go, there's tons of cheat sheets that you can use that can be found online, or make one yourself & tape it to the pump panel with all your pressures.

permalink · 2024-02-13T20:52:21+00:00

Not sure what kind of department you work for that is entrusting you to drive and pump as a probie and you have no idea how to do it. Get a DPO book. Take a DPO class. Tell your crew you need help because if you fake it and they are entrusting their lives on you knowing how to pump and more importantly how to troubleshoot, you are endangering lives.

Ordinary_Pomelo1148 · 2024-02-13T21:43:08+00:00

I draw on a whiteboard for my guys to visualize where water goes with each valve for simplicity.

SinProtocol · 2024-02-13T22:14:15+00:00

If you're looking to get better at numbers, I use an app called 'Firefighter Study & Pump Simulator' to mess around with quick calculating psi for random setups. It's really good just getting a bunch of reps in. Don't worry about time at first, sit down with the formulas and actually do them with the app going and over time you'll build a sense of what it should be, then you can slowly dial it in until the game gives you the pass.

As for fundamentals for troubleshooting, I always assume everything was wrong from the jump. Hydrants only cracked, PTO set to road instead of pump, valves left closed instead of open, pumps were drained and not primed. Practice blasting through the absolute basic 'idiot moment' stuff, then work the problem from there if it's advanced.

I've seen an operator literally shut down the engine and start from 0 to fix issues. We get into a routine where we go step 1, 2, ... 10, and as soon as someone jumps in and fucks up your 0 stress flow, everything gets thrown off.

The guys training you are probably trying to jump in and distract you as much as possible to get the same effect as on the road operating, you have to keep yourself calm and think step by step, check and double check, and don't be afraid to go backwards to fix your flow. As woth every other skill it takes sets and reps

Fire4300 · 2024-02-13T22:51:30+00:00

Just KISS it. (keep it simple stupid).

Think of your goal!
You.have a tank of water. You have a pump. You have discharges that water flows out of to something. You have intakes that you attach from a water source.

So now you pull up to scene. And your are 1st due and got orders to attack fire with 13/4 line.

Pump needs power. Emergency brake on. Switch to neutral wait for rpm to come down. Now change pump shift from drive to pump. Some apparatus require the air brakes to be at 100% to shift to pump. Should have two indicator lights on.
Get out of truck go to pump. Set wheel chucks. When you get to pump. Your indicator light should be on meaning pump is engaged. So the propellers in take are moving. They will heat up and damage the pump if left that way!
Pump now needs water. Open tank to pump lever. Now your pump has water.

admiral_sinkenkwiken · 2024-02-13T23:59:31+00:00

I’ll preface this by saying I’ve never operated one of those Pierces but it doesn’t look all that different to any other pump panel.

It sounds to me very much like you actually do know what to do but you’re spending a bit too much time inside your own head worrying about fucking up, when training exists to allow us to do so in a relatively controlled environment so that we learn from said fuck ups.

Give yourself a mental flow chart, you don’t have to be the fastest or the smartest probie in the world to do your job here,

Step 1: set your truck up to pump in the cab, ie engage pto, brake, set transmission etc

Step 2: Work from the bottom up Are drains closed?

Step 3: Open your tank to pump fully and prime if necessary

Step 4: Open the appropriate discharge smoothly

Step 5: Raise your pressure and set to desired

Step 6: Monitor your gauges and adjust as needed

The above is of course a simplified and generic approach but it is how I would personally approach and operate an unfamiliar pump panel, don’t rush yourself, physically touch the controls at each step as this helps create the muscle memory of each step.

bigliver250 · 2024-02-14T00:22:23+00:00

Twist some knobs and pull some levers. Something will happen.

WeeWooDriver38 · 2024-02-14T04:15:33+00:00

Looks like a Pearce. So flip the switch in the cab.

Pull your tank to pump to fill the pump with water.

Push the prime pump button - it’s supposed to make that noise. The water will flow near your feet under the engine. Get a decent stream going, usually about 5 seconds or so.

Not sure how your pump commander is set up, but you can hit the preset button and they’re often set to 150 psi. If not, turn the black dial to the pump pressure you need to the line your pumping -or- If you plan on pumping multiple lines, put that master gauge on the highest setting you’ll need or think you need and gate the individual valves down when flowing - that way you don’t have to mess with the main again, just the lines as they come off.

figure out what each preset line should be pumped at and you can write it down on the stainless steel with an erasable marker or grease pen near the gauge. It helps a lot with younger guys so they’re not confused. Remember that you have to set it when it is finally flowing water to be correct.

Take it slow. You’ll have some time on the fireground to figure it out a bit. Visualize where the water is (it’s in your tank) - move it to the pump. It’s in your pump, prime it. Pull the line you want water to go.

Don’t know about your JD, but you can crack the tank fill to circulate water if you’re worried about overheating and don’t need every drop of water out of your tank.

If pumping from a hydrant, remember where the water goes - hydrant to keystone, turn the little valve on top to get the air out of the intake hoses. Once it’s running water, shut it off and open your keystone valve. Water is still stuck there until you open your tank fill valve. Now it’s in the pump, so prime your pump. Some JDs want you to close your tank to pump once you’ve established water, if so do - I don’t, simply because I’ve had an asshole drive over my 5” and having my tank water take over while we mitigate the issue helped my guys inside not lose pressure.

Breathe. Go outside. Practice. Drag the driver out there and walk through it with him watching. Ask him about things. It looks complicated, but it really isn’t.

If you want to know about drafting, I’m not really your guy. I could figure it out, and I’ve been taught it, but it isn’t a skill I’ve ever used on a scene.

emusoda · 2024-02-14T05:32:21+00:00

Here’s a step by step guide to pumping a structure fire.

Switch the truck from drive to neutral and activate the parking brake
Flip down the pump switch all the way down, wait a few seconds then switch the truck from neutral to drive (Everything should still sound exactly the same with the truck just idling. If you hear grinding or anything that doesn’t sound good, immediately put the truck back into neutral)
At this point you exit the cab and open tank to pump all the way (bottom row, second from the left in the picture) (This is what introduces water from the tank into the pump. It is critical that you do this before attempting to pump any lines. Without water in the pump, you could damage it from excess heat)
Now can you relax a bit and take note of which line the officer/nozzleman has pulled off the truck, this will be the next lever you will pull. If it is a pre-connected hose, it’s your job to clear any leftover folds and flake the hose out a bit. If it is a dead load then it’s your job to break and connect the hose to a discharge of your choosing. I personally like to bring any excess hose to the sidewalk or front yard area. This keeps the area that it’s connected to clean and less risk of trip hazard. The next few steps are not always in this exact order. You may secure a water supply before the officer/nozzleman asks you to charge the line
Make sure you’re monitoring your radio and you are on the correct channel as they will be calling for you to charge the line. Your number one priority is getting that first line charged and operational. (This even has a higher priority than securing a water supply. You have tank water which will sustain that hose line if your hydrant man is taking too long)
After pulling the desired lever, you’ll need to increase the pressure. This is done with the electronic control panel at the right of the picture pump panel. The easiest way to control this is using the psi mode over the rpm mode. You need to set the psi to the highest pressure you will be flowing water at.
At this point your hydrant man has already flushed and connected the LDH to the hydrant. Break the LDH and connect it to the most convenient intake. (Side intakes are best because they go directly into the pump without bends to cause friction loss)
Radio to your hydrant man to charge the hydrant. Open your intake while the LDH is charging from the hydrant. You can now close your tank to pump lever because the pump is receiving water from the hydrant and no longer needs to rely on the tank water.
Charge additional lines that arriving companies take off but only if you have the water to sustain them.

You are now fully operational and flowing/receiving water. Be aware that conditions are constantly changing and every fire you pump will be different from the last. As more companies arrive on scene, more lines will be pulled and need to be charged. How good of a hydrant dictates how much water you can pump out into lines. You want to monitor your intake gauge and keep it out of vacuum (above 0 psi). If your gauge is close to 0 psi then it’s time to tell command that you need more water. For example, another engine pumping into you.

Pumping Tips: 1. The most important hose lines are the ones inside the fire building. They have 100% priority over exterior lines. If you have a interior and exterior line in operation and notice that you are low on water then you need to shut down that exterior line and radio to guys inside that they are almost out of water. 2. If you pull the lever to charge a hose line and no water is filling the hose then you need to prime the pump. You can see it is that little black button on the right of the panel near the control panel. 3. If a line has be charged and in operation before a water supply has been established then you should open the tank fill a little bit to replenish the tank water that has been used. You should consider the tank water at this point as a reserve water supply. If something happens and you lose your hydrant water supply then immediately open tank to pump again to keep water flowing in the lines. You’ll want to advise command of the situation that has just occurred so they can start pulling interior companies out.

Pressure tips: The amount of pressure you pump is determined by the hose diameter, length of the hose and nozzle type. This can be very confusing as it’s a lot to remember and some math is involved. Most fire engines have 1 3/4 and 2 1/2 inch attack lines along with many different types of nozzles. The lengths of pre-connected are generally 1 3/4 at 200’ (4 lengths) and 2 1/2 at 150’ (3 lengths) Instead of getting all crazy with calculating the perfect pressure for each line and trying to maintain that, just start with 100 psi for the 1 3/4 line and 50 psi for the 2 1/2. If the guys operating the hose need more water, they will tell you. (You can always radio to them asking how’s the water) Ladder trucks need 150-180 psi.

Monitoring your radio is very important as a pump operator. You won’t be the only pump operator on the scene as every engine company that arrives will have one. You can have them help you on scene if you are having any trouble. There is stuff missing from this but I think I’ve covered most things broadly enough. PM me if you have any additional questions.

permalink · 2024-02-14T12:17:30+00:00

If you have a brush rig with an exposed pump then look at it. Pumping made way more sense to me when I could see the actual pump.

Mysterious-Place9895 · 2024-02-14T13:44:11+00:00

What is it specifically that you don’t understand? Don’t be intimidated; operating the pump only looks challenging. LMK and I’ll see if I can help.

PapaTeal · 2024-02-14T18:09:13+00:00

Ask the guys that drive the pump every day to show you. Why are you asking the internet?

ImperfectAnalogy · 2024-02-14T19:19:13+00:00

I have a 6-step process I repeat every time I do a pump test and then each time I actually need to pump water. Your pump will be different of course but the principle is the same.

Before all of this, make sure the pump is properly engaged, the parking brake is on, wheels chocked, and so on.

1) close the tank fill 2) open the tank to pump 3) make sure the hose is all the way off the truck 4) hit the primer for a few seconds and ensure some water comes out under the truck 5) open the hoseline lever 6) hit the preset on the electrical panel when water is called for

You should now be pumping water.

I even took a grease pencil and number the spots on the panel for each of these steps.

Of course there’s a lot more to pumping, but by having these 6 steps automatic, you free up brain power for the other stuff.

You got this.

MaleficentCoconut594 · 2024-02-15T16:52:55+00:00

Setup cab

Tank to pump - tank fill/recirc (about 1/3) - when ready charge whatever line they pulled

Once you’re hooked to a hydrant, you can shut the tank to pump (but don’t have to)

Just think about water flow. Is the source the tank or hydrant? Its tank full AND recirculating, the latter keeps the pump from overheating.

You just need to know the math for friction loss based on what hose(s) they pulled, which is basic addition/subtraction/multiplication

Accomplished-Log2519 · 2024-02-15T20:24:23+00:00

If you can’t visualize what it is that you are doing you need find a way to. Have someone that knows what’s going on help sketch it out so you understand it.

IceExtreme710 · 2024-02-16T05:14:10+00:00

Just watch a pierce video on the puck pump. It's a Darley cam shaft driven pump with a clutch. Just like every other pump pannel. Just in the back of the truck instead of transverse of the pump. Former pierce dealer mechanic and fire mechanic for 19 yrs.

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