March 13, 2015
Recently, Delmar Firefighters conducted a fire engine draft training exercise at Leonard's Mill Pond. Drafting is the technique of using suction to move water from a source such as a pond, stream or pool into the fire apparatus. A suction pump creates a partial vacuum (the draft) and the atmospheric pressure on the water source's surface forces the water into the pump. Fire Department's utilize a dry hydrant or the hard suction hose during the drafting process. The hard suction hoses are the black hoses often seen in a set of two or three on the sides of fire engines. Drafting is freqeuntly used during large fires in rural areas without a municipal fire hydrant system near-by.
