The stage is set for a great training day. The shift commander has called a multicompany drill at the training facility based on basic fire attack and search. The training staff already has the burn building smoking with a room-and-contents fire so that the crew can respond to a scenario. The apparatus approaches, the size-up is announced, and the crew dismounts to go to work. The shift commander evaluates the officer’s decision making and the officer evaluates the firefighter’s control tactics. The drill critique afterward discusses decision making, nozzle and hose maneuvering, ventilation tactics, search, and fire attack.
But who evaluated the pump operator? What objectives did the operator (or engineer) receive while he participated in the drill? After all, he did participate.
Many take this position for granted and assume that the pump operator’s fireground role is routine and trouble-free; he will always work out any issues. In reality, he may encounter a number of obstacles and adversities.
Fire service training sometimes looks like the movie “Groundhog Day”; we do the same thing all the time, training until we can’t get it wrong, so repetition is important. Not everything always goes well, so we must incorporate adversity into our training.
Engineers pride themselves on determining routes, pump pressures, and technical hose systems. When it does not work as planned, their preparation shows.
Since the fire service has become younger, many lack the experience necessary for decision making. Scenario-based training can supplement this lack. Each fireground position has its own required, specialized training, especially the pump operator. Many are unaware of the engineer’s tremendous responsibility on and off the fireground. The position requires creativity, management, leadership, resiliency, and great troubleshooting skills.
Most pump operators agree that fireground pump operations are usually successful. All pump pressures are calculated correctly, the equipment is readily available, and a solid water supply is established. They know that it was a success because no one the fireground said a word about their operations. When the incident is controlled and everyone else on the fireground is praising the tactics and rapid extinguishment, the pump operator is over at the apparatus, verifying that the booster tank is full and logging equipment back on the rig to ensure the crew is ready for the next one.
When things don’t go so smoothly, it affects every other aspect of the incident. Despite all the decision makers and nozzle operators, if the pump operations are not effective, the incident’s even flow is affected. Preparation and training set the scene for success; the pump operator must have his own training objectives to put together the effective evolution. The holistic success of a pump operator begins in the firehouse, is evaluated in training, and then is translated to the incident. From nonemergency to emergency responsibilities, the pump operator can make or break an incident.
Pump operator training begins in the firehouse, especially for the new operator. All the math you learned in high school that you you told yourself you would never use resurfaces on the dry-erase board in your department classroom. The instructor writes down formulas to determine friction loss and gallons per minute (gpm)—not that you will use a calculator at the pump panel; you just need to know where your rules of thumb come from.
Many say that there are three pressures for every hoseline: The calculation pressure from formulas, the thumb rule pressure rounded from actual calculations, and the pressure that the crew is comfortable with. Testing hose and nozzle packages provides the best results when determining friction loss. Fire departments across the country are now testing their hose and nozzle packages to determine thumb rules and build pump charts.
(1) Here, I explain to the pump operator how the pressure transducer behind the pump panel operates and its role in increasing and decreasing the pressure. (Photos by author.)
Once you are familiar with the thumb rules or pump charts, you can start working some hose system calculations using basic addition and subtraction as you would on the fireground. The ultimate goal is to enable the pump operator to determine his pressures promptly and accurately. Why is it so important? Water absorbs heat, and a 7⁄8-inch smooth bore tip will give us roughly 160 gpm, but we never complete the statement. It will give you the 160 gpm if the pump operator develops the correct pressure. What is the benefit of certain nozzles’ gpm if we don’t pump the line correctly? It’s the only way we will get what the nozzle is designed for.
Now the pump operators have what they need to evaluate the systems that are in place or could be created and give the nozzle operator the correct pressures. They have moved on from reading smoke to reading gauges. Pump charts and basic hydraulic training can occur anywhere, so take advantage of any opportunity to put together a hoseline in your head and test yourself with determining the pressure. Then go figure it to check your results. As you progress through pump pressure determination in your training, there is always more room for determining pressures in other systems including specialty nozzles, appliances, master streams, and relays.
Water supplies vary from department to department. Whether you are in a rural area with dry hydrants or in a municipality with positive water supplies, it is important to incorporate the water supply establishment and management into your pump operator training. The pump operator is tasked with establishing the water supply and managing residuals using positive supplies, static supplies, relay operations, and water shuttle operations. It is this member’s responsibility to determine what will and will not work. While crews are fighting fire and performing searches, the pump operator may be at the panel performing math to determine available water based on remaining volume or residual drops. This is important when it comes to the capabilities of apparatus and water supplies.
Set up scenarios to challenge the pump operator with drafting limitations, relay operations using pressure governors, and depletion of the supply so much that the residual drops to nearly 20 pounds per square inch (psi). At this point, the pump operator realizes that he has approached the safe limit of his supply and must notify command. Many rural departments have established dry hydrants at static water sources. Their locations are obviously important, but knowing how to position and operate at one of them is vital. Establishing and managing water supply is one of the most important aspects of pump operation on the scene. Training with water supplies is beneficial; you can’t flow it if you don’t have it.
Technology poses its own set of obstacles for pump operators. When pressure governors entered the fire service, veteran operators found themselves learning alongside new operators: “Chief, where is the relief valve?” Understanding what could go wrong with technology is an important aspect of learning new equipment. Instead of a relief valve, the panel now has a digital screen with up and down arrows and a button to switch back and forth between revolutions per minute (rpm) mode and psi mode. Training on these systems is required so that operators know each mode’s features and when to use them.
New pump operator training may still be more effective on a manual throttle pump panel vs. the pressure governor. New operators can concentrate more on having full control with pressure adjustments. Pump operators must notice while training that the little things affect the big picture. Simply opening and closing valves can cause issues for the attack crew. The goal is for the attack crew to not feel much pressure fluctuation while valves are opened or closed at the panel. For the pump operator, training at the panel is a good opportunity to see what happens to the first opened discharge pressure when the second discharge is open. On manual throttle apparatus, the operator must maintain the initial pressure while adjusting others.
The drill ground is the perfect opportunity to see what is affected on previous steps while proceeding with others and finessing the pressures accordingly. The relief valve was there for us for protection when shutting those lines back down, but now there is the pressure governor. When operating in psi mode, the engine speed controls the pressure increases and decreases in coordination with the pressure transducer. When all things are working great, many pump operators consider this operation to be the easiest option. When the pressure transducer sends the pump back to idle, the operator finds himself back to square one and the attack crew finds themselves in a kink, literally. If the pump operator experiences an issue with maintaining pressure in psi mode, he can switch to rpm mode, which will essentially make the pump manually operated regarding pressure control.
(2) The engineer performs maintenance on a chain saw; he is the technical specialist of all equipment on the apparatus.
Note that although there is still a safety pressure limit on most governors while using rpm mode, the pressure may fluctuate when opening and closing other discharges. The best way to learn the limitations of this new technology is to set up multiple scenarios. Train the trainer and literature will only get you so far. Coordinate with the manufacturer to ensure you will not do any damage in particular evolutions and get the rig to the drill ground to see what it can do. After all, the best training comes in controlled atmospheres with room for mistakes.
Along with new technology comes new equipment. We have all seen a huge change in available equipment in the fire service. It seems to be a new nozzle, new hose, or new tool for every job. Who knows the equipment on the apparatus better? It’s the engineer who puts his eyes and hands on it each day during apparatus checks; he should be the technical specialist for all the equipment on his apparatus. To know whether something is wrong, you must first know what right looks like.
The engineer must also train on the operation of firefighting equipment, especially the equipment that he is supporting on the fireground. Why should the baseball catcher never strike out without swinging? Because that player is behind the plate with the umpire half of the game seeing what pitches he likes to call. He has the edge. The engineer has the edge on the equipment that he supports and manages when he trains with it as well.
I have evaluated quite a few engineer assessments for other departments, and many of them include a section for equipment maintenance. Who better to replace or perform maintenance on a chain saw chain than the engineer? When new hose is purchased, you must conduct training for all members to understand its kink factor and maneuverability. The panel has its own training requirements for new hose. The pump operator must know whether he needs to overpressurize or underpressurize the hose regarding the kink factor.
Around-the-pump foam systems require extra attention in training. We have come a long way since the birth of the inline eductor. To the nozzle crew, the desired foam is the desired foam, but the operator must know the system for the foam to be effective. Training lacks when it comes to foam because of the cost and the environmental controls that are in place. The only way to determine correct operation is to see the system work. Many foam manufacturers offer a less expensive product that is safe for the environment and won’t hurt the wallet as much. While training pump operators on around-the-pump foam operations, take the extra time to also educate the nozzle crew that it may take a minute or two for the foam to be visible; the system must have time to work.
Once the pump operator is familiar with the basics above, he can turn to problem solving. I was excited when I decided to become a pump operator because I knew that I would be challenged with controlling extinguishment from a different perspective. The panel end of the hoseline is a lot different from the nozzle end. I did not expect the amount of knowledge about pump transmissions and what happens behind the panel. My officer knew that that I would eventually learn about developing pressures; he wanted me to know what happens behind the scenes regarding my manipulation of the apparatus on the fireground.
Only when I faced my first problem did I realized how in-depth the pump operator’s training was. My officer knew that I would be alone at the panel and he would be on the receiving end, and he wanted me to learn how to work myself out of problems. Not all things on the fireground go as planned. When training at the panel, we tend to see the same things each time. Pressures fluctuate for random reasons, water level lights stop working, or the officer in charge calls for putting a crazy hose system into place that we haven’t pumped in a while, but these are minor challenges.
What do we do on the fireground when the bad things happen? How do we react to or overcome a loss of water supply when an SUV runs over our large-diameter supply hose or when the attack crew is calling for water and the discharge ball valve is stripped inside of the casing? Incorporating adversity into training sets pump operators up to be even more successful. More importantly, the overall mitigation goal sees little delay. Many departments throw in obstacles to challenge crews who have it figured out. Fundamentals are the most important; we fall back on them when all hell breaks loose. Why not make “all hell breaking loose” part of your fundamentals? If we don’t add adversity to our training sessions as we grow, then we are not growing. Pump operators need to be challenged during training evolutions. Fire service training is akin to success in sports. Company training is practice, battalion drills are the scrimmage, and the incident is game day.
(3) The engineer pulls on the hose to ensure it is completely out of the hosebed before charging. If this is not done, the hose could be kinked in the hosebed after charging, delaying the water.
When performing your company and battalion drills, challenge your crews, commanding officers, and pump operators. Throw in some adversities for them too. When crews respond in, throw in random challenges such as a cap missing from a hydrant that delays water supply, the pump not going into pump gear, a substantial drop in residual pressure, a loss of prime while the attack crew is in an active firefight, and a ruptured hoseline or one too short that must be extended. This is how a pump operator earns his recognition as the lone hero.
We must accept that, even with all the decision makers and nozzle operators on the scene, if the pump operator fails, the incident suffers. Many objectives on scene are coordinated efforts, such as fire attack and ventilation. The pump operator’s training can make or break an incident. Consider extinguishment as a coordinated effort between the attack crew and the pump operator. We will not meet our ultimate mission if we do not master our trade. Each role has its importance in training, but don’t forget your pump operator.
Paul Watlington, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is the chief of training for the Burlington (NC) Fire Department and for the Yanceyville (NC) Fire Department. He has an associate degree in fire protection technology and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in emergency and disaster management. Watlington received the Chief Training Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He is a member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, an active instructor, and a fire service training consultant.