A better ISO Classification

Many people think that because they are a rural fire department they are stuck with a class 8 or 9 and that's it. I was part of process a few years back where a rural fire department moved themselves from an ISO Class 9 to a Class 6. It took about 10 years. The chief began with a list of things that had to be accomplished. Probably one of the first things was selling his neighbors on the idea. That being done, everyone came to a consensus on equipment and as new tankers were purchased all were designed to do their job quicily. That meant hydraulic valves to open the water shoot and side dumps so that tankers didn't have to manuever any more that necessary. Use of portatanks was enhaned by developing venturi systems to transfer water.
One Sunday morning as we completed a training drill, a little,elderly lady from the village was walking home from Mass and stopped the Chief to thank him for saving here some money on here fire insurance. I guess that's what it's all about.
The use of large diameter hose increased the ability to move water so alot drills were developed for different situations. As ICS develped the position of Water Supply Officer became a big thing and was developed so that the position was filled immediately on each incident on the scene and at the water source.
To enhance the ability to store water and guarantee the water source, butterfly valves were placed on the intake of each engine on the passenger side. On the driver's side a regular screw type valve was used to accept a hard suction. An additional drop tank was positioned on that side. The supply line is tied in on the passenger side to the butterfly valve. The sujpply line is pumped as normal and the screw valve is cracked. The unused water passes through the pump and down into the drop tank eliminating the need for an additional supply line. If, for some reason the supply line goes dry, the attack engine always has an additional water source to ensure the safety of the interior crews.
The bottom line is that about 6 departments in northern Darke County and southern Mercer County achieved the class 6 rating in the next few years. It proved that it could be done and the value of team work.