How Do You Know When They're Really Happy? (Photos by Stacy Maloney) |
It's August 21st, 2005 and Bull Mountain VFD members Jeff Gates, Mike Nichols and Paul Nichols have arrived to inspect the department's new drop tank. It's manufactured by Husky Portable Containment, in Oklahoma. |
| Examining the tank flanges |
| Getting a better look. |
Here's what the tank will look like when filled with water. This 2,000 tank has about 1,900 gallons in it. As you can see, it is entirely self-supporting. That coffee can is floating around in there just to give a sense of the overall size. |
You know they're really happy when it is time to head out the door - and they begin, with big grins on their faces, to carry it off... upside down. Jeff Gates and Paul Nichols were so pleased, they'd have carried it away... inside-out, backwards, or on their heads. They soon realized that it was upside down but we could not resist the chance to take the photo. They were good sports. The word is that they will put it to use at their next training. Everyone enjoyed visiting and also had a chance to kick the tires, in terms of taking a look at the fire trucks and equipment on hand. If you are abe to provide some photos of the Department's training's, fires or other activities, we'd like to post them here. |
| More Photos |
Here's the newly-arrived Husky Portable Containment drop tank, out of the box, to make sure that there is no hidden shipping damage. It measures approximately 12 feet across. It's also equipped with both a 2.5" flange and another 2.5" flange, which was supposed to be a 3" flange. We're expecting to be able to swap out a 2.5" for a 3" in the near future. |
Even though this tank has a thicker bottom than the other tank manufacturers offer, we'd still recommend placing a tarp under it prior to filling it. Most departments order tanks without flanges. Yet, once you've experienced being able to connect hoses directly to the tank, you'll never want to go back. By connecting a simple PVC valve between the tank and the hose, you can fill or empty the tank without weighing the rim down and possibly spilling water. Even though this tank has a beefy rim, several hoses in the same area can still cause it to droop. |