high pressure pumpers

[hawaiifiveo]

aloha, i was inquiring about how many high pressure pumpers there are and are they assigned to all high rise incidents, What would be an ideal call for them. mahalo

 

[catry]

High-pressure engines are just regular engine companies, no special call or anything.  They're generally found in areas where there are a lot of high-rises anyway.  High-pressure engines are assigned to Engines 6, 8, 10, 26, 34, 54, 65, and 258.

 

[hawaiifiveo]

High-pressure engines are just regular engine companies, no special call or anything.  They're generally found in areas where there are a lot of high-rises anyway.  High-pressure engines are assigned to Engines 6, 8, 10, 26, 34, 54, 65, and 258.

thanks for that, so are they first to respond to high rises? are they required for certain high rises? over so many feet? please give an example of how they would be utilized. mahalo 8)

 

[catry]

They're not required for anything, they're just useful to have.  There's no distinction made between high-pressure pumpers and regular pumpers in dispatch unless a chief chooses to special call one for whatever reason.  Companies that have a lot of high-rises in their 1st due area are assigned High-Rise pumpers because they're more suited to get water up to the top via the standpipe system, like Engs. 6 and 10 in Lower Manhattan and Engs. 8, 26, 34, 54 and 65 in Midtown.

 

[hawaiifiveo]

thanks

 

[bhff22]

From what I understand the high pressure pumpers have 3 stage pumps to supply the upper floors of a high rise along with special supply hose that can withstand the higher pressures. So I would assume that if there was a fire on a floor that required more then normal pressure to supply the standpipes and sprinklers it would have to be one of these pumper's

 

[vbcapt]

3 stage pumps are correct. I believe the pumps max out at 600-700 psi. The high pressure hoses and outlets on the Engine are color coded to delineate high pressure usage.

 

[tbendick]

The new hose on the high pressure pumpers are red in color, this is not a FDNY standard as of yet.  The standard for denoted hi-press is the white paint on the fittings and couplings.
Also note that FDNY makes a diffrence between hi-press (over 250psi) and 3rd Stage.  When the 3rd stage comes into play is when you will see all the precautions such as the special hose along with a tether that ties the hose between the rig and building and has little ties all along it.

There is some stuff in the works to redo the entire system, it's not written very good in the books and the SOP's need to be updated.

 

[NVEMTIFFII]

Forgive me for asking but how exactly does a 3 stage pump work vs the standard pump? : ???

 

[tbendick]

Standard two stage pumps can be used in volume (parreal) or series (pressure)
in volume both stages work together to move as much water as possible
in pressure water from the 1st stage gets thrown into the 2nd stage which increase the pressure without having to up the rpms
with the 3rd stage water goes in the 1st at hydrant press gets boosted and thrown into the 2nd and then the 3rd with each stage increasing the press.