County-Wide Firefighter Training Drill

Saturday was a day for practice drills for every Fire Department in Jefferson County.  Firefighters converged on the boat ramp at The Point Marina & Resort to hone their skills in filling and deploying water to areas where a pressurized supply may not be available from hydrants.

A scenario where hydrants are not available could be and often is an obstacle for the departments.  The practice Saturday encompassed drawing water from a static supply (lake, pond, or portable reservoirs)  and filling tanker trucks.  The goal was to get more proficient at filling trucks from different departments noting and logging any differences in equipment and fittings.  The ability to efficiently supply water to a fire, even in the absence of hydrants, directly effects the ISO ratings established by insurance companies.  These ratings in turn determine the costs associated with Home Owner’s Insurance policies.  According to Dandridge Fire Chief , Andy Riley, “these exercises can benefit every citizen in the county not only by making us more efficient in deploying water, but also in their ISO ratings.”