Achieving the “Superior Tanker Shuttle Accreditation” is one of our priorities. It’s a long process, though, involving new apparatus, complicated calculations, and a tonne of practice. The idea is that if the department can show that we can deliver sufficient water to pump a constant 200 gallons every minute for a full 2 hours to any location on island every household gets a massive saving on their insurance bill. It would be as though you lived on the same block as a fire hydrant.
Last night we completed a small but important step in achieving this goal. We did a full 2 hour cycle of delivering water to prove our calculations were in the ballpark, and they were! We still have a lot of work to do in building the new firehall, designing and purchasing the second tanker truck, recruiting and training new drivers/pump operators, and successfully challenging the Underwriters’ demanding test.
Thank you to everyone on our route that put up with seven trips of our water tanker past their front yard. If you have any questions about this process or what it might mean to you, please call the firehall at 335.2611. Also feel free to stop Deputy Doug Chinnery or Chief Giff LaRose when you see them out and about. We love to talk about it.