Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services finding new methods to conserve water

LETHBRIDGE -

Water is an indispensable tool for fighting fires, but lower-than-normal water levels have inspired Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES) to find ways to save on water usage.

“Our first job as firefighters is to put the fire out, to limit the damage and to save lives, and in that respect, we want to use the water efficiently,” said platoon Chief Dave Heatherington.

A residential fire requires between 2,000 and 8,000 litres of water per minute, while a large commercial fire can use upwards of 20,000 litres per minute.

It’s those high volumes that have LFES adapting to the ever-changing water levels in the Oldman River.

“Our water use with some of (our) nozzles has gone down,” Heatherington said. “We’re using a straight-stream nozzle to be more direct and point in our fire attack in, say a residential fire.”

The department is using tools like high-efficiency pumps and aerial equipment to cut back on water use.

Heatherington says they’ve also limited the cleaning of some equipment, washing of bays and fire apparatuses are only being washed once every two weeks.

LFES has moved all its training to station four, where the water can be redirected to the wastewater treatment plant rather than the storm drains that lead directly to the river.

“We have some special features here where we can divert the water from training purposes to stormwater purposes at the simple closure of a valve,” he said.

Heatherington says it’s all in an effort to cut water use for the time it's needed most.

“During our recent triple house fire that we had on the west side on Boxing Day, we used hundreds of thousands of litres of water to extinguish the three houses that were on fire,” he said.

But Heatherington says fighting grassfires and wildfires can use more water than a residential fire.

He says between that and the dry conditions, a fire ban has been put in place for the river valley.

LFES is using a proactive public education method to help reduce the risk of a fire throughout the summer and into the fall.

“It's a matter of being responsible and currently, right now, with the dry state of affairs, we have to be super observant of the fire conditions in the river bottom,” Heatherington said.

While LFES is cutting water use, Heatherington says there’s only so much crews can do to limit use without compromising training and safety needs.

“If we could stop the fires before they happen, that'll save us a lot of work,” he said.

In May, the City of Lethbridge imposed a 10 per cent water reduction for city departments. There are currently no water restrictions in place for Lethbridge.