Fire departments have to work differently in rural areas

Firefighters that fight fires in rural areas said they have to work efficiently because water isn’t always readily available.

A weekend fire about 15 minutes from Columbia consumed a home on Mount Hope Road and fire officials said the nearest hydrant was nearly a mile away.

Because of situations like this, firefighters have to make sure they’re assessing the situation correctly and sending more tankers if that’s the case.

A typical tanker holds about 1,500 gallons of water, and it could take 8 to 10,000 gallons of water to extinguish a fire.

Departments that battle fires in rural areas use several techniques, including the use of a foldable tank they can set up to relay water from hydrants to tankers to fire.

“The truck can dump water faster into a tank because we can quick dump, quick fill this tank instead of staying on scene and pumping it into the engine direct,” said Cpt. Martina Pounds with the Boone County Fire Protection District.

There’s also a lot of cooperation between districts and departments so that they can always make sure they have enough water flowing.

“They call us, we call them. We have to use the other departments frequently,” said Cooper County Fire Chief David Gehm. “Volunteer fire departments have to help each other.”

Fire officials said getting water to fires isn’t the only struggle. Sometimes mailboxes aren’t properly marked and makes country homes hard to find.

“It wastes precious time in a fire or even a medical emergency when trucks, firefighters or even the ambulance try to find the right house or the right driveway,” said Pounds.