District of North Vancouver is planning to buy two salt water pump units to provide water protection to the Woodland area.
The district intends to buy these salt water pump units for $400,000 each from a company in Netherlands.
The Hydrosub® 60 can provide wildfire support to areas with limited or no fire hydrant access.
It is a portable hydraulic driven submersible pump that can access almost all open water, providing a speedy water supply for firefighting operations of any nature.
It can also transport seawater from any open source at a rate averaging 880 gallons per minute and deliver it, at fire-fighting pressure, to hillside locations elevated hundreds of feet above and miles away from the shoreline.
The DNVFRS, through its successive Community Wildfire Protection Plans, has identified gaps in fire readiness in the Indian Arm communities comprising Woodlands, Sunshine Falls and Cascade.
DNV has identified that wildfire would be extremely challenging to contain, especially given that some areas have no municipal water supply for firefighting and have evacuation challenges.
District explored installing fire hydrant supply but determined that this won’t work because of distance of over 500 metres, and other challenges.
Following a September 9, 2020 wildfire in Sunshine Falls, DNV hired B.A. Blackwell & Associates to undertake a field visit to complete a wildfire evaluation for the District and provide a report of its recommendations.
The report notes that DNV should locate fire equipment caches in key strategic locations in the Woodlands area.
After consultation with other agencies, DNV determined two mobile salt water pumping stations will be enough.
The Hydrosub® 60 pump units will take seven months to be delivered, and are expected to reach the fire department before the fire season starts in May.
The DNV decided not to issue a competitive bid for the equipment because they are needed in DNV before the fire season starts.
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I was born and raised in Woodlands and moved away in the late 80’s the municipality used to house fire pumps near the government dock and they were constantly vandalized or stolen ! Good luck with these !
Where exactly will these much needed units be placed and which other communities will they be able to serve other then Woodlands?