During their weekly training class the members of Alert Fire Co. trained on reverse lays and portable deck gun ‘Blitz’ operations.  These evolutions tied various fire fighting concepts together to cover multiple lessons for the members in attendance.  Pump operators were able to work on supplying proper operating flows and pressures over distances of 400 feet which far exceeds the standard pre-connected hose normally deployed as an initial attack line.  Crew members were challenged to select the proper equipment to set up a portable deck gun operation before the engine departed the scene to connect to a water supply.  This requires advanced thinking and understanding of the evolution as once the engine leaves the immediate scene it may not be practical to ‘run back’ and get forgotten equipment.

A portable deck gun operation (sometimes referred to as a Blitz) is utilized when an immediate knock down punch is required on a well developed fire condition or when unstaffed hose streams are required to cool pressure vessels such as gas cylinders or tanker vehicles.  In those cases it is unsafe to deploy personnel into the immediate area so it is essential that the portable deck gun be deployed efficiently and correctly.  The deck gun is normally mounted atop the pump apparatus where it can be immediately operated against well developed fire conditions but it is also removable to a portable ground stand for greater versatility.  As shown in these training photos the portable deck gun is positioned well away from the pump apparatus which is connected to the public hydrant system for a reliable and essentially unlimited water supply.

While this type of portable deck gun operation is not often deployed for most fire encountered by the Bergenfield Fire Department our members regularly train for all types of scenarios which could occur in our community given our extensive truck and rail traffic.  As an organization the Bergenfield Fire Department strives to provide the very best in fire protection to the community and our training is a big part of our commitment to remain able to answer your call.  If you ever happen to come across our personnel conducting these types of training please feel free to stop and observe or ask questions of the officer in charge.