Christmas Trees at East Andover Fire Station on December 2 and 3

One of the lessons we teach new firemen is how to protect themselves from the intense heat of a fire. One of the best and most used methods is to set the nozzle on a wide fog pattern and crouch near the spray as you enter the building. The force of the spray pulls in large quantities of air near the fireman. This air is a lifesaver against the heat and smoke of a fire.

This method will not work with your garden hose and nozzle. It takes a complex nozzle, a large diameter hose, and lots of water moving under about 100 pounds of pressure to move the amount of air needed to keep you cool and safe. Every attack hose line that enters a burning building has this lifesaving capability.

If your well is dry, there's a hose at the northwest corner of the Andover Fire Station for the public to use to fill up containers for drinking water. But turn it on slowly! Photo: Charlie Darling — If your well is dry, there’s a hose at the northwest corner of the Andover Fire Station for the public to use to fill up containers for drinking water. But turn it on slowly! Photo: Charlie Darling

This fall we are struggling to find one of our primary lifesaving ingredients: an ample supply of water. We have been testing our primary sources, hydrants that we have placed in rivers, ponds, and lakes throughout Andover. In most cases, the water is lower than our hydrant pipes.

We do have several back-up plans, like floating strainers, tankers, and long feeder runs of hose. All will work and are within our capability, but they take longer to do and require more manpower.

Does this mean that we are in greater danger? No. The plan of every fire department is to use the water that we carry in our trucks to saves lives. Property comes later.

In Andover, we respond from our stations carrying 3,000 gallons of water. The initial response also brings trucks and manpower from Franklin, Salisbury, and Wilmot. In a few minutes, a lot of water will be sitting in front of your home, and it will be used to bring you to safety.

The challenge will be supplying water for a large structure fire. Firemen like challenges. Firemen also like lots of big trucks, and we know where to get them. However, this is a good time to be extra careful with fire!

Dry Wells

We have received several phone calls to use our tankers to put water in dry wells. We have tried that in the past; however, this does not work. The water leaches into the dry ground in a few hours.

Losing water is not the issue; fouling your well is. The tanks we have are not safe for drinking water. We are not concerned about bacteria or the little tiny “whatevers” that are in our water. We plan to fry them anyway.

We have learned that we could be held accountable for our action. Neither we, the town, nor you need that headache.

We have placed a valve and a line at the Main Street fire station for your use. The water is safe for drinking. This outside water supply is powerful, so I recommend turning the valve very slowly. We teach our new firemen that one, too.

Christmas Tree Sale

We will be having our annual Christmas tree sale at the East Andover Fire Station on the evening of Friday, December 2, from 6 to 9 PM, and on Saturday, December 3, from 7 AM until all the trees are sold. Pick out your tree and then continue with your day; we will deliver the perfect tree to your home free of charge.

Keep a weather eye north, and pray for rain.