Frank Dunstan

Last updated: Monday 16 August 2010

Here are some tips for our less experienced fire fighters:

1.    Whenever possible you should always fill the GFU’s water tank by connecting a 40mm camlock hose to the fill point on top of the tank. When filling through the hatch it helps to remove the camlock fill point’s blank cap during filling in order to allow the last bit of air to escape and get more water into the tank.

2.    A little dab of grease on camlock cams makes them easy to operate. Don’t overdo it and don’t get grease on the rubber washer.

3.    Pumps:

·   Get into the habit of checking your pump fuel level whenever you refill with water. This can save your having to drop out of the fire line to refuel the pump.

·   Check the pump's air filter regularly. The foam outer element can be removed and shaken, or rinsed in water and replaced when dry. Never oil the foam element. Ensure that a neoprene washer in good condition is fitted between the air filter and the engine air inlet.

·   Don't blow out the paper air filter with compressed air and don't wash it. Shake out dust and blow with your breath - renew when dirty. Secure in place with a wing nut on the filter and another on its outer cover,

·   It is practice to leave the pump ignition switch and the fuel turned on at all times for rapid start on a fire ground.

·   When travelling long distances to a fire by a rough road/track the fuel should be turned off then back on again at the destination.

·   Carry a spare length of pull rope in the vehicle. Some even carry spare pull rope assemblies.

·   Regularly check the pump oil level and top up as necessary. When working in hilly country it is common practice to fill to the point of overflow.

• Someone told me that they position their GFU on sloping ground to get in more oil. This is over filling and a good way to shorten the pump's working life. When Bushfires NT GFU's worked in mountainous Victorian country we never had to resort to that to keep our pumps running.
• If you have to disconnect the oil alert cut-out in order to keep the pump running on a fire ground, it's a sign that your standard of routine maintenance needs to be improved.

·   The water return valve must be left in the fully open position at all times to prevent overheating the pump during long periods of idling on a fire line. Some people close this valve in order to increase nozzle pressure, but care must be taken not to forget to fully open it again when you have finished squirting water.

·   Always start your pump before going on to an active fire ground. 

• Not too many years ago a fire fighter was on a fire ground without the pump running. When the fire front headed his way he thought it would be a good time to get out of the vehicle to start the pump. He was too slow and both he and the vehicle suffered burns.

4.    Never leave a fire ground on completion of the fire and mop up with an empty water tank when there is water available on site. It’s not uncommon to get a call out to another fire on the way home.

5.    It's my practice not to park a GFU overnight with less than ¾ in the fuel tank and similar with pump fuel. You may get a call out in the night when you need to travel long distances with no fuel suppliers open.

6.    Drip torches (bugs):

·   Don’t fill bugs more than ¾ and never carry empty bugs on your vehicle. When stowed, close off the breather and open the wand valve in order to prevent the build up of pressure.

·   Check the drip torch fuel jerry can whenever you refuel the vehicle and top up as necessary. Official advice is that you should only refill an empty container in order to get the correct mix, which is 75% diesel, 25% petrol. For a 20 litre jerry can this means 15 litres diesel with 5 litres petrol. With too high a petrol mix the fuel evaporates on the hot wick and won't drip to ignite a fire line; with too high a diesel mix the fuel won't easily burn.

·   Never "walk a bug" without a hand held radio in a top pocket where you can hear it. The same goes for bugging from the back of a vehicle. Take care not to drop the radio into the fire.

·   Always have a fire unit as safety backup when walking a bug and avoid walking into the bush where you can't be seen.

• Always wear full PPE on a fireground and especially when walking a bug. 

7.    Clean your vehicle on completion of days spent on fire grounds or first thing the next morning. The pump and rear hose make a fair pressure cleaner and it takes less than five minutes to brush out and wipe down the inside of the cabin. Do this regularly and the vehicle will be easy to keep clean. Do this even if you have to return to the fire ground the next or same day. It’s better to spend several hours on a fire ground in a clean cabin than in a pig sty.

8.    A little "Gumption" gently rubbed is useful for cleaning otherwise hard to move dirty marks from vehicle paintwork; "Spray & Wipe" cleans upholstery; "Armor All" used on the dashboard beautifies and preserves from the sun.

9.    Always hand a fire unit over to another fire fighter in the same condition you expect it to be handed to you – clean, water tank full, fully fuelled, pump and lights tested and working, tyres correct pressure, engine oil and water correct levels. Naturally, this won’t apply to a hand over on a fire ground. 

10. When picking up a fire unit check all the above, don’t take their word for it. After all, it’s you who will look foolish if you arrive at a fire with an empty water tank, and yes, it does happen.

11. "Napisan" or equivalent brands is recommended by garment manufacturers for washing Proban treated Personal Protective Clothing.

12. Communications:

·   There is a radio schedule at 0830 every morning in the Northern Fire Protection Zone during the bushfire season. Weather reports are read for all areas within the zone, messages passed and a roll call taken. Persons answering the roll call indicate to their Brigade Captains and to Bushfires NT that they are available for call-out to fires and other emergencies that day. Do not answer the roll call if you have to go into town, will be unavailable for other reasons, or are non fire fighting Brigade members.

·   By answering the morning roll call you place yourself on standby for the day, which means that you must be able to be contacted for a callout, either by radio or telephone. If you can't be contacted you are not on standby and shouldn't answer the roll call.

·   It is common to hear people place themselves on standby for wildfires in other areas - I do it myself. However, it is not uncommon for people who have placed themselves on standby to not answer the radio when called, especially when the call is after a long delay. If you are not going to stay in radio contact, don't put yourself on standby in the first place.

·   Hand-held radios often do not have the same response as vehicle and base radios. When making a call to a person who has a hand-held radio you must always press to transmit, then wait 2 seconds before speaking, especially on a duplex channel. If you start speaking immediately the first part of your transmission will often be clipped and the identity of the station you are calling may not come through. The greater the distance, the more likely this will happen.

·   Be careful what you say over the radio. Don't use foul language and in cases of suspected arson or other activity that may result in prosecution it is essential that the absolute minimum information is passed by radio and the report made by mobile phone or other secure communication. Our radio network is not secure and is often eavesdropped by outsiders, including the media.

• When attending a wildfire or other emergency you should always stay on your local duplex radio channel. Simplex channels should only be used at large sectorised incidents, where sectors are allocated different channels.

• It is good practice, and courtesy to other Brigades, to use a simplex radio channel when carrying out prescribed/controlled burns, leaving the local duplex channel free for emergency traffic. Naturally, this won't apply to Brigades who are sole users of their local duplex channel.

13. On a fireground when chasing a runaway wildfire or jump-over you will often find GFU's, loaders, tankers racing all over the place at high speed. Side view mirrors will be knocked out of position scrub bashing and rear view mirrors are rarely used in these circumstances. If you position yourself behind another vehicle it is essential that you tell the driver in front your position over the radio, otherwise you are likely to be rammed at high speed by a reversing vehicle.

·   The only reversing alarm on a GFU is the following driver's radio. I have sliced open the door of another vehicle and not felt a thing; chasing a jump-over he had foolishly gotten out of his unit behind me to operate the reel hose and said nothing over the radio. I have been nearly rammed several times myself, screaming over the radio for the reversing driver ahead to pull up.

·   Some people don't even use rear view mirrors in a normal fire ground line-up. In my early days I had the Brigade Captain complain over the radio that he needed me to back him up, but didn't have a clue where I was. At the time I was about 15 metres behind and had been fairly close to him the last 20 minutes. Vehicles move fairly slowly on a normal fire line and we don't clutter the airways reporting our position. My reply was rather sarcastic, but it was a valuable lesson to take nothing for granted on a fire ground. Don't assume that the other person can see you, even if you think you are in obvious sight.

·   The heat shields on the back of GFU's make a blind spot on the left hand side for the driver. If you drive up behind another vehicle on this side take note that they probably can't see you. Side view mirrors are often knocked out of alignment on fire grounds and you may be out of sight in the rear view mirror.

14. GFU's are not bulldozers. If a tree is dangerous and needs to be toppled and no chainsaw, loader or dozer is available, use your winch and not your bull bar. I have seen trees topple back, or branches fall onto fire units when rammed by people who should know better.

15. Don't turn the vehicle engine off "to save fuel" while mopping up, or at any time while on an active fire ground.

16. Always leave a GFU's front wheel hubs in "lock". You may need to put the vehicle into 4WD to get out of a tight spot on a fire ground and the time spent getting out of the vehicle to change the hubs could prove costly. The last incident under Pumps actually happened and isn't just something made up for this web page. Mechanics seem to always set the hubs to "free", so it's important to check when picking a vehicle up after service or repairs.

17. Before becoming a volunteer bushfire fighter I was a volunteer with St John Ambulance. The rule with sirens in ambulances was that on a code 1 case they were only to be used to get through traffic and busy intersections. At all other times they were to be turned off. GFU's fitted with sirens should take note of this and adopt the same procedure. Misuse of sirens may lead to complaints from the public and official restrictions placed on their use.