Questions answered

Wayne C, posted a comment/question regarding my post "Wildland Firefighting Primer-Basic Apparatus" In the post. I mentioned the term "angle of departure". Wayne (and many others I suspect) was unfamiliar with the term.

Rather then try to explain it, I kyped the picture below off of the net::

 
Angle of departure is the angle formed between the line of  level ground and the line formed from the point of contact at the tire and the lowest protrusion from the vehicle. Similarly, the angle of approach applies to the front end of the vehicle. These features are important when designing and operating vehicles in rough terrain.

Wayne also asked about the term "protection line". In wildland firefighting, a protection line is a short section of hose (usually 50') that is deployed, then draped over the apparatus to use if things really turn to crap and the unit is getting overrun. On engines equipped with auxiliary pumps, the protection line may be kept charged while driving in areas experiencing high risk fire activity.

As an additional note, according to current doctrine, the last 1/4 tank of water is to kept in reserve for use by the crew to save themselves and the unit should things go bad.

Hope this helps, Wayne.

As always, thanks for reading.
Schmoe