ft—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5,1970
Irrigation Water Can Fight Farm Fires
Worried about where to get a fill fire tank trucks. Tank
ready and dependable source of trucks can often be filled easier
. . .. . .„ - and faster in this manner than
water in the event of a fire? conventional water
ces such as streams and ponds,
Shaffer said This can be parti
cularly important in adverse
weather conditions, he said
Many area farmers have the
test .possible source of water
and don’t even realize it, ac
cording to Jerry Shaffer of
PP&L.
Make the irrigation system
serve also as a fire fighting
system, suggests Shaffer
All the farmer has to do if he
has an irrigation pump is to add
an adaptor to make the irriga
tion system fit a standaid fue
hose coupling
Shaffer said most local fne The Thomas system is a3O
companies will be more than horsepower electric motor on a
happy to work with a farmer in well which gives 400 gallons per
making the irrigation system minu t e a t 100 pounds per
usable for fire fighting He not- h
ed that a local fire company q
gave a coupling to Glenn Thom
as, Lititz RD3 All Thomas had Thomas irrigates 30 acres, in
to do was weld some handles eluding nine acres of celeiy,
onto the system, he said. eight of sweet corn, two acres
of strawberries, and 11 acres of
Fire companies are interested truck crops including six acres
in cooperating with local farm- .
ere because the inigation sys- p p
tem represents a dependable
and adequate source of water in Thomas says he likes the
event of a fire on a particular flexibility of this system Be
tohL sides providing fire protection t-. .. ... AT m
, „ „ , , During a practice run this year, Neffs-
But even more important, ac- fir Ten sp ,f y f water frfcUy from
cording to Shaffer, the system . 1 " automatically stop wat- the im g a tion well onto one of the Thomas’
can be used to help fight fires ing at 3 a m and the groimd farm buildings. With little' effort and ex
over a wide area, since the irri- WI II he ready to move the pipe
gation system can be used to by 7 am”
A Neffsville Fireman demonstrates how a fire consider making the small effort required to
hose can be readily connected to an irrigation make his irrigation system usable, not only for
pump system once some minor adjustments himself but possibly even his neighbors, for fire
have been made to make the connection possible, fighting, a PP&L official said.
Farmers with irrigation systems should seriously
Although Shaffer is recom
mending an electrical pun.p
with a minimum of 20 horse
power in conjunction with a
minimum 200 gallon per
minute well system, he said
there is a wide variety of possi
bilities depending on the indivi
dual farmer’s situation The fire
fighting technique can also be
used with non-electnc systems,
he said
pense, many local farmers with irrigation
systems can have the equivalent of their
own fire hydrant, according to a PP&L
official.
Yard work "
v is 3 'pushover •
with the 7-hp
ffimpUcSitf
As a dozer blade or snow plow
this42-mchall-sfeel blade mates
short work of big jobs. It's backed
by the rugged 7-hp Simplicity
Broadmoor? the toughest, most
versatile performer in its class.
The blade attaches without tools,
works right, leftor straight ahead,
and has adjustable skid shoes
for any terrain Just one of a
dozen custom-matched attach
ments that turn this tractor into a
year 'round work gang The
Broadmoor isSimplicity’s biggest
seller Once around the yard tells
you why.
• 7-hp Synch rebalanced
engine
• Floating Traction tires
• Ignition key electric starting
• 36-inch rotary mower -
• Patented No-Scalp Mowing '
Action
L H. Brubaker
350 Strasburg Pike, Lane.
R. D. 3, Lititz
Phone Lancaster 397-5179
Strasburg 687-6002
Lititz 626-7766