How do the 33 members of the El Dorado Springs Volunteer Fire Department know with reasonable certainty that their fire fighting equipment will perform as expected when they respond to your fire?

The answer is routine maintenance.

This past Thursday evening after their weekly fire meeting and the previous Saturday, they pressure tested nearly a mile of hoses and the accompanying fittings.

To test the equipment, as required by the National Fire Protection Association, they yearly hook up each section of hose, get all the air out of it, pressurize it to 400 lbs. and hold it there for five minutes.

PRESSURE CHECK –  Roger Floyd, David Taylor and Bryan Cloyd.  Releasing the pressure after testing that section of hoses on Thursday evening.

HIGH PRESSURE JOB – Roger Floyd and Aaron Smith connecting hoses to test. The 33 volunteer firemen, plus three new recruits, tested 6,000 ft. of hoses on Saturday and Thursday evening, a one yearly check required by the National Fire Training Associaiton and the city’s insurance rating organizaton. This helps keep insurance rates low. Firemen let all the air our of a hose then pressurize it to 400 lbs. for five minutes to detect leaks in  hoses or fittings.

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