On Monday, March 9, 2026, members of the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company gathered at the station for our bi-weekly company training. This week’s drill focused on different hose diameters, their capabilities, and how each is used during fireground operations. This drill was handled by Chief Darling.

Many of our water-based trainings take place in the industrial park off Talbot Boulevard. This location allows crews to focus on the training at hand while limiting distractions from the public and minimizing any impact to traffic flow.

For this training, three stations were set up.

The first station focused on a small diameter hose, commonly known as a 1¾-inch handline. This is the most commonly used hose for initial fire attack operations and is typically deployed at incidents such as house fires, dumpster fires, and vehicle fires. This hose line is lightweight, easy to maneuver around obstacles, and provides an effective amount of water to control and extinguish most fires encountered during initial operations.

The second station focused on a 3-inch hose line, which is a much larger diameter hose. This hose can be used for several purposes including supplying water to other apparatus, feeding large appliances, or supporting operations that require moving large amounts of water. During this station, crews practiced deploying a ground monitor, which is a portable master stream device connected to the 3-inch line. Ground monitors are often used at larger incidents such as commercial structure fires, barn fires, or other large-scale operations where a significant volume of water is needed. Once positioned and secured, the monitor allows the operator to direct the stream without having to physically move the charged hose line, which becomes very heavy and difficult to maneuver once water is flowing through it.

The third and final station focused on our ladder truck, where crews practiced a master stream operation from the aerial device. Members first practiced properly positioning the ladder truck as if they were operating at a commercial building. Once positioned, the aerial ladder was raised and crews flowed water from an elevated master stream. This tactic allows firefighters to deliver a large volume of water from above, which can be critical when fighting large fires or protecting surrounding structures. Our ladder truck is capable of flowing over 2,000 gallons of water per minute from approximately 100 feet in the air, making it a powerful tool when the situation calls for it.

Not pictured in the training was Squad 6, which supplied water to Tower 6 from a hydrant on Talbot Boulevard. While the Tower can operate from a hydrant like a traditional ladder truck, our Tower is also unique because it is equipped with its own 2,000 gallon-per-minute fire pump and carries various handlines and supply hose. This allows the apparatus to function similarly to a fire engine when needed.

In a rural response area like ours, this versatility is extremely valuable. The Tower can arrive on scene and begin operations independently, establishing its own water supply and flowing water if necessary without immediately relying on another engine company. This makes the truck a highly capable, multi-purpose piece of apparatus, especially during incidents where staffing may be limited.

While the Tower has this capability, it is typically dispatched as a special service apparatus rather than the first-due attack unit for structure fires within our district. This is primarily because the Tower carries 325 gallons of water, compared to our engine companies which carry approximately 1,000 gallons each. The larger water tanks on the engines allow them to begin fire attack operations more quickly while additional resources are arriving, while the Tower focuses on aerial operations, elevated master streams, and other specialized functions on the fireground.

Each member was able to take something away from this training, which is always our goal during our drill nights. Regular training like this ensures our members are prepared to respond quickly, operate safely, and provide the highest level of service to the Chestertown community.