Fire water must be reserved separately from drinking and irrigation water: at least 200 L at every cluster of 4-8 houses, at least 5,000 L for a settlement of 150 people, and a point within 30 m of every building, with 10-15 buckets kept at the water rather than in the buildings that may burn. A brigade passes only 50-80 L a minute, so a 200 L barrel gives under four minutes of continuous water and is for wetting a neighbour or stopping a small fire, not for saving a burning house.
Part of Settlement Layout for 150 People
Water points for fire fighting are the stored and piped sources of water, placed around a settlement so that a bucket line can reach any building quickly.
The Reserve Is Counted In Minutes Of Brigade Time
The figures are from the fire guide (Fire Prevention in Settlements) and the layout guide: a minimum of 200 L per cluster, an ideal of 1,000 L or more per cluster, at least 5,000 L for 150 people, every building within 30 m of water, buckets of 10-12 L, and a brigade that passes 50-80 L a minute. The layout guide adds at least one pressurised water source in each zone.
Worked Example: How Long Does A Reserve Last?
Inputs: reserve volumes 200 L, 1,000 L, 5,000 L; brigade throughput 50-80 L/min; bucket 10-12 L; line spacing 2-3 m; building distance 30 m.
- Minutes of continuous brigade water = volume ÷ throughput. 200 L: 200 ÷ 80 = 2.5 to 200 ÷ 50 = 4 minutes. 1,000 L: 12.5-20 minutes. 5,000 L: 62.5-100 minutes.
- Buckets passed per minute = throughput ÷ bucket volume: 50 ÷ 12 ≈ 4 to 80 ÷ 10 = 8 buckets a minute.
- People in a line over 30 m at 2-3 m spacing = 30 ÷ 3 = 10 to 30 ÷ 2 = 15 people each side, so a brigade at the longest allowed distance needs about 20-30 people on two lines.
The 200 L minimum gives under four minutes of continuous brigade water, so it is a first-aid quantity. The fire guide says so itself: it will not extinguish a fully involved structure fire but can contain a small one and wet adjacent buildings. A settlement of 150 supplies far more people than a line needs, so the limit is water and the time to reach it, not hands.
What You Need
- Barrels, tanks or a cistern of the reserve volume, covered (Cisterns and Rainwater Storage)
- 10-15 buckets per cluster, hung or stacked at the water
- A frost plan — a barrel that freezes solid is not a water point
- A refill rule — who tops up after use
Method
Step 1: Mark every building and draw a 30 m circle around each planned water point; any building outside a circle gets a new point.
Step 2: Site each reserve where a line can form without crossing a ditch or fence, and not against a wall that would burn.
Step 3: Keep it separate from drinking and irrigation supplies so it is never drawn down for other uses; still treat it as untreated water.
Step 4: Connect the piped points to the distribution main only through a tee with a valve, following Water Distribution Routes.
Step 5: Practise monthly (Emergency Assembly Areas covers the count afterwards).
Common Mistakes
- Storing buckets indoors — they burn with the building.
- One central tank — a fire at the far edge is beyond 30 m.
- Uncovered barrels — mosquitoes breed, children fall in, debris fouls the water.
Safety
Drowning, and water that is not drinkable
Open barrels and tanks drown small children; lid or fence them. Do not drink from a fire reserve that has stood untreated, and do not connect it to the household supply, where it can contaminate treated water.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Emergency Assembly Areas — counting people after the alarm
- Combine with: Infrastructure Scalability — growing the reserve with the population