when I went through petrol or diesel - the only real risk came down to having to refuel in a fire so - I put on extended tanks - they run all day pretty much.
Now I have the house powered no matter what the grid is doing - I really think that most of the stations will be redundant - unless we have a large fire.
I class them more or less like this
a. small fires
b. large fires
c. POQ fires
Small fires are a doddle - and just the electric should do the trick easily - I might wet down the gardens a bit with a backup pump station (petrol) if there is plenty of time - but, after that - nothing that the electric can't handle.
Large fires - would bring on more resources - and, I would be working hard - that would test the system - and, me.
POQ fires ---------------- I don't really give a toss - I wouldn't even try - I would switch the house to it's own power, flick the sprinklers on - stay on watch as long as I was game - then very early in the piece - depart for the bunker - and wait outside or move inside.
The battle on the day is too hard to write a firm script for because there are just so many variables -- size of fire, direction of wind, available manpower, etc. etc.
All I know is that I have a secure area should I choose to retreat - and, that I would retreat if I felt at all that I couldn't handle what was coming our way.
And, I am conservative - if I don't think I can win easily - I would be in the bunker Looking for the insurance company phone number
oh, btw -- picking when to wet down is a big deal - it uses water (lots) - and, you just can't be wet down all the time you think there is risk - often you will be seeing fire for days before it's a threat - again, depends on the conditions.
Fighting doesn't use much water at all - which is why I am very happy to have the electric now - because if you are running a petrol or diesel - you have to be using some water or you fry the impeller - whereas - the electric just sits there doing nothing until the pressure drop fires the pump - as it does 365 days a year.
Ever since we wired the house in to gennies ----------- we said - we should have done that 10 years ago - it is the best thing.
Also -
Luckily - I have one dam that has maybe?? a couple of hundred thousand litres usable at worst that I do nothing at all with - what I do with that is if the garden needs a decent water in summer - I put a pump in that and Parsifal (my partner) runs hoses out of that to nearby gardens - I can get a fair lot of gardens near the house with that water - which means that a. the plants are in good condition even in the worst spring summer - and b. whatever I drop on there keeps it very moist for at least half a day - and, I can keep that water going for hours - without drawing at all on the resources I consider critical.
Looking for the insurance company phone number
