Measurements provided for pump and tank capacities depend on the location of the fire department described.
Measurement Systems[]
Imperial Gallons[]
Imperial units were used in Canada, the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth. Canadian fire departments often still refer to pump and tank capacities in UK Imperial gallons, although most have changed over to metric measurements. Officially, Canada has adopted the metric system. The Canadian fire buffing community tends to use UK Imperial measurements.
Pump capacities are referred to in IGPM (Imperial Gallons Per Minute) and tank capacities in IG (Imperial Gallons). Aerial device lengths are expressed in feet. Length/distance measurements are the same in Imperial and US.
Most of the pumps on Canadian fire apparatus are American made, so the pump models are identical but simply express their capacities differently.
US Gallons[]
The United States has its own system of fluid measurement, similar to Imperial in that the units have the same names (gallons, pints, ounces). However, the actual sizes, numerically measured, are different.
Pump capacities are referred to in US GPM (United States Gallons Per Minute) and tank capacities in USG (United States Gallons).
Metric System[]
The whole world uses the metric system, with the exceptions of the United States, Myanmar and Liberia. Articles for metric countries express pump / tank capacities in litres, namely LPM (Litres Per Minute) or l/min and simply l (litres) for tanks. Aerial device lengths are expressed in metres. Since 1979, the litre may exceptionally be written using either an uppercase "L" or a lowercase "l", a decision prompted by the similarity of the lowercase letter "l" to the numeral "1", especially with certain typefaces or English-style handwriting. [1] It is accepted in Canada that either "L" or "l" may be used to represent litres. [2]
Conversion[]
Imperial gallons are larger than their US counterparts:
- 1 Imperial gallon = 4.546 litres
- 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres
The typical conversion between the two is
- 1 IG = 1.201 USG
- 1 USG = 0.833 IG
Typical Measurements[]
Pump/Tank Capacities[]
Standard conversions are often used when referring to pumps. The math may not be exact, but these are the measurements typically used. Pump capacities are generally measured at 150 PSI (10 Bar/100 kPa), except for pumps with rated capacities over 3000 USGPM, or wildland apparatus, which are measured at 100 PSI (7 Bar/670 kPa).
Height, Length, and Width[]
In the Imperial System, inches may be denoted with a single quotation mark " (or abbreviated to in.), and feet may be denoted with a single apostrophe ', (or abbreviated to ft.). In the Metric system, meters are denoted with a single lowercase m.
Other Measurements[]
In terms of measuring electricity, watts are units of power, and may be denoted with an uppercase W. Amperage (or amps) measures the rate that current flows through an electrical circuit, and is denoted with an uppercase A. Volts is the pressure that forces electric current to flow though a wire, and may be denoted with a uppercase V. All these measurements may have a prefix added. The most common for electrical being kilo (103 or 1000 x). [3]
| US gallons (USG) / gallons per minute (US GPM) | Imperial gallons (IG) / gallons per minute (IGPM) | litres (l) / litres per minute (LPM or l/min) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 000 | 3 300 | 15 000 |
| 3 000 | 2 500 | 11 000 |
| 2 650 | 2 200 | 10 000 |
| 2 500 | 2 000 | 9 500 |
| 2 250 | 1 875 | 8 500 |
| 2 100 | 1 750 | 8 000 |
| 2 000 | 1 665 | 7 600 |
| 1 750 | 1 500 | 7 000 |
| 1 500 | 1 250 | 6 000 |
| 1 250 | 1 050 | 5 000 |
| 1 000 | 840 | 3 800 |
| 960 | 800 | 3 600 |
| 900 | 750 | 3 400 |
| 800 | 670 | 3 000 |
| 750 | 625 | 2 800 |
| 720 | 600 | 2 700 |
| 660 | 550 | 2 500 |
| 600 | 500 | 2 300 |
| 530 | 440 | 2 000 |
| 500 | 420 | 1 900 |
| 480 | 400 | 1 800 |
| 450 | 375 | 1 700 |
| 400 | 330 | 1 500 |
| 360 | 300 | 1 350 |
| 300 | 250 | 1 150 |
| 250 | 210 | 950 |
| 200 | 165 | 800 |
| 150 | 125 | 550 |
| 120 | 100 | 450 |
| 100 | 85 | 400 |
| 80 | 65 | 300 |
| 60 | 50 | 230 |
| 50 | 40 | 200 |
| 40 | 33 | 150 |
| 30 | 25 | 115 |
| 25 | 20 | 100 |
| 20 | 17 | 75 |
- Numbers in bold are standard pump/tank volumes.
Aerial Device Lengths[]
Lengths of aerial devices are commonly expressed in feet (most often when built by American manufacturers). However they may also be expressed in metres.
- 1 metre = 3.281 feet
Below is a table of some common aerial device lengths.
| Feet (') | Metre (m) |
|---|---|
| 135 | 41 |
| 125 | 38 |
| 115 | 35 |
| 110 | 33 |
| 105 | 32 |
| 103 | 31 |
| 100 | 30 |
| 95 | 29 |
| 75 | 23 |
| 50 | 15 |
References[]
- ↑ International System of Units, Lexigraphic conventions, General Rules. Wikipedia.com. Accessed Feb. 18, 2022.
- ↑ Weights and Measures Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. W-6), Schedule 1 (Section 4), Part IV. Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website. Accessed Feb. 18, 2022.
- ↑ https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/electrical-terms-explained-watts-volts-amps-ohms-diy/