Patch Asks Intermountain: How Much Water Does The Type 2 Engine Hold?

In January, we asked readers what they would ask one of our volunteer firefighters over at Intermountain Fire and Rescue.

The department was established by "a concerned group of citizens who wanted to provide better fire protection for their community" and serves an area of 125 square miles bordering Ramona, Julian, Lake Henshaw and Palomar Mountain.

Readers submitted a variety of questions on the comments, like "How does it feel fighting fire?" and "How many calls do you get on a weekly basis?"

This week, Austin Mann tells readers how much water one of Intermountain's engines holds and how long it can fight fire:

"My name is Austin Mann and I've been here since 2011 in December. I graduated from my academy in March of 2012. My aspirations are pretty much to be a firefighter for all my career.

How much water does the type 2 engine hold at Intermountain?

In this engine behind me, there is actually 500 gallons. On a structure fire, it will hold about five minutes. On a vegetation fire or out in the wildland in the grass, it will hold about 20 minutes fighting fire. Different engines and different trucks have different amounts of water.

Have a burning question? Submit it in the comments below or to melissa.phy@patch.com

Patch would like to put out a special thanks to the Intermountain Fire and Rescue Department for not only volunteering their efforts as firefighters, but for also giving time to Patch and the community for Firefighter Friday!