Bruce Armstrong, interim chief of the Russell Fire Department, said that the test went really well. "Iım definitely glad to have it done. We were one of the few municipalities that didnıt have accreditation, and we passed with flying colours."

The test, performed on Sunday morning, was conducted under the supervision of Pete Rose of the Insurers' Advisory Organization Inc., in accordance with the criteria for achieving accreditation.

Known simply as the "rural hitch", the test ensures that fire departments, with the help of neighbouring fire departments under an automatic aid agreement, can supply enough water to fight a major fire in an area that is not serviced by hydrants.

"This is the same procedure that we would use in an emergency," said Armstrong. "In a big fire, such as the barn fire on South Russell Road a few years ago, we would call in for tanker support from fire departments with whom we have a mutual aid agreement."

In the actual test, the fire department had to transport water to the "fire site", located at least five kilometers by road from the "fill site" (in this case, a fire hydrant) and within eight kilometers by road of the fire station.

From the arrival of the first truck at the "fire site", the department had to maintain a flow of at least 200 gallons of water per minute for the entire two hours' duration of the test.

Since this water had to be pumped somewhere, the fire department was grateful when Craig Cullen, the townshipıs superintendent of public utilities, offered the use of the Russell lagoon as the "fire site". Cullen also allowed the fire department to draw water from the hydrant at the base of the water tower on Church Street, so that there would be no effect on water levels within the village.

Six tankers took turns filling up at the hydrant and driving to the lagoon, where three port-a-tanks had been set up, just as they would be at a rural location with no hydrants. In total, the three port-a-tanks hold 5,000 gallons of water, to be used by the pumper truck. With the pumper truck constantly drawing water from the port-a-tanks to train on the 'fire' (i.e., the lagoon), the shuttle of tanker trucks ensured that the port-a-tanks were kept full and that there was no danger of running out of water with which to fight the fire.

While the Russell and Embrun departments were conducting the test, a pumper truck and crew from the City of Ottawa remained at the Russell Fire Department ready to respond to any emergency call.

"We had to prove we could supply 200 gallons a minute in order to pass the test," said Armstrong. "Anything above that means better credibility for the fire department and better insurance rates for rural homeowners. "We pumped 711 gallons a minute over the two hours, the most Pete Rose says he has ever certified. I knew we could achieve the minimum, but I didn't think weıd reach that level!"

Armstrong said that there were about 20 firefighters from the Embrun and Russell fire departments involved in the test, along with a dozen from neighbouring municipalities. He noted that none of the firefighters was paid for his time. "It was all voluntary, and everybody was glad to be part of it."

Armstrong said that while insurance credits will depend on the insurance company, he was told by the Insurers' Advisory Organization Inc. that the discount would likely range from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. The fire department expects to receive its official letters of accreditation from the Advisory Organization Inc. in the next few weeks.