Be prepared

I guess it must be almost exactly 50 years ago when I joined the cub scouts & a year or two later made it to the boy scouts. I probably learnt useful things like tying knots & starting fires with flintstones but only two memories remain: picking up a metal poker that had just come out of the camp fire but at the wrong end and the scouts motto "Be prepared".

So with the flood warnings coming from the radio every 15 minutes, got out all the gear to give it a test:
Petrol generator & two flood lights
Electric water pump with 20m hose
Petrol water pump, 30m firehose, 10cm dia suction hose, filter basket for suction hose, 5cm dia outlet hose, firehose nozzle (in case generator blows up)
Safety helmet with head lamp, 3 large torches (charged)
Fishermans wading boots/suit
Petrol can (full), watering can (to prime the pump), 2 x firehose connection tools.

Then of course a test. Our horse stables has a full size 2m high at least 5m x 10m large cellar, i.e. about 100,000 liters of water. In winter I pump it dry but in summer let it flood as a reserve in case of fire (next fire hydrant is probably 1km away!). Pump started at 1st pull, stuttered a bit for a few minutes but then all went well & water flowed. In the photo, there are two green hoses, the smaller of which is pumping flood water out of a dry well directly by the house about 40m away. The larger hose with the firemans nozzle is coming from the horse stables.

So was prepared. Went to check the well at the house as it is the 1st sign that the ground water level could be about to get critical. Took the opportunity to check house cellar & found it had at least 30cm of water!  Got electic water pump & pumped it empty to find the electric water pump in the sump had given up the ghost, probaby within the previous hour. Sump full of sand & stones, so hopefully just blocked. I now need to get back in the cellar and try to repair it this evening. Warnings are in place until Sunday evening with the worst to come tonight so I guess littel sleep. Upside I may get some Blip time.

For those who saw Tuesday's "Unexploded Bomb" Blip, the brown tube in the foreground on which the nozzle is resting, is the part I cut out. Museum piece!

PS Thank you all so very very much for all the good wishes yesterday (will reply to the last few later). You were right after all Emmy, a cause to celebrate.