Flaman Rentals Blog

What You Need to Build Your Own Basic Fire Suppression Kit

Posted by Jeff Brown Jun 19, 2025

If your property is in a potential wildfire path, we can help you create a firefighting suppression system with these five essential items.

Tanks

It’s helpful to have a nearby body of water to draw from, but if you don’t, we have storage tanks in several styles and sizes.

• Turtle Tanks, Low-Profile Tanks, 1250-gallon tanks. Mounted on your truck or trailer, they offer the benefit of mobility. Just check your payload capacity to make sure whatever you mount it on can handle the weight of the water you carry.  
• Stationary Tanks. If you’re drawing water from a lake, dugout, or other body of water, the closer, the better. A pump’s lift (water pressure) weakens after travelling a limited number of feet.

Hoses

A Suction Hose draws water from one of the sources described above. It attaches to the inlet on the side of the pump.

An Outlet Hose attaches to the outlet on top of the pump and expels water, either as a spray hose for dousing flames or a transfer hose for moving water. Lay-flat hoses are always outlet hoses.  

Filter Floats

These are used when you’re drawing water from a body of water, as opposed to a clean water tank. Filtering prevents rocks, mud, sand, weeds, and other obstructions from being drawn into your line and plugging or damaging your pump.

• The filter screens out everything but water.  
• The float keeps the filters from sinking into the mud.  
• The backcheck valve allows outward flow while preventing water from coming back in. It also keeps your hose full of water so your pump stays primed. 

Pumps

We offer two types of pumps, both of which are essential to firefighting.

• High-pressure pumps are used for firefighting, having two advantages that enable them to spray further and allow you to fight flames from a safe distance:  
  • They're more effective than low-pressure pumps using the same-size hoses and outlets. 
  • They yield higher PSI at lower flow rates (like 126 GPM), thanks to 197’ of total lift. 
• Low-pressure pumps, also known as water transfer pumps, are designed to move larger volumes of water at higher flow rates, like 260 GPM. However, with a lower total lift, like 185’, they're more suited to running sprinklers than spraying flames. They are also significantly less expensive.  

Fittings and Valves

Fittings and Valves give you control over your chosen firefighting technique, whether you’re using a spray hose or sprinklers. 

• Valves attach to your pump or tank bulkhead, provided they match your diameter. They open, shut off, or regulate water flow. 
• Fittings can be used to neck down output diameters and use narrower hoses (even your garden hose). This also increases your pressure PSI, which can enable you to spray water from a low-pressure pump.

Learn More About Creating your Own Fire Suppression Kit

Call or stop by your nearest Flaman location. Our friendly staff will be happy to talk with you about your requirements and help you find your best fire suppression solution. Looking for an all-in-one solution?

Ask about our Fire Suppression Skids – easily mounted on a truck or trailer for quick response in remote communities or on farms.