Extra fire water is in the field
BY JOAN JANZEN
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Trevor Aylward from Rosetown has been busy lately, but he’s not taking credit for the new idea that’s kept his portable metal fabrication business, ILL Beads Metalwork busy. “It wasn’t my idea,” Trent said. “A friend of mine from Beechy gave me the idea. Some farmers got the idea to put a platform in the back of their grain cart, and place a water tank, pump and hose on it.” And Trent’s friend wanted one installed.
The installation takes a day to complete, and so far Trent has been the only welder installing the units. It’s a good way to have extra water in the field, which is necessary for most farmers who aren’t close to a local fire department. It’s a welcome addition to the water trucks that are also kept on the field during harvest. “I think it’s peace of mind for the farmers. The more water you have in the field, the better,” Trent said.
“When we got the first one done, I put a couple of pictures on twitter and now I’m doing it everywhere. I can’t keep up. People think it’s a good idea, and a lot of people are phoning, inquiring about pricing.”
One of Trent’s posts said, “Fire water tank on grain carts season continues! Another fire water deck built and installed on the back of a grain cart. Something like this is a great idea to have in the field at harvest time. Let’s hope he never needs to use it!”
Nevertheless, farmers will be happy to have the extra water on hand, since the recent wave in Saskatchewan has caused it to be dry in the field this harvest season. “The grain cart has a lot of wasted space, so it makes sense, and it’s in the field all the time, anyway,” Trent said, adding that he wished he would have been told about the idea earlier in the spring, but he’ll be sure to be installing more this winter.
