VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Ventura County Fire Department trains its firefighters by pumping thousands of gallons of water a minute — despite historic drought in California.
On Tuesday, the agency demonstrated a water-saving system used at its Camarillo training center to cut back on water use.
The department recycles water via two PumpPod devices, which recirculate supplies used in training exercises.
Officially called the Direct Recirculating Apparatus Firefighter Training and Sustainability unit, or DRAFTS for short, the county fire agency first acquired a prototype in 2017. It has since added two PumpPods to its training arsenal. The prototype is no longer in regular use.
Andy VanSciver, a department spokesman, estimates each PumpPod saves about 4 million gallons of water annually.