PARMA, Ohio — Many of us are still digging out from the snow we got last week here in Northeast Ohio. Now firefighters are asking you to do a little more work and dig out fire hydrants in your neighborhood, even if it’s not in your yard.
When firefighters get a call for help, they quickly spring into action. They gear up and then head to the scene. The last thing they want to be worried about is whether or not they'll have access to the water they'll need when they get there. Unfortunately, access to hydrants is difficult during this time of year. In fact. many of them are almost completely buried by the snow.
"Fire effects everybody on that street," explains T.J. Martin of the Parma Fire Department. "That hydrant impacts everybody on that street should we need to access it in the event of a fire."
The Parma Fire Department showed us an example of how much time is lost digging out hydrants. In this case, it took three firefighters about 90 seconds to dig out the hydrant and hook up a line. Usually, it's a one-person job that only takes a few seconds. This is the equivalent of 4 to 6 minutes lost.
"Fire doubles every 30 to 60 seconds. So a small incipient fire within one minute has now become a major conflagration," explains Martin.
So what can you do to help? Take an extra 5 to 10 minutes and shovel out the hydrant near you. Remember that a single hydrant serves a dozen or more houses on a street.
"You don’t have to ask permission of a homeowner to go on that property and clean off a fire hydrant," adds Martin. "Obviously we’d like the homeowners to have the responsibility to do that or the courteousness to do that."
In an ideal situation, firefighters want you to clear three feet around the hydrant. But it's all right if you can't get all the way down to the grass. "If we can at least get to the barrels, at least we have half the battle done. But if we need to waste time to clean the barrels even further, then it becomes a problem for us," says Martin.
We find ourselves talking about things like this during the winter, but it's important for homeowners to take care of clearing snow from hydrants. In fact, it's a great way for kids to get volunteer hours. Send them out and have them hit a few hydrants in your neighborhood.
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