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A Winter Consideration
As we all have discovered during our careers, the winter can be a tough time to be a firefighter. Freezing conditions can and will make operations difficult by making lines ineffective, freezing up pumps, making walking surfaces impossible to navigate and turning us firefighters into popsicles.
In addition to all of this, the winter also brings about some considerations that we might not have thought about or that are not as obvious. One of those is the pushing of snow.
In these wintery conditions the plows run up and down the streets and all over the parking lots clearing the snow from the roadways and parking areas. There is little thought about where they are piling the snow except to make sure it isn’t where vehicles are going to be.
Knowing where the fire department connections and hydrants are located prior to them getting covered or blocked by snow is helpful in locating them, but it still doesn’t help in gaining access if they are blocked by tons of snow.
A little pre-planning with the property owner can go a long way. Ask them to communicate with their snow removal company to establish a predetermined place to push the snow to without blocking the FDC or blocking fire lanes.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by joemac on
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I've often thought there should be some type of cover, or box, that could be easily removed from the hydrant when it's needed. It could be made of some type of non-stick plastic, with a couple of handles that would enable it to be removed from deep snow. A couple of quick kicks with a booted foot would knock off ice, then pull it off and go.
Just thinkin'...
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Don't see a need, nor use for some type of hydrant cover. Majority of hydrants rarely get used with the most use being for a flow test. I couldn't foresee the costs involved to have such a cover placed on all hydrants, when a $15 shovel on each pump is more cost effective.
Bottom line is the property holder shares some of the burden here. After all it is their property which will be affected by a buried hydrant and the extra time it takes to clear it. So when we do get a snowfall, the dept puts out a PSA reminding people to keep their hydrants clear, and for the most part it works well. There are a few places we will clear a hydrant, but we don't go out looking for buried hydrants. People can call if they need assistance. I see this working better than some type of cover, which may get buried itself.
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