Keeping hydrants accessible
David Gottlieb
Scarsdale, New York
A proprietary program to enlist volunteers and organizations in keeping neighborhood fire hydrants accessible regardless of weather conditions has been developed for national distribution.
Based on an initial use by a suburban New York City fire district, the “Adopt-A-Hydrant” concept establishes fire company interface with residents, community groups, schools, and government agencies, with the goal of individual and organizational “adoption” of specific hydrants.
The focus is on hydrant identification markers being used in growing numbers nationally. Where they are not yet in use, the program outlines such techniques as lobbying officials, raising funds, and generating publicity.
When markers are available, the fire company or municipality enlists resident volunteers to help install them and to agree to monitor their “adoptees,” especially to clear them of snow or other impediments that threaten ready access.
The key is to secure and maintain organized volunteer allegiance to the program. I developed a prototypical program in conjunction with Greenville Fire Co. No 1 in Scarsdale, New York, after the problems the company encountered in the winter of 1995-1996. With snowfall far above normal, firefighters were forced to rent metal detectors to find hydrants and labored many hours to clear them.
Greenville No. 1 purchased markers and enlisted volunteers, who installed them by December 1, 1996. Fortunately, their services were not needed through mid-February 1997 because there was virtually no snow.
For more information, contact David Gottlieb, P.O. Box 1170, Scarsdale, NY 10583; (914) 723-8807; fax: (914) 722-4047. Greenville Fire Co. No. 1 is based at 711 Central Avenue, Scarsdale, NY 10583.
