Mirror photo by Calem Illig / Carrolltown firefighter Logan Baker clears snow from a fire hydrant Monday afternoon.
Heavy snow over the past few days has bogged down streets and sidewalks, but before putting the shovel or snowblower away, firefighters are asking residents to not forget about the fire hydrants.
While firefighters will attempt to clear the snow away from fire hydrants during extreme winter weather conditions, the Altoona Fire Department depends on property owners and good Samaritans to keep the hundreds of fire hydrants in the city free of snow.
“We really rely on our good neighbors to keep their fire hydrants clean,” Altoona Assistant Fire Chief Michael Hawksworth said. “We try our best to come out when the weather is really bad, but our biggest help comes from people who take an extra minute or two to shovel around their hydrant.”
According to the city’s clerk, Linda Rickens-Schellhammer, there are no ordinances within Altoona that require residents to clear snow from fire hydrants; however, residents are not permitted to place extra snow from a porch or sidewalk near a hydrant.
Despite the lack of an official ordinance, she said residents are “highly encouraged” if they have a fire hydrant to take a moment to clear the snow away.
“We need to do what we can to ensure that our firefighters can perform their job as quickly as possible,” she said.
Residents with a fire hydrant on their property or even in their neighborhood are asked by firefighters to clear a 3-foot diameter around the hydrant to give first responders ample room to operate it, Hawksworth said.
All snow and ice should be removed from the hydrant, and a clear path from the hydrant to the road is also needed.
“If you live near a fire hydrant and you are physically able to safely keep the hydrant clean, please do so,” Cambria County Emergency Management Director Art Martynuska said. “Hydrant heroes can make a difference when seconds count in saving lives. If you can keep an area 3 feet by 3 feet all around, clear of snow and ice, firefighters can save precious minutes in getting life-saving water on a fire to save a life.”
Hawksworth said some hydrants may even be completely covered in snow, and taking the time to find the hydrant or being forced to use another one could prolong fire ground operations even further.
While clearing snow for a fire hydrant only takes a minute, he added that is an extra minute that cannot be wasted at the scene of a fire.
“With the way fires burn today, every second counts,” Hawksworth said. “If a fire hydrant is covered in snow, it could take several minutes to shovel it out, and those are precious minutes that we could be using to extinguish the fire.”