In emergency situations every second counts. Now, imagine if there was a fire at your home and this was the hydrant fire crews needed to access in order to save your family, pets, and belonging (see photo). With all the recent snowfall it’s a good time to remind people that fire hydrants on or around your property must be kept clear of snow and ice. This includes hydrants in the right-of-way, across the street, down the block…think of it like this, if emergency crews could use it to help your home or business in an emergency, get in the practice of keeping it clear. If everyone did this, the 1,200 hydrants throughout Elk River would be ready to aid crews at any point throughout the winter!
As a rule of thumb, three feet of clearance around a hydrant will allow firefighters adequate access to get their lifesaving jobs done. Fun fact – have you ever seen a hydrant wrapped in a plastic bag and wondered why? It’s not a broken hydrant, in fact many communities including Elk River use this on select hydrants along high traffic roads to combat corrosion from road salt. These wrapped hydrants are fully functional and simply require crews to rip off the plastic if needed for maintenance or an emergency situation.