Police

Firefighters ask residents to shovel out snow-covered hydrants

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A fire hydrant in Calverton half-buried in the snow Tuesday morning.
A fire hydrant in Calverton half-buried in the snow Tuesday morning. (Paul Squire Photo)

Riverhead residents may be sick of shoveling out their driveways and sidewalks, but local firefighters are asking them to break out the shovels again. This time, they say, clearing away the snow could help save a life. 

Fire departments have asked those who have fire hydrants on their property to shovel the area around the hydrants to save volunteers valuable time in case of emergency.

Snow-covered hydrants have already affected local firefighters. Wading River firefighters were forced to shovel away the snow to gain access to the hydrant to fight a house fire last month, which had consumed the Dalecki family home.

“With all of the snow we have had we had to dig out the hydrant before we could hook up our supply hose,” said Wading River Chief Mark Donnelly. “Homeowners who have a hydrant on their property could help us by ‘adopting a hydrant’ and shoveling out a 3-foot area around the hydrant.”

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