As the winter storms hit the east coast and the snow piles up…I wanted to share a quick idea/tip related to fire safety and preparedness that can make your home and neighborhood safer and also help out your local fire department.
When the fire department responds to an actual fire…seconds count. The quicker they can get water on the fire the better chance they have of putting it out and saving your home and quite possibly your life. In addition…there is limited water on the fire engine. Getting water from the hydrant is not only critical in putting the fire out…but it is also critical to protect the lives of the firefighters fighting the fire.
When you go outside to shovel your walk and/or driveway….take a few extra minutes to shovel out the nearest fire hydrant. This will make it both visible and accessible for the fire department should they need it to hook up to it. Precious seconds could be wasted while they look for the nearest hydrant and then have to get off the engine with a shovel to uncover it.
I started doing this myself shortly after I joined the fire department. I think I was in the department a couple weeks when we had a fire call. This was in the middle of the winter and it had been snowing. I was on the first engine that rolled out the door. Being the “new guy” I was responsible for “hitting the hydrant”. Meaning…it was my job to get off and get the main hose hooked up so we could supply water to the fire fighters going in to fight the fire. As we got closer to the house I could see it was fully involved (on fire). I jumped off, grab the hose and the hydrant bag and went to hook up to the hydrant. Well…as you can guess it was completely covered in snow. I had to race to get a shovel to dig it out to clear enough room to work and get my job done. Thankfully another fire fighter came over to help. This little event gave me the idea that I should take care of this near my home every time in snows.
This is something you can share or rotate with your neighbors. Preparedness and safety begins with you. These are small little steps we can all take that will make it much better for everyone in the long run. As I have said before…one of the greatest asset we have in being better prepared is time. If we take the time to prepare now…the chance of a good outcome in a future emergency/disaster is increased.
Please visit our site at www.1800prepare.com to learn more and get the preparedness kits and supplies you need.
Thank you and stay safe.