What’s up with all these people not shoveling out their fire hydrants? Friends and neighbors, we are not down south where everyone expects the city to do it all for them.
These flags sticking out are so someone can find the hydrants when we get a big dump of snow but hydrants should never get so covered as this. A home is the biggest investment most people have. Houses a few feet away from some of these hydrants cost more than half a million dollars. If a house catches fire, and snow has frozen hard–as this stuff has–and it costs the Fire Department even a minute or two to locate the hydrant and dig it out before they can get water, that can make the difference between minor damage and you having to find a new place to live.
Shoveling the closest fire hydrant to your house takes a couple minutes when the snow is soft. You’re out there anyway shoveling the driveway. Why not walk over and shovel the hydrant, too?
When I was a kid back in New England our town used to hire high school kids to shovel hydrants during big snow storms. I support Juneau hiring kids to do that but since it’s not happening, home owners should do it themselves. Some might say it’s the city’s responsibility. Maybe so but save complaining for when the plows berm your driveway with the Great Wall of China. Compared to all the time and bad energy you’d spend hassling with the city trying to get a settlement over excessive damage because the first responers had to hack out the closest fire hydrant to your place, five minutes shoveling a hydrant is nothing.
Other stuff like cars and boats that are snowed in makes it tough.
When you shovel give it a couple feet on either side so the fire crew has room to hook in that 2 1/2 inch hose if they need to. It’s cheap insurance.
*post updated January, 05, 2022
