As winter approaches, please help the Fire Department by adopting the fire hydrant closest to your home or business and keep it free of snow during the winter.  Please make it a point to uncover your fire hydrant after each and every snowfall. Clear a path approximately 3 feet around the hydrant and shovel a path from the street or roadway up to the fire hydrant. These actions will allow the Fire Department to quickly locate the fire hydrant, obtain a water supply for firefighting activities, and give the fire department room to work with this hydrant should the need arise. Please consider helping a neighbor with a medical condition or who is elderly, by shoveling out a hydrant in front of their home. This act of kindness will benefit the entire neighborhood.

 
At a fire, the Fire Department must quickly locate and gain a water supply source from the closest fire hydrant. A fire engine carries enough water on board for approximately 3 ½ minutes of firefighting. If a fire hydrant is buried by snow, it is difficult to find and valuable time must be spent digging it out.  It may take from 4 to 6 minutes to dig out a fire hydrant buried by snow. The delay in gaining a water supply from a fire hydrant may disrupt the timely manner in which firefighters are able to fight the fire and may allow a fire to grow.  Fire doubles in size every 20 seconds. The “Adopt A Hydrant” program is an informal program, therefore it is not necessary to advise the fire department of which hydrants you will be clearing snow from.