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Snow-Buried Hydrants Cause Extra Issues for FirefightersIn recent house fire, hydrant needed dug outRelated Content
ANCHORAGE - A house fire in East Anchorage on Sunday had neighbors worried. They weren’t worried for the lives of people inside – the house was unoccupied. Neighbors were worried because of the amount of time it took firefighters to access the fire hydrant on the corner of street. “They did have a problem I think with the fire hydrants being snowed in… they had to dig out the hydrant before they could hook up the hoses,” said Paul Seivel, who lives next door to the house on Campbell Airstrip Road that went up in flames on Sunday. There are more than 7,000 fire hydrants that Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility is responsible for. In winter the big problems AWUU workers face are with hydrants freezing and getting covered in snow. This winter, the snow has left the AWWU scrambling to keep up. "We understand some of our fire hydrants have been covered up. We have doubled our crews for the most part to try and get out and dig them out and do the best we can to keep them free and clear for the fire department," said AWWU General Manager Craig Woolard. Captain Sean Fredenhagen from Spenard Fire Station No. 5 says any time firefighters need to shovel out buried hydrants means less time to attack the fire as aggressively as possible. "When we find the primary hydrant that we want to use, one of the first pieces of equipment that we grab is the shovel and dig it out if we need to,” said Fredenhagen. AWWU General Manager Craig Woolard says his workers are out doing the best they can. "We typically have about 25 percent of our systems maintenance crew this year working on nothing but digging out fire hydrants, so we are putting as many people on it as we possibly can." Firefighters and the AWWU say if people are able to clear hydrants themselves, they are welcome to do so. "That is our responsibility but we are very thankful for any homeowner who wants to take the initiative," said Woolard. If you notice a hydrant that isn't clear in your neighborhood call Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility on 550-5914 or 564-2700. |
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Billy said on Thursday, Apr 26 at 11:25 AM
The AWWU would object to the idea of matainance of the emergency sevices they are in charge of...? How is that helping the public?
88948666tyler said on Saturday, Apr 21 at 9:29 AM
NFPA water standards must be adhered to.
88373435Robert Lee said on Sunday, Mar 18 at 10:28 AM
I asked them to dig out our hyrant 2 weeks ago, but dig it ou they didn't even though they said they would get right on it.
84845303Scott Freeman said on Friday, Mar 16 at 5:18 PM
I have seen the Hydrant Snorkel...simple works.
84730584RonAK said on Wednesday, Mar 14 at 3:27 PM
I submitted a suggestion awhile back, use people assigned to community service to perform this task...expect it fell on deaf ears in city hall. Or, unions objected to the idea at the AWWU.
84204694John Creel said on Wednesday, Mar 14 at 2:32 PM
Check out hydrant snorkel.com.... it will be the future...........
84199985Richard said on Tuesday, Mar 13 at 3:27 PM
Maybe we could get all those people that are receiving Food Stamps and State Aid to at least clean out the Fire Hydrants around their home? It may help them feel better about themselves.
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