Shovel Out Those Hydrants

If you have a fire hydrant in your yard, or if an elderly and/or disabled neighbor has one, make sure you shovel it out:

Neighbors who had done the right thing by shoveling out a fire hydrant deserved a lot of the credit for keeping a fire at a home in Brookfield Christmas morning from doing more damage, Brookfield Deputy Fire Chief Colin Curtis said this afternoon.

Curtis said that when firefighters arrived at the home in the 2100 block of Possum Court, the garage was fully on fire. But because they were able to get water quickly from the nearby hydrant, they were able to hold down damage to the two-story home to which the garage was attached. The home sustained smoke and water damage, while the garage and two vehicles inside it were destroyed. Curtis said he did not have information one what kind of vehicles they were.

"The neighbors had shoveled the hydrant, saving us that critical time," Curtis said.

Pa Capper has one in his front yard. I go over there after every snow to make sure it's cleaned out. Fortunately, due to dad's age and limited abilities that go with his age, the neighbors have also adopted the hydrant, and more often than not, the job is done by the time I get there. But it is stories like this that keep me going to make sure.