VIDEO: New Haven is looking for folks to adopt a fire hydrant. Youโll never know just when you might need a fire hydrant, and when timing is off the essence, youโll want those firefighters to be able to reach it. New Haven has more than 2,600 fire hydrants. Some of them go back more than 100 years.
The new Adopt a Hydrant program has residents looking after a hydrant and keeping the area clean year round. The main goal is to keep the area clear. That means shoveling away snow and ice during the winter and grass and weeds during the summer, making sure there is a 3 foot access. Those who adopt a hydrant would be able to point out any visible damage or leaks. They could also paint it if they want!
Since the city launched the program, 400 hydrants have been adopted. The Umberto Club in the Fair Haven neighborhood has adopted a hydrant. โIf you have a fire hydrant by your front door, on your street and itโs in terrible shape, go out there and clean around it, so when the firemen do show up and thereโs a problem, thereโs water to fight the fire,โ said Guy Bimonte, Umberto II Club.
โItโs so important for your fire hydrants to be visible and accessible. Thatโs important for firefighters to see where it is and access it quickly,โ said Mayor Justin Elicker, (D), New Haven. โAny resident or business can adopt a hydrant in front of or near their property.โ
While New Haven wants folks to adopt one of the more than 2,600 hydrants in the city, theyโre constantly working on maintenance and upkeep. Not just the fire department itself, but that also includes a group of teens whoโve spent the past 2 years painting hundreds of them. For the past 2 years, Shonoali Singh and other teens have spent their summers painting more than 1,200 fire hydrants across the Elm City. โEvery time I drive around an area, I always point out, โOh, I did that hydrant!โโ said Singh.
โWhen we think about hydrants in the city, we think about operability, accessibly and we think about visibility,โ said Assistant Chief Daniel Coughlin, New Haven Fire Department. All three are crucial when it comes to fighting a fire. โA fire triples in size every 30 seconds it doesnโt have water on it, so itโs catastrophic to have a blocked hydrant,โ Coughlin said. Twice a year, the city inspects its hydrants.
New Haven just used $400,000 in federal rescue plan money to replace 50 of them. โThe firefighters have a tough enough job in New Haven to do,โ said Bimonte. โSo we just clean it in the winter, in the summer pull the weeds away from it.โ
