To members of the East Meadow Fire Department, a fire hydrant is one of their most important pieces to the puzzle when it comes to a serious fire. Although your East Meadow engine companies are ready with shovels when arriving at a fire, time is of the essence, and time spent clearing a hydrant during an emergency is time lost getting water to a fire.
Worse yet hydrants can be so deep in snow that firefighters will sacrifice even more critical time to probe for it’s location.
Remember, a fire can double in size every 17 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on what is burning and what stage the fire is in.
Your East Meadow Fire Dispatch (Fire/Emerg 516-542-0576 Business 516-542-0578 Ext 0) boasts some of the latest computer aided dispatch technology (CAD) with explicit instructions on the nearest hydrants to your home, as well as a plotted hydrant mapping system. However, during these heavy snowfalls, the East Meadow Fire Department asks our residents to clear your fire hydrants when clearing your walks. “This work no doubt can make a difference when the need for water is critical.
Snow blowers work great, however, many residents throw the snow over the hydrant making matters worse. We also remind our residents that clearing snow can be exhaustive and taxing on the human body. For this reason, only residents in good health should ever be performing such work.
We ask those who can’t, to enlist the help of neighbors, friends, or family, when the time comes to shovel.
Please remember, if you have a medical condition that prohibits such activity, you must solicit the help of your family or neighbors.
