Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - With snow keeping much of Central New York buried, firefighters were working to keep fire hydrants cleared and ready to go on Wednesday.
According to fire personnel, there are close to 7,000 hydrants throughout the City. They were out all day Wednesday clearing them of snow, and will continue working Wednesday night. While Firefighters say they haven't had any problems with buried hydrants yet, they're working hard to keep it that way.
Syracuse firefighter Matt Craner says they end up digging out buried fire hydrants at least once each year. "There's a lot, there's pretty much one on every street corner an a lot of times there's one in the middle of the block too," he said.
With thousands of hydrants, it's a process that each shift spends hours on and one that can take days. "We try and hit the hydrants on the corners of streets and major intersections, places where we can access them from a lot of different ways," Craner said.
The firefighters need to make sure that hydrants aren't hidden when seconds matter.
"If we get called to a fire at your house and there's hydrant right in front of your house and we can't see it, because it's been covered with snow or it's been plowed in, it's going to take us longer to get water," Craner said.
Firefighters are also welcoming neighbors who would like to volunteer to help keep hydrants clear.
"If people go out make sure if they have a hydrant on their property or across the street just make sure it's cleared out, because like I said, it could your house, your neighbors house that we may need it for," Craner said.
Firefighters are asking Central New Yorkers who have a hydrant on or near their property to do their best to remove snow from them. Residents won't be ticketed, but they say it's a courtesy that can mean the difference between life and death.
