Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Winter Fire Safety Preparedness



Hydrant sorely in need of help here....vines too! Houses across the street.

A Cicero NY firefighter responded to our notice rescuing this fire hydrant!

Winter is no time to hibernate when it comes to preparedness and fire safety especially...while you are out shovelling, snow blowing or plowing, please take a few minutes to remove obstructions (SNOW) around your nearby fire hydrant.  If you live in a fire district with volunteers remember it may take extra time for them to respond to your fire....those 10 minutes will seem like an eternity.  Why have them waste even more time shovelling to your hydrant?

Update 12-12-10:  We've added a zipped file of posters on the main page of the website and Adopt A Hydrant Certificate files so your FD can create their own posters and let people "adopt" a hydrant for the purposes of ensuring it is clear of any obstruction (snow) in the event of a fire.....    check them out....   http://www.ice4safety.com/


Confirm this by watching news on 12-9-10 from ABC WIXT here: http://tinyurl.com/2f2sgcx

Having an obstructed hydrant could result in a delay in knocking down your fire and the sacrifice of 1-2 firefighters that might be better used fighting the fire or doing a rescue...now think about that.  Don't wait. 

Get the latest Winter Fire Safety Kit for your organization right here:  12-27-10

We try to support those who will be responding to our calls for help and have done so for years.  This idea is certainly timely and important - especially in this retched economy where the cost of services keep going up and the level of service keeps going down.



Okay here is a hydrant in DEWITT, NEW YORK shoveled out recently(okay, we used a snow blower!) so even a Fat Santa can get around this one ....or a heavily outfitted firefighter.  10 feet of clearance all around so the snow plow won't block it in.  Don't scrimp here. Teach the kids how to do it.  


Suggestions:  Town/Village/City could place a family (or families) name on the hydrant that is charged with clearing it out (See Pics) using easily applied label tape or they can implant a locater stake with a flag with the names on it.....and keep a spreadsheet database of names.....contests or business sponsorship (they can clean out theirs as well) are all possibilities.   We have included an "Adoption Certificate" in our Fire Safety Zipped File so Fire Chiefs or sponsors can issue them to willing participants.....which should be everyone.  This goes for dry standpipes in rural communities as well. 


  


Snowstorm predicted for this week.....get your shovel on!


Adopt This Hydrant.

Fire Chiefs or Town/City Officials Can Issue "Adoption Papers"


NEW!.....Notify your local Fire Department yourself that you are Helping Out! 

Steve Cannerelli Photo Syracuse Post Standard 1-19-11   ISO Rated #1 Fire Department

WIXT News and B104.7 Radio Have Joined the Chorus  2-9-11

Is this as easy as it seems?  Yes it is.... 



Before
After
Some People Requested a Visual Representation.  There you go.

ICE4SAFETY has expanded to Wordpress now as well.....

4 comments:

  1. No obligation to purchase anything here and posters and tools can be modified to suit the end user agency or organization. Simple. As it should be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We'll keep creating posters until the firefighters finally tire of shoveling out hydrants or maybe some town supervisors figure out it is easier and more cost effective if the community is involved in this worthwhile preparedness activity. Someday we will get over this absurd entitlement culture....soon we hope.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If fire departments folks were looking for another way to raise awareness as well as some additional supporting funds they could suggest an optional "Adoption Fee" (say $5) for local citizens who wanted to participate in the program......people want to get more than a donation envelope in the mail....especially nowadays.

    ReplyDelete
  4. From a fund raising perspective this could be a boon to fire departments that are looking for something to inspire people to donate other than the usual uninspiring (and discarded) form letter sent out every December during annual fund raising season. (Ho hum)
    Marketers know people instinctively like to "belong" or "take ownership" or "get something in return" be it a T-Shirt, token gift or even a pencil....just to acknowledge they contributed.....now people can take an active role in fire prevention and personalize it with their very own Fire Hydrant.....
    We somehow envision Hydrant Decorating contests coming soon.....as inevitable.

    ReplyDelete

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