Especially for Cinder & Smoke (Phred!) ;)

[Pam]

Got this in an e-mail today and immediately thought of you!

[lvpets2002]

This is just all too funny & I am still laughing.. Can you just guess what the owner said when he go back to his car

[DJFyrewolf36]

My hubby was a voulenteer firefighter for a while and he said that they had to do that to several cars who decided not to obey parking laws. In an emergency, you can't waste time looking for someone to move the car.

A good lesson for anyone thinking about being lazy and parking next to a hydrant!! They should show this picture in drivers Ed courses.

[Cinder & Smoke]

I get a serious *snickker* outa that photo evey time I see it!

When I was a Volunteer in Mt Lebanon (PA) we did a close copy
of that stunt in our business district for a working fire in a commercial building ...

Bobby G was a bit of a firey-tempered lad and he was driving the First-In Engine - all by himself ...
He made a good *stop* on the fire with the Engine's tank water,
but we knew we needed the hydrant - blocked by the FANCY Caddy
parked right in front of the hydrant. A couple of us were trying to "stretch"
the hydrant to truck "soft sleeve" hose around the Caddy - and came up
about 2 feet short!
Bobby G came out for someting on the rig and eyeballed the problem ...
"OVER the *@#!#$** Hood, guys!!" was clearly heard through
his air pack mask! So Over the Hood it went!

Chief arrived and looked things over ...
Steve was a dude and just shook his head and tried to
hide a huge . "Bobby's idea?" was all he said.

Caddy Owner returned and asked me
"Who was gonna PAY for damaging my hood!?"

I spotted Bobby taking a breather - covered in soot and a bit "damp"
from the fire fight ... "Ask that fireman" I advised him.
Bobby's tirade lasted a good 2-3 minutes - I don't think he took a breath ...
It ended with "And do YOU wanna pay for this guy's building?
We almost lost it because YOU blocked OUR hydrant!!"

We rubbed it in a little more when the Coppers put the "Blocking a Hydrant"
ticket on the windshield; and we kept the lines charged for an hour
longer than we really needed them!

This *PRICELESS* photo >>>

(or one very similar) appeared in Firehouse Magazine after our
Caddy incident -
someone cut it out and hung it on Bobby's locker in the station.

THANKS for the Memories!!

/s/ Fireman Phred

[Randi]

LOL! That's a great reminder for stupid people parking in front of a firehose! Don't think any of the crowd standing there will ever do it again.

[ramanth]

Ha!!

Hey Phred,

A few weeks ago the City of Williamston came out to our apartment complex and let water jet out of the hydrants for a good 10 minutes straight.

It was after dark. About 10 p.m.

I heard what sounded like water, and went over to my bedroom window and it looked like it was raining. The way the water was being released it was arching up and falling right in front of my window like rain. The sound of it scared the cats but intregued Kia.

I looked out the front window and saw no water. So when I went outside to investigate I found the guy and the City truck.

Why were they doing that? Relieving the pressure?

[Ginger's Mom]

I love it!!!

And Phred, I cannot believe that Caddy owner asked who was going to pay for the damage to his roof.

[catnapper]

Ha ha! Thats great! It would never occur to me to park in front of a hydrant. It always seems the arrogant ones who can afford to own and drive those things are the ones who feel they are above the law and common sense are the ones who park in front of the hyrdrants.

There's a guy on my street who has one of those super-duper new Caddies and he parks like that nightly. He owns the local limo service, so also often has one or two limos out there. I often feel like printing out a sign that says, "nice park job moron"

[lizbud]

Funny pic. I do hope they towed the car away after all
the excitment was over. Broken windows & a towing bill might
make an impression on the driver.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by ramanth

... and let water jet out of the hydrants for a good 10 minutes straight.

It was after dark. About 10 p.m.

The way the water was being released it was arching up
and falling right in front of my window like rain.

Why were they doing that? Relieving the pressure?

Good On the City!!

It's a form or Preventative Maintenance -
usually called "Flushing the Mains".

Water mains (pipes) build up sediment and other forms of crud
and the occasional dead critter that manage to get past
the filtration plants or crawl into a pipline when it's being built and
one end is "open" during the construction ...

"Flushing" allows a LOT of water to flow in the pipe - a LOT more than
normally moves when folks flush their toilets or take a shower -
the high flow rate "Flushes" the crud and sediment out of the pipes ...
and after what's left settles back down on the bottom of the pipe;
you get cleaner water.

The big RUB is the "flushing" REALLY Dirties up the water while it's being
done - and for a few hours AFTER the flow is shut down ...
NOT the thing to do on Clothes Washin Mondays!

Your City saves themselves a LOT of angry phone calls by doing it at night -
after the evening peak flow is over and at least some water users have
gone to bed! And hopefully what sediment remains in the lines
will settle out before morning when folks might notice it again.

The arching UP of the discharge?
An attempt to NOT cause damage by spreading out the flow and
dispersing it over a wider area. The flow from a Fire Hydrant, if
allowed to discharge onto a yard or even a street - is powerful
enough to dig HUGE Holes in your yard or even damage pavement.

Firefighters also do similar operations, opening one hydrant to take
"Flowing Pressure" measurements while another team takes
"Residual Pressure" measurements at another hydrant.
This data allows us to calculate just HOW Much water is available
from the water mains for use in firefighting operations.

Sounds like your City of Williamston is Right on the Ball with
taking care of "your" VERY Expensive water system!

/s/ Phred

[ramanth]

Good to know!

I originally was under the impression that only the fire department could open hydrants and was wondering why some guy with a pickup truck was doing it. *laughs*

Saw the City of Williamston insignia and figured he was allowed to.

That also explains the slightly dirty looking water when I ran the tub faucet for Zam.

[NoahsMommy]

That is way too funny...and OF COURSE, in California!!!

[Anita Cholaine]

LOL, LOL, LOL......This is really funny....and also a good lesson for drivers!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by catnapper

There's a guy on my street who has one of those
super-duper new Caddies and he parks like that nightly.

... I often feel like printing out a sign that says, "nice park job, moron"

That's the "Fire Protection" for YOUR house he's blocking!
For a lot of different reasons, Fire Departments don't always use
the Hydrant closest to the fire;
and sometimes need to hook up to several hydrants ...
that BLOCKED Hydrant might be needed some night for a problem
at YOUR house!

Your sign might give you some satisfaction, but prolly wouldn't
bother the parker a bit.
Hopefully you'll get more action - and an UN-blocked Hydrant,
with one or two phone calls.

Start with the local Coppers - call em up some night when you know the
car is parked in front of the Hydrant. Ask if they enfrorce No Parking in
front of Fire Hydrants. HOPEFULLY they say they DO - then give them
the exact address.

If they say they DON'T enforce the issue; then call the FIRE Guys
and ask THEM what they think about cars blocking hydrants!
They otta be real interested! Give them the address and the
times he parks - ask the Fire Dept to make a formal complaint to the Police.
That sometimes gets better results than a citizen complaint to the PD.

Most of us Fiur Guys know what the hydrant spacing is in our territory;
when responding we watch both the Hydrants and the house numbers ...
when we get "close" to the house, we try to "catch" the hydrant
just BEFORE we arrive and "lay into" the fire location.
It REALLY *sucks* when we miss that last Hydrant because we
couldn't SEE it hidden behind an illegally parked car!
Then we have to make do with the water we carry in the Engine's tank,
and rely on the Next-In Engine to catch a a hydrant. Can make a
BIG difference in how quickly a fire can be extinguished!

/s/ Phred

[sandragonfly]

too funny!

maybe print out that priceless picture and post on every hydrant... with title under, THIS WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR CAR!

I almost parked by a hydrant today because I didn't see it behind-right a tree -- there was no red curb! when I backed up, I see it! erm.