As Maritimers continue to plow roads and clear sidewalks buried by the impressive dumping of snow in back-to-back winter storms last week, officials in Halifax are warning of a potential safety concern buried deep within the city’s towering snowbanks.
With 8,300 fire hydrants in the city, Halifax Water crews, with help from the city’s firefighters, have been working tirelessly to dig out the ones that are hidden beneath the snow.
James Campbell, a spokesperson for Halifax Water, told CTV Atlantic that clearing the snow around the hydrants takes time and extra care.
“So we run a dozen pieces of equipment out digging out hydrants. It's slow work, you can't smash and bang, you have to be fairly delicate around the hydrant," Campbell said on Sunday.
Despite their cautious approach, Halifax Water has discovered some hydrants have already been damaged by the city’s snow clearing teams, including one that was knocked right off of its base by a passing plow.
As daunting as the task of digging out all of those hydrants may seem, Halifax’s firefighters said it’s an important job that needs to be done before a real emergency happens and it’s too late.
“Obviously, when you're putting out a fire, water is crucial,” Halifax Fire Cpt. Stephen Turner explained. “We carry some on the trucks, but it's always good to have a secondary source nearby so we can get it quickly.”
With so many hydrants waiting to be freed from their snowy imprisonments, the city’s teams have had to prioritize those located near schools, senior homes and hospitals to clear out first.
If the snow doesn’t melt beforehand, city officials estimate that it could take up to two weeks before all of the hydrants are dug out, which is why they’re asking for help from volunteers.
Campbell said that Halifax residents interested in assisting the city with its buried hydrants can simply check a water mapping app on their phones to view the location of Halifax’s hydrants.
“Anyone can go on, type in their address and it will automatically locate the hydrant and the catch basin nearest to their home,” Campbell said. “So if anybody wants to help out and adopt a hydrant or a catch basin and dig it out, that's also a great help.”
Snow-covered hydrants have also been indicated by red markers planted atop the snowbanks or by a spray painted “X” on the snow itself.
Thankfully, no fire calls have been delayed by buried hydrants yet, as Halifax crews furiously work to keep it that way.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett
