Following Our Own Advice

MCFRS Firefighters continue to 'dig-out' fire hydrants as they come across them. Yesterday, the crew from Fire Station #25 located 5 fire hydrants just like this and got to work and cleared them. Some hydrants were buried in 5 feet, or greater, of snow and ice.

While the snow is melting at a good pace, there are still many hydrants buried due to plowing operations. If you are physically able to do so, please take a moment to find a fire hydrant nearest to you and clear it out for us. Thanks!

Adopt-a-Fire Hydrant and Keep It Clear!

Snow covered fire hydrant

MCFRS is asking residents to, if you are safely and physically able to do so, help firefighters and clear snow away from fire hydrants. The expected snow accumulations combined with the after-effects of plowing roads may result in many fire hydrants partially or completely buried in snow – as illustrated by the photo on the right.

Take the time NOW to find, and adopt, the nearest fire hydrant to your home so you will know where to start digging if the hydrant becomes totally covered by snow.

By keeping fire hydrants clear of snow, residents can help firefighters to easily locate hydrants and access water quickly, preserving valuable time to potentially save lives and structures.  Please consider helping a neighbor with a medical condition or who is elderly by shoveling out a hydrant in front of their home. Remember, quick access to fire hydrants benefits everyone.   Below is an example of what a properly cleared of snow fire hydrant should look like.

Thank you for helping keep Montgomery County safe! 

Do Not Forget To Clear Snow From Around Fire Hydrants!

Looks like we are going to get a little bit of snow today! Help us to potentially help you by taking time to make sure the closest fire hydrant to your home is accessible.

Please remember to clear away snow from fire hydrants near your home or business. Having hydrants already cleared saves vital minutes and can mean the difference between life and death. Take your time and do not over exert yourself.

Do Not Forget To Clear Snow From Around Fire Hydrants!

Please remember to clear away snow from fire hydrants near your home or business. Having hydrants already cleared saves vital minutes and can mean the difference between life and death. Take your time and do not over exert yourself.

Snow Related Home Safety Tips

To stay safe during today’s snow/winter weather event, the women and men of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue encourages residents to:

v  Make certain all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly.

v  Keep space heaters at least three feet from other objects and never leave space heaters

unattended.

v  During a power outage, use flashlights as lighting sources and avoid using lit candles.

v  Never use generators or gas grills inside the garage or residence as they produce

deadly carbon monoxide gas.

v  Place fireplace ashes outside in a metal container with a secure lid that is at least 15 feet from a structure.

v  Keep fire hydrants on your property clear of snow, ensure that you have at least two

     clear exits out of your house and make sure your address is visible. A few minutes of

your time to help clear the snow will help emergency responders to better assist you in

the event of an emergency.

v  Make sure you have at least two clear exits out of your house. Keep an eye on snow

build up. When the snow melts and refreezes, it could prevent you from being able to

open the door and exit from your house.

v  Businesses are also reminded to clear the areas around emergency exits to ensure their customers can exit safely in an emergency.

Safety Tips, Fire Hydrants, Delays, Closings, & Other Information Due to Winter Storms & Emergencies

Just a reminder that there is a County web site you can go to so that you have all the latest and greatest information on Delays, Closings, & Other Information Due to Winter Storms & Emergencies.

Lots of great information.

Just a reminder to also clear any snow from around fire hydrants!  Help us to potentially help you!

Winter Weather Tips

Winter Storms

Disaster Preparedness

Fireplace Safety Tips

Candle Safety - even though you should be using battery powered lighting! : )

Hope everyone is staying warm and at home!  Conditions are gradually improving.

Be safe!

Bill

Help Your Fire Department – Adopt-a-Hydrant

Please help the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service by “adopting” the fire hydrant closest to your home or business and keeping it free of snow, leaves and other debris. Recent snow storms, combined with the after-effects of plowing roads and parking lots, have left many fire hydrants partially or completely buried in snow.

Please take a couple of minutes to uncover your fire hydrant after each and every snowfall. Clear a path approximately 3 feet around the hydrant and shovel a path from the street or roadway up to the fire hydrant. By keeping fire hydrants clear of snow, the public can help firefighters to easily locate them and access water quickly, preserving valuable time during an emergency.

Please consider helping a neighbor with a medical condition or who is elderly by shoveling out a hydrant in front of their home. Remember, quick access to fire hydrants benefits everyone.

The “adopt-a-hydrant” program in Montgomery County is an informal program and therefore it is not necessary to advise the fire department which fire hydrants you will be clearing snow from. Thank you for helping keep Montgomery County safe!

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A quick tutorial on how to find your neighborhood fire hydrant on line

Thanks to all of you out there who have been helping us by clearing the snow out from around your local fire hydrant. Actually, I guess I should say dig your fire hydrant out from under the snow!


On a previous post, I made you aware of an on-line took that might help you find your fire hydrant: Go Here to access

Many of you, including me, have found the process rather challenging. To help with that, I have produced a quick tutorial on how to find you neighborhood fire hydrant on line. I hope this helps and PLEASE continue to try and dig the hydrants out!  For more on that: Clearing Fire Hydrants

To find the on-line tool in question just click here: Montgomery County map viewer

Milestone residents "dig in" for fire safety

I received a great video (below) from a member of the Milestone community (Germantown). It is an informational video showing how to find and dig out fire hydrants. The community has come together and many folks are out in the community trying to help us by digging out their nearest fire hydrant. Thanks to all of you in the Milestone community for your help in this very important fire safety initiative.


Thanks also to all of our county residents who are also locating, and digging out, their fire hydrants so that they are easier for us to find and use!

Stay Safe,

Bill Delaney
Program Manager - Community Safety Education
Division of Community Risk Reduction Services
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue

Fire Fighter Bob Talks About Keeping Your Fire Hydrant Clear of Snow

MCFRS is asking all community members to please make sure we can see, and have access too, the fire hydrants in your community.

How To Find Your Nearest Fire Hydrant

Many of you have been asking if there was a tool to find fire hydrants. 

Montgomery County map viewer allows you to enable the layer to show fire hydrant locations by clicking public safety, Fire rescue, Fire hydrant . Click on link below and follow the aforementioned instructions.

Montgomery County map viewer

Thanks to our Facebook friend Nicholas Belback for sorting this out!

Stay Safe!

Bill Delaney

This is how your fire hydrants should be cleared

The below posting is from our Facebook page from one of our fire fighters: Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue



This is how your fire hydrants should be cleared! We need room to work. Great job to the grounds maintenance crew from the Washington Adventist Hospital