Another Potential Storm On Way - Be Prepared!

Surprise, surprise another potential storm is on the way! While there is still some debate as to how much, if any, snow accumulation there may be, there appears to be one weather element all of the forecasters agree upon – high winds! As many of you are all too aware, high winds can mean no electricity for your homes for extended periods of time.


As I always stress here – BE PREPARED!

One particular piece of the preparedness issue I want to hit is making sure you use BATTERY POWERED lighting equipment if your power goes out and you need some light! I saw a local news story this morning which caused me great distress as they interviewed one local young lady who stressed that she needed to make sure she had plenty of candles in case her power went out at night. If that were not enough, they then interviewed another MC family that had a power outage the last storm and they hit upon candle use and the camera showed a picture of a burning candle on this family’s WOOD table without any holder or non-combustible plate beneath it! YIKES! A potential disaster within a disaster there!

As I posted during all of our winter storms, please make sure you keep your local fire hydrant clear of any snow so that our people can readily see them and use them in case of fire.

Please take some time to prepare for this potential storm. If anything less than the worst occurs, then you will be more than ready! But please take a moment to click below and review some steps you should take, and some items you should have on hand, to prepare for the weather.

Winter Weather Tips

Winter Storms

Disaster Preparedness

Fireplace Safety Tips

Candle Safety - As some of you will use them regardless! : )

Delays, Closings, & Other Information Due to Winter Storms & Emergencies

Stay 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.