News
Local Fire Department Video Goes Viral
A local fire department has some new tools to keep people safe, and video of the equipment being installed is going viral.
I was just in awe. I didn't realize anything like this was even available."
Like 1.7
million of other people, Greene Township Supervisor Joy Biebel couldn't help but be intrigued by the dry hydrants now hanging from three bridges in Greene Township.
They quickly drop into the creek below, offering easy access to Kuhl Hose firefighters who don't have standard hydrants to rely on.
"We don’t have water here in Greene Township," she said. "So they are stuck trying to get water out of ponds and traveling distances sometimes and getting other companies to come help with their tankers."
Kuhl Hose Chief Don Erbin Jr. says he started considering the dry hydrants a year ago.
He got grant money to pay for the project, and says for a total cost of about $12,000 his community is now safer.
"This makes it a lot easier and faster to get that water rather than trying to muscle the suction hose and the strainers over the bridge with one or two fellows trying to do that themselves," he said.
Erbin says he's been inundated with calls and emails from other departments, some from other countries, who saw the installation video and want to learn more.
Erbin says he wants more -- more hydrants -- all with the goal of keeping people safe.
"My goal is to try to have a dry hydrant like this or an access point for water within less than a mile of everyone in Greene Township," he said. "We are getting there slowly. There are these three dry hydrants plus 22 others throughout the township, and I would like to add another 22 if I could.”
Saving time -- and perhaps lives -- with a simple but effective tool.
Each hydrant costs between $3,000 and $4,500, and they're custom designed to the specific bridges from which they hang.
Although Kuhl Hose can bring about 6,000 gallons of water to every fire it fights, in some cases, even more is needed, and a quick refill with the bridge hydrants will be a huge help when battling a large blaze.