How removing snow from fire hydrants is helping first responders

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - As snowfall continues to accumulate throughout Anchorage, the city’s Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) is asking that residents grab a shovel and help clear their neighborhood fire hydrants.

AWWU works year-round to ensure that hydrants are in proper condition and ready in case first responders need to use them.

“I’d rather see the firefighter working the fire hydrant with a hose, instead of coming out with a shovel trying to find it, when he’s there for an emergency,” Buck Voeller, hydrant specialist with AWWU, said.

Voeller is one of eight specialists who work on tackling Anchorage’s roughly 7,500 hydrants. Voeller himself is responsible for making sure that 1,200 fire hydrants are ready in case of an emergency.

“Safety is the main concern,” Voeller said. “So the quicker that the fire department can get to the hydrant and take care of an emergency, the better off.”

With a team that small, it’s a juggling act when winter rolls around to make sure each fire hydrant gets cleared in time, especially after a large snow dump.

“It slows the process down. I’m trying to get to each one of my hydrants by at least every six to eight weeks,” Voeller said. “When you get that massive snow dump on them, it slows you down big time.”

Voeller said the snow can delay him at least two months from revisiting a fire hydrant. Residents he said can help by clearing snow from a three-foot radius around the fire hydrant.

“Adopt a hydrant — if there’s one in front of your house, it would be helpful if it was actually shoveled out when I approach it,” Voeller said. “It kind of brings a big smile to my face when I come across a hydrant that’s already ready for me to go and tackle.”

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