HINESBURG, Vt. (WCAX) – Fire and rescue crews are bracing for the worst as temperatures plummet this weekend and both the number of fires and the difficulty of fighting them increase.
“Sub-zero temperatures make even a routine call exponentially harder,” said Hinesburg Fire Chief Prescott Nadeau. “You need to be considering making sure pumps don’t freeze, so you’re cycling water through it. But the general fatigue with fighting a fire in sub-zero temperatures means you’re having to get additional help, and early on,” Nadeau said.
Nadeau says a common problem in the Northeast is frozen fire hydrants, like what crews in Swanton dealt with Monday morning at a house fire. He says it happens when a hydrant is not properly winterized or if the drain is broken and there’s water coming up.
“Hopefully, you can move to the next hydrant down the line, if you have one. But ultimately speaking, what fire chiefs like myself have to keep in mind is a plan B. For us, that’s water on wheels, meaning we’re bringing additional help from neighboring communities in the form of a tanker truck,” Nadeau said.
To prevent any problems, Nadeau has some suggestions as you try and stay warm this weekend.
If you opt for a space heater, leave a three-foot barrier around it and make sure that it’s new enough that it has automatic tip-over protection, so if it gets knocked over, it shuts off immediately.
And if you have one, be sure your chimney has been recently inspected, as build-up of dangerous material could cause a fire.
Nadeau also says you should make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working, and check on any vulnerable neighbors.
