Adopt A Hydrant

The Charleston 9

This fire in Tewksbury stresses the importance of visible and readily accessible fire hydrants. The the second arriving engine company at this fire laid a 1000 feet of hose on a warm July night to provide a water supply for crews fighting this mobile home fire. An adjacent mobile home was initially protected by the first arriving engine company with their 500 gallon onboard water supply due to the advanced state of the fire. The 1000 foot hose lay created a slight delay in gaining a continuous water supply; a mandatory need in a fire such as this. After the water supply was secured and the fire knocked down, a local resident began to move rubbish away from a hydrant that was less than 100 feet from the fire.

The Tewksbury Fire Department has partnered with Hy-Viz Incorporated to bring fiberglass hydrant markers to the community. These highly reflective hydrant markers will allow hydrants to be visible, day or night, from a great distance. The markers will help locate snow covered hydrants during the winter months, tree and shrub obstructed hydrants during the warmer months, and rubbish obstructed hydrants all yearlong. Hy-Viz markers have a stainless steel spring and ring mount. We have chosen the "Patriot Banding" design for use in Tewksbury.

Here's how the program works:

A resident or business will purchase a hydrant marker for $14.99 by either sending a check or money order payable to The Tewksbury Fire Department, c/o: Adopt A Hydrant Program, by coming into a neighborhood fire station and completing a brief Adopt A Hydrant Request Form, or by going directly to the Hy-Viz Incorporated website and ordering directly from the manufacturer.
The resident or business will provide us with the nearest street address (i.e.. in front of 123 Main Street) of the hydrant they wish to adopt at the time payment is sent.
Once a group of orders have been placed, the Fire Department will locate the adopted hydrants and place the markers on them.
In the event that there are multiple requests for marking the same hydrant, we will place the marker on one of the many critical hydrants that we have in town that may be overlooked. We will notify residents or businesses of our placement once the marker is installed.
Also helpful would be if residents could keep their hydrants accessible year-round. Snow in the winter and shrub overgrowth in the summer can hamper quick access in an emergency where minutes, if not seconds, count.
Purchasing a hydrant marker does not mean you "own" a fire hydrant or the property it sits on. Fire hydrants are the property of the Town of Tewksbury with the exception of private property. Generally, any hydrant in Town can only be painted red with white or yellow caps and bonnet. If you wish to paint a fire hydrant, please call the Fire Department for acceptable colors.

For mail-in requests print out an Adopt A Hydrant Request Form and mail it with your donation to:

Tewksbury Fire Department

c/o: Adopt a Hydrant Program

21 Town Hall Avenue

Tewksbury, MA 01876

Fire Department personnel, in conjunction with the Water Department, annually inspect the fire hydrants in town. We recently began functional flow testing to make sure that each hydrant operates as designed. Many of these hydrants have not been flowed for a number of years. Flowing these hydrants can stir up sediment in the water mains that may eventually make it into your homes and businesses. Please accept our apologies if this causes any inconvenience. Our mission is to ensure that all hydrants within the community will operate as designed should they be needed in an emergency.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact our S.A.F.E. Officer Firefighter Rick Hamm by email or by calling (978) 640-4416 x769 and leaving a message.

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