WINNIPEG – If you are worried about a fire hydrant not working in front of your home, school or business, the city’s fire chief says his crews always come prepared.
“We have contingencies to deal with that,” said Chief John Lane.
Global News has learned just over 400 fire hydrants in Winnipeg do not work.
The city will not say where because of concerns surrounding safety.
“There is a danger that some people might perceive any given hydrant is the only fire protection for a property and someone could try to take advantage of that,” said Tim Shanks, with Winnipeg’s Water and Waste department.
Lane says at least three pump trucks will roll up to a fire call with just over 1500 litres of water in each.
“That will often provide the water for our initial attack,” he said.
The trucks will also strategically park.
“They position themselves beside a hydrant so we always have a second or third hydrant close at hand in case it is required for a fire attack, either because the first one isn’t working or additional water flow is required,” said Lane.
Shanks says there is a dedicated fire hydrant maintenance crew but it still could take several years to fix a hydrant if it is not deemed critical.
Some hydrants may never be replaced.
“They don’t provide fire protect or are not used for fire protection and they are older hydrants on a subsystem of our network that are obsolete,” Shanks said.
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