Cleanup is underway in southwest Edmonton after an EPCOR truck drove over a fire hydrant Thursday afternoon, leading to an eruption of water.
It happened along Riverbend Road, in the Brander Gardens neighbourhood, some time after noon.
A spokesperson with EPCOR said one of its drainage hydro-vac trucks came into contact with a fire hydrant and dislodged it from the base.
Area resident Wade McBeth was sitting in his house when he saw it happen. The impact caused water to shoot high into the air and flow down the road, making quite a mess along the street.
“It created a new fountain for the neighbourhood,” he laughed.
“A gigantic fountain. It was taller than the vacuum truck — probably 12 or 15 feet high — and the water was draining both directions down the road.”
He said crews arrived quickly to turn off the water and start the cleanup.
There was no damage to his home, which McBeth was thankful for.
“It doesn’t look as bad as I was expecting. I’m hoping they’ll be able to sweep away the water before it freezes but it isn’t pooling as badly, at least by my place, as I was fearing it might.”
Wade said it provided a bit of afternoon entertainment for the neighbourhood.
“You see old images of kids in the summer playing in front of fire hydrants because they’re too hot or something, but no, I’ve never seen anything like that — especially in the winter.”
EPCOR said the driver of the truck was not injured. The company’s fleet safety team is conducting an investigation. EPCOR Water Canada was on site Thursday afternoon making repairs to the hydrant.