BUFFALO, N.Y. — Now with all this snow piled up, there is a new plea from local fire departments. They are asking for helping to clear the snow from the fire hydrants.
Erie County Fire Safety Commissioner Chris Couell says the snow can already delay the firefighters from getting on scene, and having to spend time clearing the hydrants can add more strain on crews.
And with them buried so deep, Couell shared some helpful advice on how to spot them.
"They should have some kind of marker. It depends what town you're in, what area you're in. They could have a reflective stick a spring loaded stick on top. a wooden marker with paint on top. And sometimes those get pushed over too from the snow, so you might have to look around a little bit and go where you think it might be in that area and try to dig it out a little bit." he said.
Couell said there should be about 3 to 5 feet around each fire hydrant so crews can easily access it.