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Some Area Fire Hydrants in Need of Service

August 31, 2010

Leaking hydrant at nw corner of Newton & Warder

I was a bit surprised to see not one, but two fire hydrants that were leaking severely in the area. The one that bothers me the most is on the northwest corner of Newton Place and Warder Street … in front of the school.

It is clearly marked “Out of Service” and has been for a while. There is a constant stream of water flowing from it. Though I haven’t taken any measurements, it wouldn’t shock me to discover that a couple of gallons of water were leaking out of it each hour.

The other hydrant is on the southwest corner of Princeton Place and Georgia Avenue. The rate of water loss at this one is nowhere near as severe.

Leaking hydrant @ sw corner of Georgia & Princeton

I found it noteworthy that this hydrant is clearly marked as being “in service.”

I’ll certainly be following up on these to find out when they are scheduled to be repaired. I’m especially concerned about how long the hydrant by the school will be off-line. While I’m not going to suggest that any down hydrant isn’t a priority, I would think that hydrants near schools, hospitals, or other such buildings should be a higher priority.

Does anyone know if there are other broken hydrants around the neighborhood, or are these the only two examples at this time?

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Categories: Public Safety, Random Observations, Restoration repair and maintenance
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Engine Company No. 4 Provides Hands-On Lessons in Fire Safety to Park View Children

May 17, 2010

(by guest contributor, Jamaal Abdul-Alim; photos by Hadiyah Abdul-Alim)

The firefighters of Engine Company No. 4 delivered a few lessons in fire safety this weekend to roughly two dozen children at the Park View Recreational Center.

Firefighter Tony Kelleher helped children use the fire hose (Photo by Hadiyah Abdul-Alim)

Some of those lessons were hands-on. The children got a chance to peer inside a fire truck, spray a water hose on the sidewalk and touch the protective gear of a firefighter after he demonstrated how to put it on.

The up close encounters were meant to get the children familiar with firefighters and what they do so that in the event of an actual fire the children won’t run and hide from the firefighters, who might look and sound scary in their oxygen masks and bulky protective gear but are there to rescue anyone who may be trapped in a burning building.

To drive home this point, DCFD wagon driver Tony Kellher had firefighter Ian O’Byrne put on his firefighter gear and asked the children to say his name — Firefighter Ian — throughout the process so that the children remember that underneath the mask and all the gear it’s still Firefighter Ian.

“Who is this?” Kellerher repeatedly asked the youths as they sat in the shade on Princeton Place.

Firefighter Ian O'Byrne in his firefighter gear (Photo by Hadiyah Abdul-Alim)

“Firefighter Ian,” the children would all yell in response.

Inside the small recreation center building on Princeton Place, DCFD Public Educator Patricia Everett instructed the children on what to do in an actual fire.

For instance, she said, children should crawl on the floor beneath the thickness of the smoke in order to get out of a burning structure because that’s where the breathable air will be. (more…)

Categories: Community Involvement, DCFD, Public Safety
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Fire Safety and Engine Company Display This Saturday

May 14, 2010

April 26th fire on Quincy Street

This Saturday, May 15, 2010, the D.C. Fire Department will hold two separate events related to fire safety.

The first event is called SAVU (Smoke Alarm Verification and Utilization) and will begin at 11 a.m. in the 600 block of Quincy. Residents may recall that this is the same block where a fire occurred on April 26th damaging several homes and displacing one family.

Then at noon at the Park View Recreation Center, the Fire Department has planned an Engine Company display and fire safety presentation for neighborhood children. In addition to getting an opportunity to get a better acquainted with an Engine Company, participants will also have the ability to be introduced to fire safety topics focusing on what to do and what not to do in a fire, such as not hiding from a fire, always letting an adult know there is a fire, and practicing escape plans.

The Engine Company display and fire safety presentation will be held in conjunction with the Fun Saturdays that already take place at the rec center from 11 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The information shared by the fireman will be informative for both young and old. For those unfamiliar with the fire that occurred on the 600 block of Quincy Street, one of the reasons it spread so quickly was because it started out as an electrical fire. It escalated when a young girl tried in vain to douse it with two glasses of water.

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