The Crookston Fire Department is bringing back its Hydrant Hero (formerly known as Adopt-A-Hydrant) to ask residents to keep fire hydrants clear of snow and ice in the event of a fire.
Crookston Firefighter Garrett Bengtson noted that firefighters must have clear and easy access to the fire hydrants as it gets them to start fighting fires immediately rather than taking several minutes clearing it out when time is critical. “It’s a really important thing, especially with the amount of snow we recently got last week here. I know on the north end specifically, there’s a lot of hydrants under a lot of ice and snow,” Garrett Bengston explained. “A fire doubles in size every thirty seconds, and it can take us five minutes to fully clear a hydrant to get somebody to put a hose on it and start extinguishing any fire we have. It helps us out a lot. If there was a situation in your neighborhood, it’s valuable time that we can get in and start getting to work instead of having to dig out a hydrant.” To ensure the path to a fire hydrant is clear, the department asks for residents to clear a perimeter of about three feet around the hydrant and a clear path from the street to the hydrant.
The Fire Department welcomes individuals, groups, and businesses to adopt their local hydrants and has already started placing flyers giving more information about how they can adopt one now. “You can sign up through email at cfd@crookston.mn.us and put your name and address and what hydrant you would like. There will also be Hydrant Hero sheets at local businesses, I’m getting around to dropping them off, and with that, there will be a QR code with a hydrant map on there. You can also find them on Facebook, and I will be getting them on the Crookston website (ckn.mn/hydrant), where you can see the map of the hydrants and be able to give us the information that you’re looking for to allow us to get on there and show that you have adopted it.” Some shops people can get the sheets at include Northern Lumber and Hardware Hanks, with more planned to be given at other high-visibility businesses.
The program is already well underway, as Bengston said they have already received applications for hydrants and seen several hydrants cleared already. Along with adopting a hydrant, the Fire Department will recognize those who have adopted hydrants with a Hydrant Hero every two weeks. “Every two weeks, we’ll have a can with names of everyone who has a hydrant, and will draw a name out of the can and that person will get a $20 gift card to a business in town,” Bengston explained. “We’ll get a picture with you and the first couple that signs for the program. We have plastic signs you can put up in your yard saying you’re a Hydrant Hero.”
You can sign up for the program today by emailing the Crookston Fire Department at cfd@crookston.mn.us, and if you have any questions about the program, you can call the Crookston Fire Department at 218-281-4584. Stay tuned to KROX to hear more about the Hydrant Hero Program on Valley Talk on Monday, December 26, at 10:45 a.m. on KROX.
