WARWICK — At last, fire hydrants have come to Warwick.
However, they are not the usual red or yellow metal fire hydrants that adorn most streets across Franklin County. Passersby may not suspect that the white PVC pipe sticking up from the ground with a bright red cover on top is in fact a fire hydrant.
Warwick Fire Chief Ron Gates said the first such hydrant was installed beside a private pond on Route 78 last week by Don Matthews Excavating. He hopes to have three additional hydrants installed in town before winter or in early spring, a setup which he said will revolutionize how the Warwick Fire Department responds to fires.
“It’ll make it a lot easier, especially in the winter,” Gates said. “You’re going to cut down a lot of time trying to cut through ice. Even during the summer, now we just pull up to the hydrant and start pumping.”
Because Warwick doesn’t have any public water mains and its residents instead get their water from individual wells, traditional fire hydrants that would pull water from a town water ststen is impossible. Instead, the Warwick Fire Department transports water on their engines, many of which hold 1,000 gallons of water, and by a 2,800-gallon tanker.
“As the fire progresses, you need to draft the water (from a natural source) or have a tanker shuttling it back and forth,” Gates said.
The department pulls water from ponds, streams and other bodies of water close to the fire. In the winter, firefighters often walk onto the ice to break a hole, which Gates said puts them in danger of falling through the ice. Having hydrants accessing ponds will thus improve safety.
Installation of the hydrants has been made possible by a Department of Conservation and Recreation matching grant for $2,000, which the department received earlier this year. The Warwick Fire Department was able to match the contribution within its budget.
“(The grant) is for volunteer fire departments with low income,” Gates said. “They give it out every year. We’ve received it four years in a row now.”
Additionally, Don Matthews Excavating of Warwick donated time and equipment to install the first hydrant. Gates hopes eventually to have between eight and 10 hydrants.
“We’re trying to get them spread out quite a bit through town,” he said. “Any water source that we would generally use we’re going to try to put a hydrant at.”
Gates said the installation of fire hydrants will benefit residents not just by making it easier for the Warwick Fire Department to fight fires, but because residents who live close enough to a hydrant will experience reduced home insurance rates.