NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Fire Department is reminding New Yorker that parking in front of a fire hydrant is not only against the law, but it could slow down firefighters responding to a fire.
That’s what happened Wednesday morning in the Bronx when a car was parked in front of a hydrant, delaying firefighters’ response during a three-alarm blaze.
“At this morning’s 3-alarm fire in the Bronx a vehicle was blocking a fire hydrant. FDNY urges New Yorkers to NEVER park on a fire hydrant. Blocking or obstructing a hydrant results in a delay in providing water to extinguish a fire,” FDNY said today in a statement.
You can see a video of the fire here.
Parking in front of hydrants is not only against the law, but it could also be damaging to your vehicle as firefighters often use any means possible to reach the hydrant, even if that means pushing your car out of the way and being forced to cause damage to the vehicle in order to safely fight a fire. A video posted last month shows a New York City fire truck pushing a car out of the way in order to reach the hydrant during a fire.