This Is What Happens When You Park In Front Of A Fire Hydrant

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Think back to driver’s ed, and you’ll probably recall that you’re supposed to park at least 15 feet away from a fire hydrant.

A driver in Merced, California, apparently forgot that lesson.

Firefighters Called To Battle A House Fire

Firefighters at the Merced Fire Department had to make a split-second decision when they arrived at this house fire back in 2011, according to CNN. This was no ordinary house fire, either—inside there were 3,000 marijuana plants.

The tan two-door sedan with a California license plate was parked directly in front of a white fire hydrant, leaving emergency responders no choice but to break through its two front windows. They connected a thick red hose to the fire hydrant, then ran it through the passenger-side window and out the driver’s side window, where they were able to point the flow of water toward the house.

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“I heard this loud glass crash and I turned around and I saw my engineer throwing a hose through the center of the car,” Don Long, Merced deputy fire chief, told CNN. “He just took his hydrant wrench and took out the driver’s side, walked over, took out the passenger’s side.”

Fire officials say keeping hydrants clear is important, especially when a fire has the potential to injure people or animals.

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“This idiot, whoever it is, parked on a hydrant and left it, now just jeopardized somebody’s life,” New York City firefighter Kevin Kustka told CNN.

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Hydrants are essential for sustained firefighting, as trucks can only carry so much water to a scene.

According to the El Dorado Hills Fire Department in California, homeowners and residents should keep bushes and shrubs at least three feet away from hydrants as well.

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The department also says that children should never play or tamper with fire hydrants.

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“It may seem like a large area, but firefighters need room to connect large hoses from several directions in order to do their job,” the department advises. Noted!

[h/t: Little Things]

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Sarah Kuta
Sarah Kuta is an award-winning writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She writes regularly about travel, saving money, health, food and more.

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