National Fire Authority Firefighters battling fires face difficulties in locating the fire hydrants which are silted-up with debris. This comes to light after NFA firefighters attended to a fire incident in Raiwai on Saturday (October 17) where a nearby underground fire hydrant located at Kia street was covered with rubbish.
The firefighters had to look for another fire hydrant in order to extinguish the fire.
National Fire Authority Acting Chief Fire Officer Mr Tupou Saubulinayau said: “NFA is concerned with people throwing rubbish on top of the underground fire hydrants.
“NFA firefighters face great difficulty in locating the underground fire hydrant because people throw rubbish on top of the hydrants. This situation becomes exceedingly difficult at night when attending to a fire scene.
“NFA advises the public to refrain from throwing rubbish on top of the fire hydrants which hinders the job of the firefighters during a fire incident.
Fire hydrants are meant to be used by the National Fire Authority firefighters to draft water into the fire tank in order to extinguish the fires,” Mr Saubulinayau said.
People should always keep the area clean and accessible where the fire hydrants are located so that when a fire occurs in the neighborhood, the fire incidents the firefighters will be able to locate the fire hydrant easily and carry out their operation quickly,” Mr Saubulinayau said.