Fire hydrants are a vital tool for firefighters to access the water they need to keep the community safe. The Athens fire department is starting the rounds of checking the equipment they can’t keep at the fire station to ensure that they work and work well enough to put out a fire.
“Each year, every hydrant in the city must be inspected, water lines flushed and flow rates tested,” the department shared in an Instagram post.
To meet ISO regulations, the hydrants must be inspected for certification requirements.
“What we do is just make sure they hydrants are opening and closing, that all the valves are working properly. and make sure, of course, they’re flowing water and that there are no missing caps,” Athens Fire Department Chief James Hand said. “It’s a maintenance thing we do.”
The testing should have no impact on residents, and the department will test the hydrants as time and weather allows.
“This time of year, with the weather and cold, we aren’t going to put guys out in inclement weather. We were able to go through and do 100 the day we started,” Hand said.
Hand estimates that there are approximately 1,500 hydrants around the city to test as a part of this process.