With snow burying 1,253 hydrants across Lawrence, a local “fire hydrant challenge” is offering Dunkin’ gift cards for before-and-after photos

By Jill Harmacinski
The Eagle-Tribune

LAWRENCE, Mass. — More than 1,200 fire hydrants across the city were covered by 2 feet of snow in a monster storm earlier this week.

Firefighters were out in force Wednesday clearing the hydrants. Lawrence City Councilor Marc Laplante also renewed his “fire hydrant challenge” to uncover the water-supply equipment.

| MORE: For firefighters, cold doesn’t mean safe

The hydrants need to be dug out with a radius of 3 feet around them and preferably a path to the street, Fire Chief Patrick Delaney said.

“It’s a community effort and we always need assistance,” he said while referring to a map showing 1,253 hydrants in the city that measures roughly 6 square miles.

With Laplante’s challenge, residents are asked to identify a hydrant and photograph it before and after. Email the photos to Laplante at [email protected] to quality for a $10 Dunkin’ gift card while supplies last.

Keeping a hydrant clear means easier firefighter access to water in the event of a fire and “more time doing what really matters — fighting a fire,” Laplante said.

From last Friday through Monday, including during the snow storm, city firefighters responded to more than 100 calls that included a structure fire, motor vehicle accidents, medical aids and reports of broken pipes and malfunctioning sprinklers, Delaney said.

Throughout the storm, city officials and departments heads had a plan which kept them in communication with another.

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