Drivers urged to avoid parking over hydrants and delaying Fire Service response

Motorists are being urged not to park over fire hydrants in Northamptonshire – as it risks delaying the Fire Service’s response.

During fires, crews from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service need to access fire hydrants so they can connect to a water supply – which helps to refill our fire engines or access additional water.

Hydrants can be identified as they are often sprayed yellow on the ground, and a yellow H sign on a street will indicate where the nearest hydrant is.

But the sight of cars parked over hydrants, blocking access to crucial water supply, is becoming an increasingly common sight for firefighters.

Reece Aberdeen-Roberts is a Water Officer for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, part of a team that maintains fire hydrants across the county.

He said: “Cars being parked on hydrants is an issue that we see a lot. It can cause issues for us when we turn up to an incident and we can’t get the water that we need.

“We have some water on the fire engine, but we need additional water so we can put the fire out more quickly. If the closest hydrant is blocked by a car, we have to find the next closest hydrant – and that can sometimes be up to 300 metres away. So it can really delay us when we’re tackling a fire.

“We would ask people to look out for hydrants when they are parking. You can spot them as they will be marked with a yellow square with a black H on it. On the floor, you’ll see a cast iron grate which will often be painted yellow.

“It might cause some inconvenience for people, but if you can find an alternative parking space that doesn’t block a hydrant then you can spare us vital minutes during an incident – which can potentially save a life.”

For more information, please visit https://www.northantsfire.gov.uk/hydrants/