By Debra Friedman
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 09/13/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT
[Photo] Firefighter Rob Despres, left, and Lt. Lester Gilman, on truck, test a dry hydrant at the Ernest Seton Thompson Boy Scout Reservation in June 2007. The town is investing in more dry hydrants and cisterns to provide water to fight fires in the backcountry.
The fire department has completed phase one of a five-year project aimed at building an extensive system of dry hydrants and underground cisterns to help firefighters tap into water sources in dry areas of the backcountry, officials said.
Fire Inspector John Fronio said six new dry hydrantswere put into place as of August with plans for more in the works.
"All six have been tested and accepted by the department," Fronio said.
The hydrants are on Partridge Hollow Road near the causeway and pond, Taconic Road, Shannon Lane, North Stanwich Road and Creamer Hill Road, according to the department.
The first major installation of dry hydrants in Greenwich was in 2002, but this year is the beginning of a larger initiative funded by the town, according to Assistant Fire Chief Robert Kick.
The dry hydrants, which cost an estimated $25,000 each, are attached to underground pipelines that connect to nearby water sources like ponds or lakes. Some of the hydrants are almost 100 feet from the source, while others are much closer, Fronio said.
The department spent about $150,000 on the six dry hydrants, Fronio said. In July, the department was awarded an additional $250,000 for the 2008-09 project funding, according to Kick. Fronio said he will use the funds not only for more dry hydrants, but for cisterns as well.
A cistern is an underground water tank placed in areas with no water sources, which allows firefighters to battle blazes in remote and completely dry areas, Fronio said. Compared to a dry hydrant, a cistern has a smaller water supply, as some tanks can hold only 10,000 gallons and the average fire hose can shoot out 2,000 gallons a minute, Fronio said. The fire department wants to place cisterns with very large tanks in the backcountry, Fronio said.
According to fire department estimates, the final cost of the initiative, projected for completion in 2013, will be about $750,000. But a price cannot be put on how valuable the hydrants and cisterns are in a time of crisis, Fronio said.
"If the town spends a million dollars in the next 10 years for all this dry hydrant work, and we can save one life, don't you think it's worth it?" said Fronio.
"The basic ingredient for firefighting is water, and we are at a loss without it," said Kick. "These hydrants drastically improve our firefighters' effort in the backcountry."