Fire Department teams up with Rural Fire Protection Task Force to restore fire-fighting water sources

December 11, 2020  |  By Scott Cunningham

The hydrant at the fire pond in the Blush Hill Estates neighborhood was replaced through a grant program administered by the Vermont Rural Fire Protection Task Force in partnership with the Waterbury Fire Department. Photo by Scott Cunningham.

The Waterbury Fire Department, in partnership with the Vermont Rural Fire Protection Task Force, recently completed the installation of a dry hydrant at the Blush Hill Estates fire pond as part of a program to improve fire protection in rural Vermont communities. According to the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, the mission of the Vermont Rural Fire Protection Task Force is to improve the safety and welfare of Vermont communities by assisting local fire departments in reducing the risk of injury, loss of life, and damage to property and natural resources.

The Blush Hill Estates fire pond had an existing dry hydrant that was no longer functional, therefore it could not be used by local fire departments. The fire pond’s infrastructure had also deteriorated over the years, causing the water level to drop several feet below normal. 

The neighborhood homeowners consulted with Mark Walker of Walker Construction, who is also a senior firefighter with the Stowe Fire Department, to create a plan to repair the existing infrastructure and install a new dry hydrant. Waterbury Fire Department Chief Gary Dillon and Rural Fire Protection Task Force Program Manager Troy Dare approved the plan.

Dillon said the town of Waterbury has installed dry hydrants in a number of locations over the years. One example is a dry hydrant near Union Street that serves as a backup should a water main fail. Recently, he said, his department worked with Duxbury on a hydrant installation as well. “Dry hydrants make getting water easier for fire departments in the event of a fire, in typically non-hydrant areas,” he said. “Dry hydrants can be installed into ponds or waterways that flow enough volume. They can help with insurance rates for people that live within 1,000 feet of a water source.” Dillon said there is at least one new hydrant project in Waterbury to be reviewed in the spring. 

The fire department works with a state program to improve fire protection by installing hydrants and other systems to expand the availability and accessibility of water for firefighting purposes in areas not served by the municipal water systems. Dry hydrants are a preferred method of providing water for firefighting in areas where there are no water mains. A dry hydrant consists of a 6- to 8-inch pipe with a fitting to which a pump/tanker truck can attach. The pipe connects to a water source such as a pond or stream that can supply at least 60,000 gallons under drought conditions.

The Vermont Legislature created the grant program in 1998 to assist communities in improving infrastructure for fire protection in rural areas of Vermont. According to the conservation districts website, the maximum grant award is $10,000 per project/system, and a 25% local match is required. The maximum grant could be as much as $20,000 if the project meets other criteria such as project cost, type and date completed. The 25% match can be met through cash contributions and/or in-kind services such as labor, materials and equipment usage. The residents of Blush Hill Estates contributed over 80 hours of their time to clear brush from the site and manage the overall project, and JA McDonald donated material to help build a new access road to the fire pond.

According to a 2019 task force report to the Legislature, from 1998 to 2017, the grant program funded 884 projects in 214 Vermont towns for a total of $1.78 million, and  Waterbury is listed as receiving two grants in that time period. 

This is one example of the service Waterbury Fire Department provides in preparation for the next alarm.

Scott Cunningham is president of the Blush Hill Estates Homeowners Association in Waterbury.