Bridgewater Moves To Require Snow Clearing Around Fire Hydrants

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater officials have introduced an ordinance that would require property owners to clear snow and ice from around fire hydrants near their properties after storms.

The Township Council introduced the ordinance at the July 23 meeting, which would require that "The owner, tenant or occupant of any lands abutting upon the public streets of the Township" be required to remove all snow and ice on or around fire hydrants "within 12 hours of daylight after the inclement weather has ended."

Township Administrator Michael Pappas told the council the proposal came after a request from local fire officials.

Pappas said Mayor Matthew Moench was contacted by all the fire chiefs from the Township's volunteer fire companies "asking that an ordinance amendment be considered that would simply require that property owners who have a fire hydrant in front of their property remove the snow to assist in the response time."

Councilman Michael Kirsh said he supports the proposal but raised concerns about how the rule would work at intersections, where snow can pile up after plowing.

Kirsh noted that at intersections sometimes there is "a particularly large mound of snow" from snow plows.

"I certainly support this conceptually. I just would want to make sure that we have discussion about how we would handle situations where fire hydrants at or near intersections," said Kirsh.

Pappas said those concerns were valid and said public works should not block access to hydrants during snow removal.

He also said Green Brook Fire Chief Jim Driscoll provided him with a device that can extend the height of a fire hydrant with a pole of "probably five feet," which he said could be considered during large snowfalls.

Council Vice President Andrew Bucko said he had recently looked for hydrants while driving in town and found that "very few have those reflector devices on them" and that "quite a few were hidden by brush, whether it was tall grass or weeds or something along those lines."

He asked for information before the public hearing on how many hydrants in Bridgewater may be on private property and whether the ordinance should address them.

The council voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance.

Final action for this ordinance is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. in the municipal courtroom.

Public inspection of this ordinance is available on the township website, the bulletin board, and through the clerk's office.

Or see the ordinance below:

11a (2) by Alexis Tarrazi

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.