A FDNY thawing unit has been spotted checking and thawing hydrants on Gerritsen Avenue.
A fire hydrant is an above-ground connection that provides access to a water supply for the purpose of fighting fires.
There are two types of pressurized fire hydrants: wet-barrel and dry-barrel. In a wet-barrel design, the hydrant is connected directly to the pressurized water source. The upper section, or barrel, of the hydrant is always filled with water, and each outlet has its own valve with a stem that sticks out the side of the barrel. In a dry-barrel design, the hydrant is separated from the pressurized water source by a main valve in the lower section of the hydrant below ground. The upper section remains dry until the main valve is opened by means of a long stem that extends up through the top, or bonnet, of the hydrant. There are no valves on the outlets. Dry-barrel hydrants are usually used where winter temperatures fall below 32° F (0° C) to prevent the hydrant from freezing.
Unpressurized hydrants are always a drybarrel design. The upper section does not fill with water until the fire pumper applies a vacuum.
Read more: How fire hydrant is made – material, making, used, components, dimensions, machine, Types of Hydrants, Raw Materials, Design, The Manufacturing Process of fire hydrant http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Fire-Hydrant.html#ixzz0bnAxx0RK
insurance company should SUE city for 7 FROZEN HYDRANTS
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@Dewrock, testgh
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does that mean that after the fire hydrant is open that the pumper truck should shut off the hydrant and vacume any excess water out of the hydrant to keep it from freezing.
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All fire hydrants in NYC are supposed to drain themselves after being opened. So a properly working hydrant should never freeze, because it should properly drain to a point below the frost level, at the water main. Faulty hydrant drains are the #1 repair issue with hydrants, and the direct cause of frozen hydrants. It is the DEP's responsibility to repair hydrants citywide. Each hydrant in the city is inspected by FDNY Firefighters twice a year, a report is then sent to DEP to repair any malfunctioning hydrants.
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so sad it took a something like this for them to do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I can't believe a tragedy as great as this would go virtually unnoticed outside of the Beach. I did not see this story mentioned in the Daily News or the New York Times or any TV or radio stations that I'm aware of. Because the fire hydrants were frozen, we are virtually unprotected against the loss of our homes in cold weather due to fire… and that's not a story? We're not talking about the Arctic wasteland; we're talking about normal winter temperature for this area. I would imagine every neighborhood that is serviced by wet barrel fire hydrants could be in the same
situation that the Hayes family finds themselves in today. What about the rest of the hydrants in Gerritsen Beach; are they being thawed also?
This should not be tolerated. There should be an immediate investigation to avert something that could cause such a catastrophic disaster.
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I can't believe a tragedy as great as this would go virtually unnoticed outside of the Beach. I did not see this story mentioned in the Daily News or the New York Times or any TV or radio stations that I'm aware of. Because the fire hydrants were frozen, we are virtually unprotected against the loss of our homes in cold weather due to fire… and that's not a story? We're not talking about the Arctic wasteland; we're talking about normal winter temperature for this area. I would imagine every neighborhood that is serviced by wet barrel fire hydrants could be in the same
situation that the Hayes family finds themselves in today. What about the rest of the hydrants in Gerritsen Beach; are they being thawed also?
This should not be tolerated. There should be an immediate investigation to avert something that could cause such a catastrophic disaster.
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This tragedy was mentioned briefly on Page 2 of Tuesday's Daily News but you're right, any other neighborhood would be calling for someone's heads and some kind of reparations. Neighborhoods like Gerritsen Beach will quietly take care of their own and that's why no one cares about them.
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could this problem be because the people use the fire hydrants to fill up their pools and the water sits in the hydrants that freeze in the winyer time.
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Gerritsen Beach.net's reporting on the Hayes fire, and it's subsequent efforts in collecting donations for the Hayes family are to be commended. However, the headline of this article is slightly misleading, and a little unfair, as makes it appear that the FDNY is somehow responsible for the Hayes family losing their home. That is far from the truth. The FDNY is NOT responsible for the repair of fire hydrants; that honor would belong to the DEP. The hydrants wouldn't freeze if the DEP was able to repair all the broken drains the FDNY reports. In their defense, the DEP is no doubt another city agency whose budget has been slashed by Mayor Bloomberg, even as he has raised our sewar and water fees 23% since taking office. It always comes down to money. As far as the FDNY thawing units, there is only 1 unit per borough, and it is staffed at the cities desire. My engine company alone inspects over 540 hydrants located in our district twice a year . There are over 340 fire companies presently in NYC. On average, that would make well over 175,000 hydrants citywide. With only 5 thawing units.
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well if its the dep why don't they have thawing units out?
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let me just say something and not to be the negitive one but i found it fishy that the night of the firre i saw Tommy hayes nephew who works for the fdny working on the thawing Unit and when i said shouldnt you be off he said i got over time for this one . sounds wierd to me.
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Let me clear this up before this gets out of hand… it just so happens firefighter Hayes was working the 9×6 day tour in the thawing unit on overtime. The thawing unit was dispatched from the other side of brooklyn to deal with our frozen hydrants. It looks a little odd because that thawing unit is kept in the firehouse he is assigned to so the manning of the said thawing unit is provided by that house. Special training is needed to operate it. It also is the same policy for any other special unit such as E-321 which houses the brush fire unit and the foam carrier which respond citywide. Overtime earned by firefighters with the knowlage of how to operate, maintain these units is perk of working in that firehouse.
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instead of assuming something why didn't you check it out first. people like you make me sick. do you really think someone would risk their childrens lives as well as their own and their neighbors for the sake of a few dollars. maybe that is what you would do in your sick mind! get life ass……..!
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"let me just say something and not to be the negitive one"
Too late. That is such a Gerritsen Beach-unnecessary-gossipy comment.
Frozen hydrants contributed to the loss of someone's home so they send the thawing unit after the fact because if they had not and another house went they would be in even deeper trouble. The guy who gets the OT call just so happens to be a relative of the people who lost their house…not that big a coincidence seeing how the Beach is populated by so many city employees especially NYFD, NYPD & sanitation.
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It's not fishy, it's how the city does things now. Closing the barn door after the proverbial horse already got out. It's how King Bloomberg makes it appear that city agencies are "doing more with less" when in fact they are just able to do less. Then when something happens, all of a sudden they find the money to fund the manpower that should have been there all along to prevent whatever from happening. It's all about the $, all plus and minus column. Even if the city gets sued for frozen hydrants, and they have to pay for this home and others, if it is cheaper to do that than properly fund the inspection and repair of hydrants, than that is how they do it. Our mayor doesn't care about us as individuals, just numbers. Same goes on in DEP, DOE, FDNY and MTA. And sorry, I just got to say it, leave it to Tom Hayes' nephew to cash in on his uncles trouble. What a POS.
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While there are faulty hydrants that don't drain. Gerritsen beach hydrants are different because some of them fill with water everytime there is a high tide due to the community being below sea level. It doesnt matter how many times you drain them they will just fill up with water again. Also in response to Jim D whenever it is found that there are numerous frozen hydrants in a small area the thawing unit is sent out as soon as possible to thaw them out and to assume that someone set fire to there house and all their personal belongings so their nephew could get a couple hundred dollars in overtime is a bit silly.
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Who said that they 'set fire to there [sic] house and all their personnal belonings so their nephew could get a couple of hundred dollars in overtime'? No One said that. It's just ironic that his nasty nephew was making OT on the situation.
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NO Read the post the Hydrants are supposed to drain themselves
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Well then lets see what is the general use for fire hydrants? I think it would be for fires so the fire dept should be responsible! It is nice to pass the buck but hey the DEP doesnt use them for residential water supply. A lot of restructuring needs to be done here. One unit for the whole city, ridiculous. We pay enough and they want to raise it even more for what? I am done with this city
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The numbers also LIE!!! as you say the King only posts what he wants to post He controls everything. I would have rather had Sharpton
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THE CITY SHOULD MAKE A DONATION TO THE HAYES FAMILY! SPECIFICALLY BLOOMBERG FOR CLOSING FIREHOUSES AND CUTTING THE BUDGET!!
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That's a load of horsehit about being "below sea level" GB hydrants, when in proper working order, drain just like any other city hydrant. Your suggesting that they fill up with sea water then. Not very likely. They are connected directly to the city water main. Do you also drink salt water out of your tap when the tide is high?
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Who is passing the buck? I am simply telling you how it is done in this city. The DEP is equipped and trained to work on hydrants which are connected directly to city water mains. Do you really expect Fire Engines and Ladder companies to travel around NYC carrying the specialized tools and equipment, (not to mention repalcement fire hydrants) to repair and maintain all fire hydrants in NYC? Sure! Lets just get rid of some of this hose and these ladders to make room while we are at it. All while protecting 8 million people, reponding to over 1.2 million emergency calls a year, over 32,000 structural fires, performing 3500 hours of building inspection per week. Not to mention investigating thousands of complaints and, oh yea, inspecting every single fire hydrant in this city twice a year? Wait, I forgot!! 6 firehouses closed by Bloomberg and another possible 16-25 in the upcoming fiscal year, (firehouses which incidentally are all maintained and cleaned on a daily basis by…firefighters!!) and the lowest number of Firefighters employed by this city since the early eighties? Yeah, I guess your right, give it to the FD. But don't complain when it takes 20 minutes for the Fire Dept to show up at your house because we were busy digging up a street fixing a hydrant. Steve G.
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HHHHHHHHHEYYYY MR. JIM D, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FIND A LITTLE FISHY? YOU WANTING TO TAKE CONTROL OVER THE WHOLE HAYES FIRE SITUATION! MAYBE YOU SHOULD LET THEIR BLOOD RELATED FAMILY TAKE CARE OF THEM! YOU ARE A DISGRACE FOR EVEN TALKING ABOUT MY HUSBAND IN A DEROGATORY FASHION. YOU WERE BEING NEGATIVE AND QUITE THE CHARACTER. JIMMY HAYES IS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE BEST FIREFIGHTERS, BUT IN FACT HE CAME IN RESCUE OF HIS FAMILY NOT FOR THE OVERTIME. HE SAVES LIVES FOR A LIVING, AND RISKS HIS LIFE FOR OTHERS EVERYDAY HE WAKES UP! YOU SHOULD STICK WITH THE CORT CLUB ELEMENT THAT YOU CAME FROM AND DRINK BEER EVERYDAY, AND ACT LIKE YOU OWN GERRITSEN. YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ALLOWED TO SPEAK ON THIS WEBSITE. ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT CAUSE PROBLEMS MR. NEGATIVITY! EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT THE FDNY AND THEN TALK TO US! UNTIL THEN GO GET YOUR SHINEBOX!!!!!!!! with all due respect his wife.
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HHHHHHHHHHeeeeyyyyyyy MR. BIG YELLOW TAXI, IN REPLY TO JIMMY HAYES CASHING IN ON HIS UNCLES TROUBLES MAYBE YOU SHOULD KNOW THE SITUATION BEFORE POSTING THE ARROGANT COMMENT YOU DID. NOT LIKE I NEED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF, BUT I FEEL THAT JEALOUSY NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED………. ANYWAY MY HARDWORKING HUSBAND WORKED THE THAWING UNIT ALL DAY AND WHEN HE HEARD THAT IT WAS HIS FAMILY HE CAME TO THEIR RESCUE NOT FOR THE SAKE OF A COUPLE OF DOLLARS! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. SICK TO GOING BACK TO GET AN EDUCATION INSTEAD OF WRITING ON GERRITSEN BEACH.NET LOSER
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MR. BIG YELLOW TAXI WHY IS IT THAT YOU ARE SO JEALOUS OF JIMMY HAYES, WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU? GET A LIFE AND MAYBE APPROACH HIM TO HIS FACE. WE LIVE AT 6 NOVA COURT. LOSER
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I guess you did not read all the comments on this matter as a active member of the FDNY for over 25 years i know for a fact our hydrants in this community are known as plugged hydrants because of our close proximity to the sea. If the hydrants were not plugged sea water can mix with fresh water and contaminate all of the plumbing fixtures and appliances in our homes. This was also stated by a poster named Diane in the comment section about the fire whom i suspect is the wife of a 20 plus year veteran of the DEP. Being that we have these plugged hydrants in our community it is critical that the FDNY brass make certain that the local fire co. perform the fall season hydrant inspection to test and pump our hydrants which i know was not done this past fall due to all fire co. having to perform a third day of BISP (building inspection safety program). Our local firehouse has almost 1100 hydrants to inspect twice per year along with the paper work that goes with it each hydrant in NYC has whats known as a hydrant card to note defects and other information pertaining to the hydrant. Our local firehouse is staffed by a bunch of great caring firefighters so it is of no fault of theres that FDNY brass added extra work to there days thus causing our hydrants not to be done before hydant inspection ended.Now would be the time for our civic groups to call for a change through the proper channels to have a policy set that would mandate that our local fire co. start the spring and fall hydrant inspection seasones in our community to insure that our hydrants are serviced.All across NYC it is legal to open a hydrant for a block party or other permitted event and put a spray on it which is available from your local firehouse this policy is another means for water to be left in the hydrant or caps not be placed on after use.
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I work for the FDNY and I've personally pumped out a bunch of hydrants in gerritsen beach that dont drain and have gone back the next day to have them filled up with water again. So YES they do fill up with water, nothing was ever said about SEA water. When asked why this happens the answer that was given was that the community was below sea level. If I knew why they fill up with water on their own I would be an engineer and not a fireman. I do however have eyes and have witnessed it. The point is no one is to blame for the hydrants being frozen and you should do a little research before saying its a load of "horsehit"
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I guess you did not read all the comments on this matter as a active member of the FDNY for over 25 years i know for a fact our hydrants in this community are known as plugged hydrants because of our close proximity to the sea. If the hydrants were not plugged sea water can mix with fresh water and contaminate all of the plumbing fixtures and appliances in our homes. This was also stated by a poster named Diane in the comment section about the fire whom i suspect is the wife of a 20 plus year veteran of the DEP. Being that we have these plugged hydrants in our community it is critical that the FDNY brass make certain that the local fire co. perform the fall season hydrant inspection to test and pump our hydrants which i know was not done this past fall due to all fire co. having to perform a third day of BISP (building inspection safety program). Our local firehouse has almost 1100 hydrants to inspect twice per year along with the paper work that goes with it each hydrant in NYC has whats known as a hydrant card to note defects and other information pertaining to the hydrant. Our local firehouse is staffed by a bunch of great caring firefighters so it is of no fault of theres that FDNY brass added extra work to there days thus causing our hydrants not to be done before hydant inspection ended.Now would be the time for our civic groups to call for a change through the proper channels to have a policy set that would mandate that our local fire co. start the spring and fall hydrant inspection seasones in our community to insure that our hydrants are serviced.All across NYC it is legal to open a hydrant for a block party or other permitted event and put a spray on it which is available from your local firehouse this policy is another means for water to be left in the hydrant or caps not be placed on after use.
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I work for the FDNY and I've personally pumped out a bunch of hydrants in gerritsen beach that dont drain and have gone back the next day to have them filled up with water again. So YES they do fill up with water, nothing was ever said about SEA water. When asked why this happens the answer that was given was that the community was below sea level. If I knew why they fill up with water on their own I would be an engineer and not a fireman. I do however have eyes and have witnessed it. The point is no one is to blame for the hydrants being frozen and you should do a little research before saying its a load of "horsehit"
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Jim D-That is terrible. I am sick of you people using this website to spew your gossip. Honestly, I am tired of you spewing your know it all crap all over this website. Enough. DanielleDH, don't pay attention. Jealousy is a tough thing to swollow. You and your family are known for being a hard working family and sounds like someone is jealous.
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Shut, shut, shut your mouth! their are no words to even comment to you Oh wait i know……..IDIOT!
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Does anyone know yet how this fire started??
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You have the nerve to call someone else a POS look at yourself before casting a stone. You are such a loser. what do you do sit on the computer all day stalking people out. get a life loser!
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I don't know how this fire started and by the looks of the comments on here i am sure one of these losers will come up with a brillant answer to that question. Or maybe they will make something up for the sake of just having no life and sitting on their computer all day long just looking to start a controversary.
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Just throwing this out there….. i was driving on channel Ave. yesterday when i observed a hose a little bigger than a garden hose attached to the fire hydrant on channel between dictum and ebony going into the persons property that lives in that corner house on dictum ct. It was spraying water all over the street and i am sure it was not pumped out so now i would guess that hydrant will freeze and be unuseable in the event of a fire. Then some of these big mouths on this blog will blame everybody but the asshole that turned it on in the middle of the winter if something bad happens.As far as the cause of the fire some people know how it started the man that lives next door that his sons are firefighters saw exactly what happened and was telling people at the scene that day as well as the fire marhals. lets just leave it at that but GBnet being the slooth that he is can find out and post it if he really wants to.
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Everybody on this site is talking about frozen fire hydrants, and rightfully so. They definetly contributed to the excessive damage caused to the Hayes' House. But since the subject has finally been brought up, why doesn't GB.net report exactly how the fire did start? It's probably the worst kept secret in the neighborhood anyway. And more importantly, a VALUABLE LESSON will be learned by all, and a potential future tragedy may be avoided. Why would GB.net hold back and not report the truth? Or not even bother to even mention the cause of the fire at all? Basic journalism: Who, what, where, when, why and HOW. I find it hard to believe that GB.net doesn't know the true cause. Not reporting the truth is doing this neighborhood a serious disservice, and a lost opportunity for a lesson to be learned and possible prevention of a future tragedy.
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I would assume that how the fire started is being withheld because of insurance. Let's not give the insurance company a reason not to compensate the Hayes family because you know the insurance company will look for any excuse not to pay. Let GB.net report the cause once all is said and done.
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SpencerBenedict It may be the WORST kept secret but I am not going to post hearsay or rumor on this subject.
There are many rumors on the HOW but they are rumors.
I may look into the cause eventually but I have no plans on doing so now.
Good for you for not spreading the "beach-ified" cause of the fire!
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