Why were the windows knocked out of that car blocking the fire hydrant? The assistant fire chief explains (2 photos)

It appears one car owner in Halifax learned an expensive lesson Monday night.

When emergency crews arrived at a fire in a plaza at 5280 Green Street, they found a fire hydrant at the curb right outside the building, however a brown Subaru parked right next to it was blocking their access.

Firefighters knocked out the back windows of the vehicle and ran the hose through the opening.

Halifax Fire and Emergency assistant chief Chuck Bezanson said the first fire engine on scene had a tank that holds 500 gallons of water and pumps out 300 gallons a minute, so they had less than two minutes to find another source.

“Getting some water to the fire was rather critical. It was the closest, nearest available hydrant … so going through the car was the only option they had at the time, something in 35 years I’ve never seen, but it was obviously necessary yesterday,” he told NEWS 95.7’s The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

Photos of the hose through the car went viral on social media, and some wondered if there was another option.

Crews weren’t able to run the hose under the car for several reasons, Bezanson said, including because the vehicle was parked close to the side of the road, which didn’t leave enough room for it to fit between the curb and the car.

He added, if the owner returned and decided to drive off, going over the hose could have burst it, cutting off water supply to the firefighters and putting them in danger.

“And if that car had recently been parked there — we had no idea how long it was there — if the exhaust system with the catalytic converters today were hot when we ran the hose under there, it simply would have melted it,” he said.

As for why crews didn’t try to run the line over the car, Bezanson explained hanging a heavy piece of equipment off the top could damage the hose, or create a kink that would result in water loss. And it could potentially cause even more damage to the car.

“Windows, although it seems like a very dramatic solution, it’s probably a more economic solution than dragging a big, fat, heavy fire hose laden with gravel and dirt from the street over top of somebody’s paint, in which case they’d probably have to paint the entire vehicle,” he said.

“If we can, and I have in the past, gone around, but due to the hydrant location to the car, the angles were so tight the hose never would have filled with water.”

Some questioned by the car wasn’t moved, but Bezanson that would have taken too long, and in an emergency situation, they can’t afford delays.

“Although the building itself at the time of the fire was mostly unoccupied, we were very close to a seniors’ residence and a lot of lives were at risk there, a lot of loved ones,” Bezanson said.

“Stopping that fire quickly was extremely important, getting the water to the scene of the fire was important, and protecting our people while they’re inside the building fighting a fire in extremely hazardous conditions is extremely important to us.”

According to Bezanson, when firefighters arrived they found heavy fire in the basement of the building.

“We encountered an extreme fire load in that building, and complete and utter confusion with the congestion in the storage areas, so firefighters were faced with quite a daunting task just to enter the building.”

Bezanson revisited the scene Tuesday morning, and noted the sign posted beside the hydrant indicating parking is allowed for 2 hours.

“However, it doesn’t matter where you are. Fire hydrants are there for a reason, they’re there for fire departments to use to protect lives. Parking in front of them is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. 

He added a big part of a firefighters’ job is to protect property and they don’t enjoy having to destroy it. 

“Firefighters will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they can protect lives and property, and if it happens to be damaging your vehicle because it’s illegally parked, unfortunately that’s something we may have to do … we need that water and we need it quickly.”

On Twitter, @HRPTrafficCop addressed the issue saying no parking within 5 metres of a hydrant is one of the basic rules covered off when we all get our driver’s licences.

The penalty for breaking that law is a $25 fine under the province’s Motor Vehicle Act.

As for the damage to the car, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Municipality said the vehicle owner should contact their insurance company.

“If the insurer feels that our [Halifax Regional Fire] employees were negligent they may contact 311 to open a file,” said Brendan Elliott. “We will then complete an investigation to determine whether or not our staff were negligent in this matter. This is true in all property damage claims situations.”