Fire department urges code action after hydrant was blocked; borough to direct code enforcement

The borough's volunteer firefighters told council they recently had to cut through a fence to reach a hydrant during a brush fire and that the owner later replaced the obstruction. Assistant Fire Chief Bill Stull pointed to the International Fire Code when asking for enforcement.

"Unobstructed access to a fire hydrant shall be maintained at all times. The fire department shall not be deterred or hindered from gaining immediate access to fire protection equipment or fire hydrants," Stull said, quoting the code. Stull told council the hydrant was installed after firefighters requested one on the hill and that a decorative fence now sits in front of it, preventing quick access.

Solicitor William Rinaldi and code enforcement officer Mike Sokolowski agreed the owner could be cited under the applicable code sections. Council directed Mike Sokolowski and the chief to visit the site together, order the owner to remove the obstruction immediately, and start citation procedures if the owner refused. Stull said firefighters had previously sawed the fence to access the hydrant; council said that reinstallation after removal would not be tolerated because of safety considerations.

The council did not vote but directed staff to pursue the enforcement steps discussed at the meeting. No citation was recorded at the meeting itself; Sokolowski said he would handle citation issuance under the borough's code if the obstruction remains.