FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dry Hydrant Zoning Issue Passes in Chardon Twp.
August, 2002
At a late summer Chardon Twp. Trustee Meeting, officials
finalized a zoning amendment, by a 2 to 1 vote, that would force new developers
to install dry fire hydrants in retention ponds for fire protection within the
township. Chardon trustee Richard Lutske was the only trustee opposed to
the decision, as he believed the township should stay out of the issue, feeling
zoning involvement was not needed. He stated he believed that continued
fire department involvement in the dry hydrant program was all that was needed
to make the system work.
Trustee Don Welker attempted to calm
Lutske's additional fears of potential legal retaliation against the township,
should a safety issue occur. Citing documents from the Geauga County
Prosecutor and an agency dealing with liability insurance for Ohio townships,
Welker indicated that dry hydrants were becoming common place, and created no
additional liability for townships, while increasing fire protection. He
indicated that developers were already required to create run off/detention
areas in new Geauga County developments, thus the cost would be minimal to the
developer. He said they could
use a detention pond, a pond that gradually releases water and require it to be
turned into a retention pond or a pond that does not release water. A dry
hydrant is now required to be hooked up to the pond for a water source to
fight fire.
Recently, Chardon Fire Chief Larry Gaspar proposed amending
zoning that would require new housing subdivisions of 10 or more homes to
construct a pond that would support a dry hydrant to have a nearby water
source. Mr. Gaspar said in 1996, Hambden Township passed zoning relating
to dry hydrants and their installation. Many other townships in Geauga
County have similar procedures in place. He said a dry hydrant is typically
a 6-inch diameter pipe that is connected to a pipe in the pond so water can be
pumped into a fire truck.
A few more hydrants are needed to
adequately cover the middle of the township, Gaspar said. He stated that
the fire department already had installed some dry hydrants in a few prime
locations, but more were needed. The fire department has already installed
a gravity fed hydrant at Griswold Road and
two dry hydrants in the township at Big Creek Park, off of Robinson Road, and on
Pine Manor Drive, a private drive off of Ravenna Road. Gaspar indicated
that his department would continue with maintenance on existing hydrants and
would take over maintenance on new ones.
At a previous meeting,
Lutske and Chief Gaspar sparred over the dry hydrant issue, as Lutske insisted
there were already plenty of sources in and around Chardon Township.
Gaspar countered, indicating "you can never have too many dry hydrants at a
winter fire.... the drive time for tanker trucks is just too long to wait when
your house is on fire." He also pointed out that the "City of
Chardon has hydrants every 300 feet, and there is a good reason for this".
The
vote clears the way for improved fire protection for the residents of Chardon
Township and surrounding communities.
For More Information Contact:
Chardon Fire Department
110 S. Hambden St. Chardon, OH 44024
Tel: 440-285-4665
FAX: 440-285-8320
Internet: Capt. John Blauch, Webmaster
