Blocking a Hydrant? Being Twitter-Shamed By the Fire Department Is Getting Off Easy
It’s basically winter, so parking spots in Boston are only going to grow more illusive. It was probably time, then, for the Boston Fire Department to remind you not to block the fire hydrants.
Heed this advice not because it is the good, socially conscious thing to do (though it is.) Heed it as a matter of self-preservation. For you will not always get off so easy.
This weekend, a three-alarm fire in the South End injured two firefighters and displaced seven residents. Afterward, the BFD tweeted out a photo:
This never helps pic.twitter.com/EoEKSgTDYJ
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) November 16, 2014
No, no it does not. How embarrassing for the owner of this very nice car to have their vehicle and license plate exposed on social media. And yet, this was a relatively light sentence when compared with the fate of another BMW that got in the BFD’s way during a fire in East Boston last April. In that case, the firefighters had to knock out the car’s windows and run the hose through its interior.
This is what happens when you park at a hydrant! #Boston pic.twitter.com/yxpOYwBXAO — Mike (@NEFirebuff) April 10, 2014
Of course, the bloodthirsty people of Boston wondered why justice had not been doled out as equally in the case of Sunday’s fire. To that, the BFD replied, rather sensibly:
Lots of comments about hydrant photo asking why we did not smash windows of the car. We don’t intentionally damage things
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) November 16, 2014
In this case. Nothing was to be gained from going through car. The only goal is to get water as quickly as possible.
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) November 16, 2014
Purpose of posting the photo is to remind all firefighters need access to hydrants. Help us Help you when there is a fire — Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) November 16, 2014
Indeed. Help the BFD. Avoid Twitter shaming and property damage. Everyone wins.
