The Town Council approved a proposal to adopt a Private Fire Hydrant Bylaw during its public meeting on Monday, Dec. 8. The Private Fire Hydrant Bylaw will establish installation and maintenance standards for fire hydrants located on private property to ensure fire hydrants are in good working order for fire department suppression.
The Town has multiple residential developments and commercial properties with fire hydrants not maintained by the Water Department as they are classified as Private Fire Hydrants. The North Attleboro Fire Department recently had two incidents where the fire hydrant caps could not be opened as they were ceased due to lack of maintenance. The first incident was a structural fire with a person trapped and the second was a brush fire where additional water supply was needed; however, every hydrant in the neighborhood could not be opened except for one. This bylaw will ensure that residential HOA's and commercial property owners inspect, maintain and test their fire hydrants annually and provide documentation of such information to our online data collection reporting software.
Read the full Private Fire Hydrant Bylaw here.