Parking by a fire hydrant is stupid. You should never do it, because firefighters need access to water. If you do, they will happily smash through your car to hook up their hoses, and they won’t be sorry. That much is fair. But what happens if you park kinda sorta near a hydrant?
That case recently came to pass in New York earlier this month. As posted to Twitter by FearedBuck, we see a vehicle parked close to a hydrant as a fire crew rolls in. One of the firefighters busies himself with hooking the truck up to the hydrant, and the Honda in the way gets the business. The windows are smashed, the hose is fed through the cabin, and the truck is duly hooked up to the water supply.
The video has spawned a flurry of commentary, with posters taking two sides. Some claim the firefighters were out of pocket, alleging there was no need to smash the vehicle at all. Others stated that fire crews don’t have time to muck about with cars in their way, and that the action was utterly justified. Let’s take a look at the footage—and at the history of this driver—and see what’s what. Stick around for the twist.
someone parked right beside a fire hydrant & got their car window smashed 😭😭pic.twitter.com/FW2N6bTbdH
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) July 11, 2024
Fair, or Unfair?
From the drop, let’s get this straight. This Honda is undeniably parked illegally. New York regulations state that vehicles must be more parked more than 15 feet away from a hydrant. It appears the owner may have assumed the bollards by the hydrant marked out the forbidden area, but that’s not the case. You may not park in a 15-foot zone on either side of the hydrant.
However, since the vehicle wasn’t parked right next to the hydrant, that pushed many to question the actions of the crew in the video. Suggestions were that the fire truck could have moved forwards or backwards, and the hose could have been laid in front of or behind the car. Without a full view of the area, though, it’s hard to support this assumption. We don’t know the traffic or road conditions at the time, or what other fire appliances were in the area. But taking a look at the area, it’s tight.
Others suggested the hose could have been passed over the vehicle. To an extent, this may be true. However, it’s probably actually a worse idea for several reasons, if it would be allowed at all. For one, the fire hose is safest sitting on the ground.
Having the hose lofted over a vehicle would present a much higher risk to crews in the area. You can’t have a high-pressure hose just flopping around all over the place, and there’s a chance the crew would get hung up on the hose or even trip over it.
Car's windows getting smashed for parking near water hydrant pic.twitter.com/XaiwR1c5VH
— Visual feast (@visualfeastwang) July 10, 2024
Plus, hanging the hose over the car would maybe cause more damage? Getting a couple of windows replaced isn’t that hard. In contrast, a heavy-duty firehose would likely scuff up or damage a lot of paintwork which would possibly require expensive bodywork to rectify.
The fact is that a fire hose is not like a garden hose you might have at home. It’s a heavy piece of equipment, with a 5-inch hose capable of flowing 2000 gallons of water a minute. These hoses are not excessively long, and you can’t just lay them willy-nilly. A fire truck needs a clear run to the hydrant.
Wait. Say That Again?
It’s easy to be sympathetic to the driver. They’d have returned to their car only to find their windows smashed and the interior full of glass. But hold that thought.
Run the driver’s license plate through a parking violation query with the city of New York. You’ll find something interesting. They’ve racked up a total of $12,078 in parking fines and camera violations in the last three years.
You can see 17 of the fines here, but there are 94 fines in total, with the most recent issued on the 1st of July, 2024. The ticket asserts the vehicle was parked within 1 foot of the hydrant seen in this video. For their trouble, the driver was fined $115.
Incidentally, it’s apparently the 34th time they’ve been ticketed for parking in front of a hydrant. Getting your car smashed once in 34 illegal parks… those aren’t great odds.
One suspects the owner doesn’t plan to pay this one. Just as they’ve ignored paying so many tickets before. Oh, and they’re also apparently partial to speeding in school zones.
It’s easy to say that the firefighter in the video saw a car parked illegally, and saw an opportunity for some cathartic destruction. I wouldn’t call that fair. The city requires people to park away from hydrants for good reason. Emergency crews don’t have time to try and work around illegally parked cars. The Honda should never have been there in the first place. The fact this is apparently a regular pattern of behavior for this driver just seals the deal.
[Ed note: David and I are sitting here and don’t necessarily agree. David thinks it was a touch too far as it didn’t seem like the car was blocking the hydrant. But this is my town. You get 34 fire hydrant tickets you have severely fucked around and you have now found out. – MH]
Image credits: Visual feast and FearBuck via Twitter video screenshot, Google Maps via screenshot, City of New York via screenshot