By Douglass Dowty
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)
Copyright 2007 Post-Standard
All Rights Reserved
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Oswego’s fire department is using a metal detector to unearth fire hydrants after 85 inches of snow fell, said Deputy Chief Michael Ross.
Many of the city’s 800 hydrants were buried under extremely high snowdrifts. During the storm, firefighters attempted to find hydrants using locator books that map fire hydrant location using telephone polls and landmarks.
But firefighters finally had to resort to their own devices.
Firefighter Sean O’Gorman carried his own metal detector into work at 7:30a.m. Monday. The yellow hand-held device helped firefighters pick out hydrants near Wal-Mart on the east side of the city.
It’s not the first time metal detectors have been used this way: City firefighters have used “pipefinders” from the Department of Public Works in previous storms.
Monday, the 5-foot waterproof device wasn’t foolproof. At one point, it buzzed.
"(O’Gorman) couldn’t figure out what he was digging for, and then he found a BB (pellet) two feet into a snowbank,” Ross said.
But overall, the wandlike device has saved lots of time and energy.
“With that depth of snow, you can poke around for a long while and wouldn’t find them,” Ross said. “This is picking them up quick.”