By Sterling McGinn
Yoopers have endured a snowy winter for sure, and several devastating fires have raised discussion about keeping fire hydrants accessible during winter.
As the streets are cleared by the Village of Newberry crews after fierce storms, that critical source of water is often buried in snow and ice. And in a fire and emergency, every second counts.
Manistique resident and volunteer firefighter Tyler Temple knows snow and is also mindful that at any time a fire hydrant might be needed for hookup. So, he has been helping to keep those hydrants free of snow while he is driving around clearing customer’s driveways throughout the village.
He isn’t looking for recognition or honors—he is a firefighter just wanting to help people.
Temple comes to Newberry daily, where he is employed by Marvin Schoolcraft’s Inside Out Home Services. He has been working for Schoolcraft for four or five years where he works on different tasks year-round. He is also a member of the Doyle Township Fire Department in Gulliver.
Temple follows several firefighter pages on Facebook and has seen how often fire hydrant clearing is mentioned. It is a topic of concern often brought up by residents because many municipalities require property owners to keep hydrants clear. Others, like Newberry, clear them when caught up on streets and sidewalks billing the Newberry Fire Department for those services.
“The village has been a little behind—but they have been busy,” said Temple.
When Temple was driving the tractor around snow blowing, he thought of those posts he saw on Facebook.
“I decided to start adopting hydrants,” he said. “I have seen that in other places—where people were adopting hydrants.”
Schoolcraft was on board with the idea and began clearing hydrants himself.
There is currently no written law in the Village of Newberry regarding the responsibility of snow removal on and around the hydrants. This was a discussion at the last monthly meeting of the council, and they are planning to create an ordinance clarifying the responsibility of hydrant snow removal at a future meeting.
While we still have a little winter left, Temple encourages anyone who has a hydrant on their property, and is able, to help keep them free of snow this winter and future winters.
“We like to keep three feet around them clear,” said Temple.
