Fire hydrants buried in snow, 2 firefighters hurt

SHOREHAM, N.Y. (WABC) -- Two firefighters are recovering after they were injured battling a house fire on Long Island.

The firefight was made even more difficult because of snow covering up a fire hydrant in Shoreham.

In the video obtained by Eyewitness News you can see that the firefighters had to work pretty hard to get the fire under control.

But what could have made it even worse was if firefighters didn't end up finding the hydrants.

When crew arrived they were covered in snow.

One was not only buried, but hidden underneath a tree that had fallen down.

"We were able to notice the top of the hydrant and dig it out," said Assistant Chief Bill Lattman, of the Rocky Point Fire Department.

The fire raged so badly that the first floor collapsed when a firefighter stepped inside.

"When he hit the basement floor he looked up and he could see the opening of the basement door and crawled his way right out," Lattman said, "There was a second mayday given."

Another firefighter had fallen through but was also able to get himself out.

Both were checked out and are fine.

But think about it, what could have happened if firefighters weren't able to find these hydrants?

They say it's a reminder that when we get the amount of snow that we did remember to be a good neighbor.

"If you live in any community, you have a hydrant on your block. Dig it out. This is not the first fire in the last couple days we couldn't find hydrants. To the homeowner, dig them out. It makes it a whole lot easier for us," Lattman said.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

Get more Long Island News »

long island, fire, firefighter injured, long island news, kristin thorne

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•