Why the fire blotters are so wet this week: Yes, firefighters fight water too

March 19, 2010
by Chief Russell Maitland, Chappaqua Fire Department

It’s 1am and you wake up to find you house is quite cold, so you get out of bed to check the thermostat to find it’s set at 70 degrees, but the actual temperature is 58. Next you go down to your basement to press the reset button on your furnace, and at the bottom of the basement stairs you find ten inches of water and your possessions floating around the basement. Who do you call? Is this an emergency where you need to call 9-1-1?

Believe it or not the answer is “cut and dry”: Yes. Water can become electrified as well as cause a short circuit resulting in a fire.  If the water is at or above your electric outlets and/or the water is covering the bottom of you hot water heater (it should be up on a six-inch riser off the basement floor) or above the level of your furnace burner, you should dial 9-1-1 and report that the water has reached your electrical outlets and or furnace/hot water heater. The fire department will respond and judge whether a pump-out is needed. Our pumps do not remove all of the water and most often two inches of water will remain. Our goal is to eliminate the hazard to you and your house, not all of the water. If no hazard exists, we will inform you to contact a plumber or have you go out and purchase a pump.  We can’t be in the pump-out business, since we need to be available to respond to actual emergencies.

If you know you have a water issue during heavy rains, we suggest that you purchase an extra sump pump or two and store them someplace other than your basement for use during these times. A generator is also a good idea since your pumps will not work during a power outage. Feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you have any questions.