State grant may fund dry hydrant system

By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
March 10, 2008

The town will seek almost $500,000 in state grants to pay to build a system of dry hydrants and underground cisterns to tap hard-to-reach water for firefighting in the backcountry.

The Greenwich Fire Department is requesting $465,000 from the state's Small Town Economic Assistance Program to construct dry hydrants and cisterns in 17 spots including near the Round Hill Fire Station and the Audubon Center on Riversville Road where a lack of water hampers firefighting, Assistant Fire Chief Robert Kick said.

"This is an important project which will take years but we're being aggressive to get better access to water sources in the backcountry," Kick said. "Anytime we can secure money from the state rather than our taxpayers we feel good about it."The fire department has a list of 11 spots where it would like to install dry hydrants, which are suction devices that can tap into water sources more than 4 feet deep, said Fire Inspector John Fronio, who has helped develop the dry hydrant plan. Fire administrators also hope to build half a dozen or more underground cisterns, each of which can hold up to 30,000 gallons of water in areas where dry hydrants can't be installed, Fronio said. In the next three to five years, the fire department has set a goal of installing at least 25 dry hydrants and cisterns in parts of the backcountry with water problems, Fronio said.

Lowering exorbitant insurance rates for backcountry homeowners is a goal of the program, Fronio said. Insurers charge higher rates in areas where water to fight fires is scarce.

"It's very hard to fight fires in the backcountry when you don't have ready water and it leads to worse fires that go on for longer," Fronio said.

Town Administrator John Crary, who filed the grant request, said that the STEAP grants benefit wealthier Connecticut towns who pay a large amount of tax but do not receive much state funding.

Towns can gain eligibility for up to $500,000 a year in grants if they meet certain criteria, including having a population under 30,000, not qualifying for urban grants targeting distressed areas, or if it lacks an urban center according to the state Plan of Conservation and Development.

"We certainly would hope we would receive a positive review because it would have a significant impact on fire safety in the town," Crary said.