Frozen Hydrants Pose Extra Challenge To Firefighters In Parsippany
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Cold weather froze fire hydrants delaying firefighters' efforts while battling a house fire in Parsippany, New Jersey.
Video from Chopper 2 showed thick smoke coming from the home on Stockton Court on Tuesday morning.
Four of 10 fire hydrants in the area were frozen when firefighters arrived, delaying responders about five minutes.
"It certainly delayed water getting on the fire but we were able to use tank water to get the bulk of the fire knocked down while we were getting some free hydrants," Fire Chief Dave Hollner said, adding that they used blow torches to unfreeze some of the hydrants. "Unfortunately with cold weather it's a common occurrence. The water department does the best they can checking the hydrants but we have a lot of hydrants in town and they can only check so many."
Fire walls prevented flames from spreading beyond the single family home where it originated, however, there is significant smoke damage to neighboring apartments.
One person suffered a minor injury and 10 people were displaced, officials say.
"We are gonna try to find them shelter," Mayor James Barbario said. "We have an excellent community center, we help our residents out."
Eight fire departments responded to the scene.
The home is at the bottom of a hill which turned the front driveway into an ice rink as water flowed into it.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.