Tapping town resources

Tapping town resources
Dry hydrants flow with private funds
The North Wilton Road residents
agreed to pay for the installation
and plumbing of the attached dry
hydrant, while the town covered
Last year’s two major house fires
the higher excavation costs for the
along West Road and Devonwood
other site.
Lane were timely reminders of
Going forward, Baker’s plan
New Canaan Fire Company No. 1’s
involves making use of more of the
need for increased access to water
town’s numerous small ponds, espesupplies outside the town’s central
cially those farther from the center
core.
of town.
At the expense of a local insur“The idea is to get neighbors
ance company, a new “dry hydrant”
around a site to contribute $500 or
is being installed in a pond just up
$800 or $1,000 for excavation costs,
the street from where a fire ravwhile the fire department would pay
aged a 6,812-square-foot home last
for the piping and fittings,” Baker
Thanksgiving at 488 West Road.
said February.
“I’ll be a facilitator,” Brown
His plan dovetailed with last year’s
Thayer Shedd Insurance President
updating of the Planning & Zoning
Tim Brown told the Advertiser last
subdivision regulations, which stipweek.
ulate, “Where public water service
Brown’s company represents the
is not available or provided, each
ACE Group and Chubb Group of
subdivider shall provide supplemenInsurance companies, as well as the
tal water supply system(s) to protect
Fireman’s Fund Insurance company.
public safety.”
He has agreed to pick up the tab for
Alternately, a subdivider may pay
the $6,300 hydrant, which involves
a $10,000 fee-in-lieu of the system
laying pipe at the bottom of standto “be deposited in a municipal
ing bodies of water such as ponds
account dedicated to providing supand swimming pools.
plemental water supply systems in
“I don’t advertise, but this is
the community.”
my way of giving back,” he said. Tim Brown of BTS Insurance surveys the installation of a dry hydrant in a pond at West Road with
A long-term goal, said Baker, is
“Everybody wins — the town, the New Canaan Fire Marshal Fred Baker. (Andrew Kersey Photo)
to get the town to set aside funding
fire department, the insurance comfor any new hydrants in its annual
panies, the neighbors.”
budgets, picking up where others
Only a fraction of New Canaan’s
have shown initiative.
22 square miles of land is covered by an
“The (P&Z Commission) and fire departunderground grid of water mains and conment have taken a more proactive role in
ventional hydrants, the vast majority of
this,” he said. “And, I’m grateful to Tim
which are clustered near the center of town.
(Brown) for stepping forward and getting
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(See graphic)
the word out.”
Earlier this year, the town approved
The next step, he said, is for the town to
$10,000 worth of seed money in the departshoulder some of the future costs.
ment’s 2009-10 budget to initiate private/
Baker envisions “possibly being leverpublic partnerships on the installation of
aged between two and four new sites a
dry hydrants.
year,” with an eventual goal of having no
Residents at a property on North Wilton
more than 2,000 feet between two water
Road recently funded the installation of a
sources.
dry hydrant, which has reduced their fire
“A lot of people are under the misconinsurance rates and potentially that of any
ception that they have a large body of
neighbors who live within 1,000 feet.
water near their property, so they’re safe,”
The Silvermine Arts Guild, after dredghe said. “But access is an issue; we can’t
ing and restoring a pond on its property
maneuver our trucks off-road around their
more than a year ago, also paid in full to
property.”
have a hydrant installed on site.
And, as many ponds remain shallow
The West Road hydrant that was put in
even some distance toward their centers, he
last week, however, marks the first time an
added, it may prove impossible to employ
insurance company has put forward fundthe truck’s pump system.
ing for the construction of a hydrant in New
Such was the case with November’s West
Canaan.
Road fire where both a swimming pool and
As installation of the hydrant required the
nearby pond went untapped by fire crews
pond to be pumped significantly in order
due to inaccessibility in the first instance
to lay the pipework, some of the neighand prohibitively shallow waters in the
bors were “taken aback” by the reduced
latter.
water level, New Canaan Fire Marshal Fred
A swimming pool can be tapped with a
Baker said last Thursday. He assured them
dry hydrant, but it must be installed while
that the pond would eventually be back to
the pool is being built.
its original level after several heavy rains
“Most people don’t know what a dry
and normal river flow.
hydrant is,” said Brown. “If more people
“I want to give the Arrix family a big
knew about it, it would make a little coali��������������
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kudos for doing this,” he said of the resition of (homeowners) pop up that would
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dents who own the portion of the pond
say, ‘This is only going to cost us X
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where the hydrant’s pipe system is being
amount; let’s do it.’”
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installed. “They didn’t have to, and without
Baker reemphasized that residents who
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their cooperation it would’ve have been
donated to the hydrants’ installation in
impossible.”
certain locales would recoup their contribuDepending on their carrier, as well as
tions fairly quickly through the savings on
their homes’ value and proximity to the from an improved insurance rating, which hydrants could be installed.
their fire insurance rates.
Among the factors to be considered for a
center of town, homeowners stand to save in turn would help residents, he added.
However, not every homeowner would
Under some carriers’ policies, properties potential site are its elevation, as the pump- see such a significant reduction, if any at
as much as 10 to 15 percent on their insurance rates if they live within 1,000 feet of above $2.5 million in value and more than ing system relies on gravity; its distance to all, he said, noting the aforementioned lima dry hydrant, said Brown, adding that rate three miles from a fire station (or more than the road, and whether the source contains its set by individual insurance carriers.
1,000 feet from a reliable water source) will water year round.
reductions would be felt immediately.
“We’re going to focus on more distant
In February, Baker secured two 12,000- locations,” he said, “where you’ll get better
Insurance companies benefit from the cost their owners as much as 15 percent
reduced likelihood of a burning house more than properties that fall below those and 15,000-gallon-capacity empty gas tank- bang for your buck.”
ers for the town that he had installed underbecoming a “total loss” — which both of thresholds.
He and the fire department plan to “leverBaker has already identified more than ground on the property at North Wilton age (Brown’s contribution) and make it a
last year’s house fires were determined to
be — and the town may eventually benefit 20 viable locations around town where dry Road and another on Wellesley Drive. positive thing for residents.”
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By Andrew Kersey
Assistant editor
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101st year No. 2
© Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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Thursday, August 6, 2009
1A