ALLENDALE, Mich. — The Allendale Township Fire Department is hoping to see homeowners take part in their new program.
The Long Driveway Program is meant to provide critical info to fire crews on how many trucks they will need to secure a water supply, utilizing a small reflective sign for driveways 500 feet or longer.
"We have roughly anywhere from 900 to 1,000 feet of hose on each fire truck," said Lieutenant Kyle Garlanger as the department hammered in two six-by-nine-inch signs at a 1,875 ft driveway on Monday. "This one really does kind of hit home because we did have a fire here and ran into some hiccups with that incident when it came to establishing that water supply."
For driveways at 500 ft, the department will hammer in a single sign with the number "1."
For longer driveways, they will measure the first 800 ft and hammer in a sign starting with the number "1" before then measuring the next distance for a second sign.
"We have those signs labeled appropriately with "1" and a "2," just to know, as fire trucks come in, they know where they need to stop to drop their section of supply hose so we can make a connection and establish a water supply," said Garlanger.
The department has identified at least 50 homes in Allendale that could benefit from this program, which has been seen in other municipalities as well.
"Fire grows at a rate, doubles in size every 30 seconds, so time is very, very important," said Garlanger. "When we utilize these signs, that helps us in our job significantly faster, we can get that water supply, we can get up to the house, we can get everything coordinated."
The program is completely free for homeowners. Garlanger said they hope as many people as possible take part.
"I hope to never have to use it. We don't want people to suffer a fire loss or have to have any form of urgency where they have to call us," said Garlanger. "I'd rather meet you and say, 'Hey, let's put this sign up just in case,' but I'd rather them have it and not need it than need it and not have it."
Homeowners in Allendale interested in the Long Driveway Program can contact the Allendale Twp. Fire Department at (616) 892-3121.
