To address the fire problem of properties located long distances from water sources used for fire protection, the Colerain Township Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Service has developed a community risk-reduction initiative titled the “Long Driveway Program”. The program identifies, pre-plans, and marks the distance of all driveways of properties in Colerain Township that are 900-feet or greater from a fire hydrant or any other water source used for fire protection. The preplanning and marking of driveways greatly improves our efficiency and effectiveness to perform life rescue, fire control, and property conservation.
The preplanning of long driveways provides firefighters with information ahead of time regarding the number of fire engines that will be required to deploy enough supply hose to reach an incident address in case of a fire emergency. If a driveway is 900-feet in length, the fire department will install one 6-inch by 9-inch reflective red sign mounted to a pole located at the right side of the driveway that displays “FIRE 1” (Photo 1). This will indicate to responding firefighters that it will require one fire engine to supply water to the incident address. If the driveway is greater than 900-feet, the fire department will install additional signs every 900-feet displaying “FIRE 2, FIRE 3, etc”. Upon receipt of an incident alarm from an address with a long driveway, the 911-dispatch center will provide this critical information to responding firefighters immediately.
If you have any questions regarding this community risk-reduction program, please call (513) 245-5451.