Scottish Water has issued a warning to the public that fire hydrant vandalism can cause widespread disruption and put lives at risk.
Following a recent spate of incidents, the utility is urging people not to set off fire hydrants
and calling on anyone who witnesses this type of vandalism to report it to Police Scotland
immediately.
Such incidents can cause disruption of water supply to customers, reduced water pressure
or discoloured water, and localised flooding in streets.
They can also result in water supplies for firefighters being adversely impacted and so
hamper their ability to tackle fires, with an obvious increased risk to lives and property
damage.
Incidents occurred this week in the Hutchesontown area of Glasgow where hydrants were
set off in Lawmoor Street, Otago Square and Logan Gardens.
There have been incidents in some other parts of Scotland this summer, including Niddrie
House Square in Edinburgh in May.
Fire hydrants are a connection point to water mains and allow access to the water network,
primarily for firefighting purposes.
The frequency of fire hydrant vandalism incidents can increase during warm, dry weather
and the school summer holidays and in previous years there have been a number of
incidents, particularly in the Central Belt, which have wasted the valuable time of Scottish
Water workers and firefighters and distracted them from other priorities.
Whenever there are a number of these incidents Scottish Water has to bring in extra
resources to tackle the problem and this means our ability to deal with water-related issues
elsewhere can be adversely affected.
Kevin Roy, Scottish Water’s General Manager of Customer Service, said: “Some people who
vandalise fire hydrants may see their actions as ‘harmless fun’ but that’s absolutely not the
case. The reality is that homes and businesses can experience low water pressure or a loss
of supply.
“Also, firefighters rely on these hydrants for fighting fires and a shortage of water could
endanger people’s lives and property.”
He added: “Fire hydrant vandalism is completely reckless and selfish and communities need
to help us put a stop to this behaviour before the unthinkable occurs. We’re urging people to
help us tackle the problem by reporting any incidents to the police immediately.”
Fire hydrants can be accessed legally only by Scottish Water, the Scottish Fire and Rescue
Service and anyone who has been given permission from Scottish Water.
Vandalising or setting off a fire hydrant could lead to a fine of up to £5000, according to the
Fire Scotland Act 2005, Section 23.
Anyone who witnesses fire hydrant vandalism can contact Police Scotland by phoning 101
or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or give the
information anonymously on www.fearless.org, which is part of Crimestoppers.
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