Bend FD offers roof advice, fire hydrants plea

Weather forecasts are calling for several more inches of snow Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, followed by some rain, and then freezing temperatures on Wednesday night. These conditions have the potential to add a significant amount of weight to snow-covered roofs.

If possible, Bend Fire officials say, try to remove some of the existing snow from the roof, remembering that the roof surface will be quite slippery.

In addition, with possible rain and some melting, all that water has to go somewhere. The most helpful thing people can do is to clear a channel to the storm drain on your block, so the water on the street can drain off.

If the temperatures rise and the rain materializes, the roads may become quite slushy, which can change the driving characteristics quickly and dramatically. Drive with extreme caution through deep slush.

Also, please do not forget that lonely red hydrant standing out there in the snow. Get a neighbor or two to help dig the snow out from around it, starting at the street. If it is needed, the best place for firefighters is at the end of a hose line, knocking down the fire, rather than shoveling out the hydrant.

The Bend Fire Department and the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District #2 thank you for your efforts to help keep our community safe, and as old Bend Fire Battalion Chief Ray Gann used to say, “Many hands make light work.”