It wasn't a smash-and-grab in the traditional sense.
Camden firefighters who arrived on the scene of a row home fire Saturday discovered their access to a much-needed fire hydrant was blocked.
So they did what firefighters have done for decades when someone parks in front of a fire hydrant as a blaze occurs nearby. They shattered the windows of the vehicle and ran a hose through to access the hydrant.
The fire occurred on the 400 block of Chambers Avenue near Cooper University Medical Center in the afternoon, according to the Camden Fire Officers Local #2578, which posted the video to their Facebook page.
"The fire was close to extending to the cockloft but firefighters made an excellent stop," the post read. A cockloft is an attic space atop row homes. In older houses, cocklofts may not have updated fire walls to protect against the spread of a fire from house to house.
"(Camden Fire Department) crews had to navigate thru [sic] vehicles blocking hydrants during the incident," the post continued. "No occupants or firefighters were injured."
In a message to NBC10, one of the administrators of the Camden Fire Officers Facebook page reiterated the importance of drivers not parking in front of fire hydrants:
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"Water supply is critical to safely mitigating a fire emergency. As such, it is important for the public to be aware that it is never a good idea to block hydrants. Lives are at stake."
