Discarded hose on its way to Turtle
Back Zoo.
The Lyndhurst Volunteer Fire Department recently made an unhappy discovery which it turned to good use.
As is required annually for safety reasons, the department had its fire hoses tested, said Chief Paul Haggerty. “They must be pressurized and if they do not rupture they are deemed safe for operation.”
In a test performed about a month ago, “a good portion of our hoses failed,” Haggerty said. “In total, approximately 1,500 feet of our 5-inch hose and 500 feet of our 2-inch hose failed and they were deemed unsafe for operational use.”
Haggerty estimated it will cost about $6,000 to replace the decommissioned hose.
In the meantime, he said, rather than disposing of that hose at a landfill, “the hose is finding a second life” as the department teams with Hose- 2Habitat, a nonprofit organization that takes fire hose and donates it to zoos to use as newly adapted toys and beds for animals.
The chief credited his brother, Firefighter Nicholas Haggerty, with coming up with the idea after reading about the organization partnering with a New Jersey fire department to gift hose to Six Flags Great Adventure’s wildlife park.
In this case, the LFD partnered with the nonprofit to give its hose to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, he said.
