Senator Avella and the Mystery of the Missing Fire Hydrant Caps

Queens, NY  -  Today, State Senator Tony Avella raised concerns about the growing trend of fire hydrants with missing caps and questioned what was preventing the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from replacing them. Without their protective caps, fire hydrants are at risk of being compromised and could slow down crucial response time in the event of a fire.

Senator Avella noticed the high volume of cap-less hydrants during his Walking Tours last summer, where he toured neighborhoods in his district to meet with constituents and survey quality of life issues. He addressed a letter to FDNY and DEP concerning missing caps, however  neither had responded back. Avella questioned whether the City provides the FDNY a contract for replacing missing caps and whether their protocol allows for an adequately fast response.

“It’s really incredible just how many fire hydrant caps are missing. This issue is not localized to one or two neighborhoods, either; I’ve seen this throughout my entire district alone. Left unprotected, they become obstructed with gunk or trash, which may impede firefighters from accessing them during an emergency. If they don’t already, the FDNY needs the proper resources to proactively go about replacing them,” said State Senator Tony Avella.

Senator Avella suggested that the fire hydrant caps were potentially being taken by metal scrappers who are salvaging the caps for cash, but admitted that their disappearance and FDNY and DEP’s course of action remain a mystery to him.

“More than likely, people are stealing the caps and salvaging the metal for quick cash. Because they are not tethered to the hydrant itself, they are unfortunately easy targets. Nonetheless, there needs to be a concerted effort to not only replace the caps, but also to secure them in place,” said State Senator Tony Avella.  

Avella is calling on FDNY and DEP to begin replacing missing caps and to develop a system of tethering caps to their pumps to thwart potential theft or misplacement.