VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - It's common knowledge that it is illegal to park in front of a fire hydrant, but what about putting a sign on one?
Lt. Jeff Talley with the Valdosta Fire Department was driving past the corner of Hill Ave and Ray Lane when he noticed that someone had taped a "yard sale" sign around a fire hydrant.
"Take few seconds to think maybe this may not be the best place to put it," said Talley.
As an employee of the fire department, Talley saw the sign and immediately realized that it was a safety concern.
"You're not supposed to have anything blocking those to provide us immediate access to it in case we have an emergency response to that location," said Talley.
He said that this could have slowed down their response time if a fire would have broken out because they may not have been able to see the hydrant.
"Say that it was 3 o'clock in the morning and we couldn't see that hydrant," said Talley. "We might bypass it and end up going to the next hydrant which could be ask far as 100, 200, 300 feet away."
Talley thought it was the perfect time to explain the importance to the public.
"It's not appropriate to put yard sale signs or other issues like that on hydrants, simply for a safety standpoint," said Talley.
So of course, they took the sign down.
"We put it down by the hydrant, just in case. They came and saw that their sign was down, they would get the idea," said Talley.
He said that in hind sight, the sign was pretty funny.
"I've been here 18 years and that the first time I've ever seen something like that," said Talley. "Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes up."
The fire department said that it was just a simple mistake and they just took the sign down because they are not looking to give out citations.
They do want to remind everyone that the access to those hydrants save lives.
