When a fire broke out in December at 1235 Brentwood Avenue in Hanover Township, Northampton County, firefighters were able to access the nearby fire hydrant without a problem. Everyone in the family made it out okay.

The incident, however, prompted Hanover Township Supervisors recently to quickly approve a motion to have Township Solicitor James Broughal draft and advertise an ordinance that would require homeowners with fire hydrants on their property to remove snow from and around the hydrant within a specific time frame.

Up until now, there has been no such ordinance in the township, said Supervisor Jeffrey Warren.

The ordinance will specify an order of events that could occur if a hydrant is not cleared within an allotted time frame to be determined. Issued by a zoning officer, penalties range from a visit and warning to a trip to the magistrate if warnings are ignored.

“Every municipality in the Lehigh Valley has an ordinance like this,” said Broughal, linking into the Zoom videoconference call that brought 38 people and township officials together. “How it is enforced is different in every municipality.”

Warren expressed sympathy for any resident who might be physically unable to remove the snow or financially cannot afford to hire someone to do it. He suggested residents be given a warning first, to give them a little more time to get it done, he said.

“The goal is to get the hydrants cleared, not penalize the people,” said Supervisor Susan Lawless.

Hanover’s current snow emergency ordinance gives homeowners 36 hours to clear sidewalks of snow once the storm is over. Hydrants will fall under the same jurisdiction set forth for sidewalks, said Vice Chairperson Michael Prendeville.

Although the hydrants are owned and maintained by the City of Bethlehem, said Chairperson John Diacogiannis, it will be up to residents on whose property a fire hydrant sits to free it of snow and ice.

Township Manager Jay Finnegan said every property owner received a postcard prior to the snow asking them to clear the hydrants. Some property owners rent their homes and live out of state, but all should have received the postcards before the first snowfall and made arrangements for snow removal.