WOODSTOCK — Muddy Brook firefighters tested a pond-fed dry hydrant this week as part of maintaining the water sources used to fight fires in town, according to a department account carried by WINY Radio on October 28.
The account says members connected Engine 175 at the Rogers Corporation fire pond, drew water through the system and flowed it through the engine’s deck gun to check that the equipment worked.
Muddy Brook says Woodstock has no municipal hydrants, so firefighters rely on ponds, streams and other natural sources. Engines and tankers help move that water to a fire scene. That description is attributed to the department; Eastern CT News has not independently surveyed every water source in town.
A dry hydrant provides a fixed connection to a pond rather than a continuously pressurized water main. In the department’s description, one end of the pipe sits below the waterline and the other has a connection above ground. An engine uses a hard suction hose to draw water through it.
The department says regular tests can reveal silt, vegetation or debris blocking the pipe, as well as worn seals and leaking fittings that could prevent the engine from maintaining suction.
It asks residents to keep dry-hydrant access and fire-lane signs clear of parked vehicles, snow and brush. Property owners with a fire pond can contact the department about whether a dry hydrant would be suitable; the account does not promise installation or establish that any particular property qualifies.
Woodstock’s official fire-protection directory lists three volunteer departments. Muddy Brook’s Station 75 serves North and East Woodstock; Bungay Fire Brigade’s Station 77 serves the west, Woodstock Valley and Kenyonville; Woodstock Volunteer Fire Association’s Station 76 serves the south. The town says the departments also provide mutual aid.
This AI-written report was prepared from WINY’s readable reproduction of the department account and the town’s current fire-protection directory. Quiet Corner Alerts carried the same department text; that repost is not independent confirmation. Eastern CT News did not attend the test or inspect the pond system.
Archive photo: Muddy Brook Engine 175, photographed by Art Burns and displayed by Firenews.org. It is a file image of the exact department’s apparatus, not a photograph of this week’s pond test.