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Citizen complaint of the day: Sure hope there aren't any fires on North Street

Pod

A concerned citizen notes how somebody managed to basically block two hydrants with one of those container things on North Street in the North End:

Please remove and fine the peraon responsible for this selfish and dangerous placement.

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Comments

Maybe it's full of fire extinguishers.

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It must not be very valuable, as there's no padlock on it.

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It's not full of anything yet, obviously. The company drops them in front of the client's residence who then either loads it or hires somebody to do it. A few days later,the company picks it up and sends it to wherever the person is moving to. The company will then drop it in front of the new residence, whence the client moves his stuff in. It's how people move without a truck. Kind of expensive for a local or regional move but more economical for a long distance move, such as to California.

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Does anyone know why there are two next to each other? Do the red and yellow caps mean something?

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Ketchup and Mustard.

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Something to do with the water pressure of each hydrant.

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The city has 5 different water systems, Southern High, Southern Low, Northern High, Northern Low and High Pressure Fire. The yellow hydrants are for one of the four domestic-pressure systems, which is why they have a hydrant with a large pumper connection on the front. The red hydrant does not have that connection because its pressure is already elevated.

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The other day when walking through Cambridge my friend and I noticed that some hydrants opened clockwise, while others opened counterclockwise. Is there a reason for this? It seems odd to me.

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Cambridge and Somerville water valves open in opposite directions. (Clockwise vs Counterclockwise)

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I think that the different colors represent the different water pressure for each hydrant.

http://www.firehydrant.org/info/hycolor.html

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According to the National Fire Protection Association, the color of the top of a fire hydrant indicates its available water flow.

Red hydrants have the lowest flow; below 500 gallons per minute. Orange (yellow?) is the next step up at 500 to 1000 GPM, green is 1000 to 1500, and blue is 1500 or more.

(These colors are somewhat of a national standard, but I don't know whether Boston actually follows the same color code; the colors here could mean something else or nothing at all.)

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Red was standpipe, and yellow was centrally pumped? I dunno.

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Boston doesn't follow any system. Cambridge follows this system:
BLUE/SILVER Flows 1500 gallons per minute (gpm) or greater
GREEN/SILVER Flows 950 gpm or greater
ORANGE/SILVER Flows 650 gpm or greater
RED/SILVER Flows 450 gpm or greater
BLACK/SILVER Flows less than 450 gpm

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was my explanation of the boston water system and hydrants insufficient? Does no one believe me?

I can even tell you that the yellow hydrant is hydrant #747 connected to a 12" cement lined ductile iron pipe laid in 1989 and the red hydrant is #111 connected to a 20" main installed in 1920.

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Did the concerned citizen think of this? And also of getting their friends to do the same?

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Dear Concerned Citizen

Thank you for your interest in PODS, the #1 store, pack, and transfer system in the US! We will be happy to help you with all your storage and moving needs. Please contact one of our customer logistics associates at your earliest convenience for a free quote and delivery schedule!

(In other words, your well intended suggestion is unfortunately useless. So is calling PODS. A friend had a PODS partially blocking their driveway for two days, and even the neighbor who rented it had trouble getting them to move the damn thing without saying they'd charge a fee until they filed an official police complaint!)

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how about setting up a living room in one, and refusing to leave?

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This is why twitter is the best medium for customer service. Complaints are public so they generally have to respond quickly. I've received tons of perks and quick service this way.

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And I took note of the POD number and already emailed them. I've yet to hear back, though. I'll update if I do.

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I knew I'd make citizen complaint of the day someday!!!

Yeah this was mine. And my autocorrect doesn't work in the Citizen's connect app for some reason, so pardon the typo.

But really, I can't figure out who in their right mind would put this here. There are "moving vehicle only" tags, but...seriously, a fire hydrant?

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Does the City of Boston grant permits for use of "parking" spaces on roads? I would think so. Sounds like the pod is there without a permit or a poorly considered one.

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There are permits posted for "moving vehicles only" (I didn't check the date) but that hardly overrides fire hydrant restrictions.

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... the POD isn't moving.

(ducks)

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A permit can be acquired at city hall. Got one when I moved into my house. Last I checked a permit is $25. Don't know whether moving pods require a permit. My neighbors who recently used a pod did get a permit for their pod. But then they are not princesses who believe the sun revolves around them.

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critical of BTD for not towing vehicles blocking hydrants and the like. In this case, however, I think it would be a problem for them to do so.

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Agree it's a stupid place for a pod but maybe the city should get their stuff together on these fire hydrants. When there are 2 right next to each other like this, figure out which one you would actually use and remove the redundant hydrant. There are many places around the North End where the hydrants are packed tightly together, effectively removing parking spots in a neighborhood with too few already. Have the fire department do a study and figure out which can be removed without causing any hazard and get them out.

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" it's a stupid place for a pod "

Just leave it at that. The hydrants are there for a reason. They serve different purposes. Sorry about your parking spot.

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there are two hydrants for a reason. One is elevated pressure.

Maybe the fire department should do a study on why there are so many entitled assholes like you in the north end who only care about parking and inventory you so if there is a fire, they will save you last.

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If you had actually read what I wrote you would understand that I do not think they should remove useful hydrants, you dumbass. You must think the city is 100% right at all times and does no wrong. This city is horribly managed, and it's track record of waste and idiocy gives me reasonable doubt that they have an accurate handle on what is and is not required for safety. In short, go F yourself.

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well played. In other words, you are an idiot and therefore need to turn to namecalling.

based on what information are you stating that there are "non-useful" hydrants?

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...since you were the first person in this thread who turned to calling anyone names. It kind of does a number on your credibility; you mustn't be surprised when no one wants to believe you.

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Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. It is PODS’ policy to always place containers in accordance with local laws and permit guidelines. We made a mistake in this case, and the container has since been removed to avoid any safety issues. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.

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It is PODS’ policy to always place containers in accordance with local laws and permit guidelines. We made a mistake in this case[.]

A mistake? Are there "local laws and permit guidelines" that ALLOW you to dump a PODS unit in front of fire hydrants, and you just didn't know that that's not allowed in Boston?

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