Candice Kardulis’ children participated in the Town of West Hartford’s ‘Shovel Out a Hydrant’ contest after February’s blizzard.

Austin and his friends on their visit to the West Hartford Fire Department.Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

By Ronni Newton

Candice Kardulis’ children had quite the ride on Wednesday morning.

The fun-packed morning started when Ava, a first-grader at Aiken Elementary School, and Austin, a Pre-K student in the ELC at Whiting Lane, were picked up at home – by a fire truck.

Ava was picked up by the West Hartford Fire Department for her ride to school on Wednesday morning. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

“Ava and Austin were among the winners of the fire hydrant dig-out after the last large winter storm, Kardulis said. After the blizzard in February, which followed another large snowstorm and arctic temperatures, clearing a 3-foot radius around all of the hydrants in town became an onerous task.

Austin and Ava were West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winners. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis (we-ha.com file photo)

Officials came up with the contest as a way to solicit assistance from the community in clearing snow away from the town’s more than 1,300 fire hydrants for a chance at winning a fun prize – either a $50 gift card of a fire truck ride – and winners were chosen at random from more than 80 photos submitted to the Town of West Hartford Facebook page.

The Kardulis’ prizes were: “A ride to school on the firetruck for Ava, picture with her principal Mrs. Mori and first grade teacher Mrs. Woods. For Austin a tour of the firehouse with his fellow classmates.”

Ava tests out the headphones in a West Hartford fire truck. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

According to Kardulis, Ava said, “Riding the fire truck felt good! They let me put on the headphones and let me talk to them in the headset. It was amazing!”

She said that for Austin, “the best part of the tour for him was riding around the block in the fire truck and spraying the water hose with his friends.”

Austin and his friends get to sit in the fire truck. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

The contest was certainly a win-win, and from the smiles in the photos, the winners and firefighter thoroughly enjoyed the prize.

Austin tests out the fire hose at the West Hartford Fire Department’s Brace Road station. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

“Overall it was an incredible experience and we are happy we were able to be a part of a community initiative that supported our local station. We thank them for their service and keeping us safe. We will definitely have our shovels ready for next year!” Kardulis said.