The Town of West Hartford launched a contest as an incentive to expedite the clearing of snow around the more than 1,300 fire hydrant in town.

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Camix De la Vega

By Ronni Newton

Seconds count when it comes to putting out fires, and while members of the West Hartford Fire Department clear the snow from the 1,300-plus hydrants around town in between emergency calls, each time it snows they also ask residents to shovel out the hydrants in front of their homes.

With two major snowstorms over the past two weeks, and temperatures that remained below normal, clearing all of the hydrants became an onerous task. West Hartford town leaders, however, came up with a fun idea to help in the efforts.

A contest launched Monday – after the blizzard – offered a chance for those who shoveled out a 3-foot radius around fire hydrants to be given a chance to win either a $50 gift card to a local business or a ride to school in a West Hartford fire truck. The plan was for four winners to be selected at random from entries posted via photos on the Town of West Hartford Facebook page.

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Candice Kardulis

The response was overwhelming, however, not just from those who did the shoveling, but also from a local businesses that donated gift cards to the effort.

“Thank you to the hundreds of people who helped the West Hartford Fire Department by shoveling snow away from a nearby hydrant and an accessible path to it following the blizzard on Feb. 22 and 23, 2026,” said Renée McCue, the town’s public relations specialist who organized the “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest. She said it can often take weeks for firefighters to completely clear out all of the hydrants. “This time it took one day!” she said.

“Over 80 photos and 125 thoughtful, encouraging comments were submitted on the Town of West Hartford’s Facebook page,” she said.

Resident Samantha Willington’s child got a special shout-out, McCue said, for clearing snow away from three hydrants – and was rewarded with a gift card and a ride on a fire truck.

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Samantha Winningham

The four winners who were randomly selected on Wednesday to win a choice of a $50 gift card or a fire truck ride are:

• Nicoli Haskll
• Emily Hogeland
• Camix De la Vega
• Candice Kardulis

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Emilly Hogeland

In addition, McCue said, “Thanks to the generosity of Dante Cistulli, owner of Zephyr’s Street Pizza, the following 10 people were selected to win a $20 gift card to the restaurant.

• Melissa Loranger
• Kate Bittinger Eikel
• Kate Martin
• Caitlyn Bransfield Ward
• Gail Frahm
• Kelani Carbonneau
• Amy Breck Ronkese
• Dean J. Levy
• Holly Fortier Killeen

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Nicole Haskill

Winners who have not already been in touch with the town are asked to please send their email address to [email protected] to claim their prize.

West Hartford “Shovel out a Hydrant” contest winner. Courtesy of Samantha Winningham

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