The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) is asking: do you have a cistern on your property for emergency use in the case of a fire?

If you follow the NFPD on Facebook you may have noticed “Acting Chief Blue Dog” starring in a Public Service Announcement about cisterns, urging anyone with a cistern installed on their property to visit www.nfpd.org/cisterns to fill out a quick form, documenting their cistern and scheduling a time for members of the Nederland Fire Department to inspect it.

These cisterns are tanks buried in residents’ properties for emergency water storage, to be used by firefighters in the case of a fire-related emergency. New fire code requires the size of the cistern to be determined by the square footage of the property to be protected…but this was not always the case in the past. That is why the NFPD has been diligently documenting cisterns in the area: in order to ensure there is an emergency water supply.

The NFPD is also offering residents to schedule a time for firefighters to test cisterns and validate that they are ready for use. Acting Chief Blue Dog and all members of the NFPD want to be aware of Nederland’s cisterns and to ensure that they’re operable, so that each and every resource at their disposal is utilized when it is needed most.

Residents can visit www.nfpd.org/cisterns to watch Acting Chief Blue Dog’s PSA and fill out the form to help firefighters locate all available cisterns in the Nederland fire protection district.