Fire crews smash minivan windows and run their hose across front seats

Why you should never park in front of a hydrant! Fire crews smash minivan windows and run their hose across front seats to access water and put out home blaze

  • Crews in Camden City, New Jersey, were called to a house blaze on Saturday 
  • A minivan was blocking access to the fire hydrant so they smashed windows 
  • The crews took to Twitter to remind of the perils of parking beside a hydrant 

Firefighters were forced to smash both front windows of a minivan and stream their hose through the vehicle after it parked next to the water mains.   

Crews in Camden City, New Jersey, were called to a blaze on Saturday when they found the black car blocking access from the fire hydrant to the flaming apartment.

Instead of snaking the thick yellow hose around the car, officers promptly shattered the windows and pumped water across the front seats, which were smothered with glass shards. 

Reminding drivers of the peril of parking beside a hydrant, Camden fire brigade shared the footage on social media.

The hose runs through the car

Fire crews in Camden City, New Jersey, run their hose from the fire hydrant through the car windows after smashing the glass

It wrote: ‘Camden firefighters extinguished a fire at an occupied dwelling on the 400 block of Chambers Street. 

‘CFD crews had to navigate through vehicles blocking hydrants during the incident. No occupants or firefighters were injured.’

New Jersey state firefighters hammered home the warning and tweeted: ‘DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF FIRE HYDRANTS’.

The footage from last Saturday, which has racked up thousands of views, shows the scene outside the blaze.

A bright red fire engine with numerous flashing lights blocks the middle of the road just in front of the black minivan.

The glass has crumbled into hundreds of tiny pieces and collects on the front seat of the car

The glass has crumbled into hundreds of tiny pieces and collects on the front seat of the car

New Jersey state firefighters remind drivers of the perils of parking beside a hydrant

New Jersey state firefighters remind drivers of the perils of parking beside a hydrant

From the front of the engine, the hose drapes along the cobbled street and into the driver’s window of the minivan parked adjacent to the sidewalk.

The camera then moves closer towards the minivan to lay bare the damage caused by the firefighters to the windows.

The glass has crumbled into hundreds of tiny pieces, with only a few fragments left clinging to the rim of the window socket.

The rest have collected on the seat after being sprayed inside when the officers clattered through.

As the camera moves round the trunk, it shows the nozzle of the hose fixed on to the bright green hydrant.

No water is yet pumping through, suggesting the video was captured before or shortly after extinguishing the fire. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk