SHOUT OUT: Rather than pollute a landfill, Lyndhurst firefighters donated 2,000 feet of hose deemed unsafe for operational use to Turtleback Zoo in West Orange.
Fire hoses are ruled unsafe if they’re pressurized for a certain amount of time during required annual tests and don’t rupture.
Last month, about 1,500 feet of 5-inch hose and 500 feet of 2-inch hose at the Lyndhurst company were deemed unsafe, Fire Chief Paul Haggery told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
“Rather then discard of it and pollute a landfill, the hose is finding a second life at the zoo,” he said.
Making it happen was Hose2Habitat, a Maryland-based nonprofit that connects fire departments with zoos and animal sanctuaries to recycle surplus hose into habitat enrichment, Haggerty said.
The industrial-strength material of the hose can withstand chewing, scratching, walking, swinging and more from the zoo’s inhabitants — making them excellent for creating swings, ropes, hammocks, feeders and other more, he said.
Zookeepers also create balls from the hoses, spraying them with various scents to give the animals different smells to sniff out.
PHOTOS: Courtesy LYNDHURST FIRE DEPT
