New York City Firefighter Breaks Parked Car Windows to Access Blocked Fire Hydrant

A New York City firefighter broke the windows of a car that was parked in front of a fire hydrant.

Video shows the firefighter threading the firehose through the car and attaching it to the hydrant.

Firefighters were fighting a major four-alarm blaze in the Bronx that destroyed multiple businesses.

Opinions on the fireman's actions on social media have been mixed.

"The owner deserved it," one comment read.

"I am a firefighter. That was 100% unnecessary," another comment said.

YouTube is filled with videos of firefighters having no choice but to break car windows. However, the cars in many of the YouTube videos are parked directly in front of the hydrants.

Could the hose have been draped over the hood of the car in the incident in the Bronx without impeding in the flow of water? Inside Edition showed the video to Nassau County Fire Marshall Michael Uttaro.

"Time is of the essence with fires and when there's a vehicle or any obstruction to a hydrant, they have to overcome that obstruction," Uttaro says. "I'm sure there's several different methodologies of what they could've done. They chose that method and to be honest with you, I wouldn't second-guess them."

Legally, your vehicle must be 15-feet away from the hydrant in New York City.

The owner of the vehicle has 33 fire hydrant violations in the last two years, totaling at least $9,255 in fines, according to reports.

"Perhaps this individual had it coming to them," Uttaro says.

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