Water War a success

By ADAM CATLIN
NHJ Editor

It was 95 degrees with a heat index of 100 when the Newkirk Fire Department had their first Water War event at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The event lasted over an hour as numerous Newkirk citizens lined the streets as fire trucks from Newkirk, River Road, Peckham, Kildare, and Bear Creek got as many people soaked as possible. Some people were out with their garden hoses and even threw water balloons to return fire at the various fire trucks they saw pass by.
The route moved from west to east as the fire trucks had to stop every so often to reload with more water. Before the event, the Newkirk Fire Department posted to social media that their firefighters would not have their pumps at high pressure, staying at 20 to 30 psi. They would also not be using a straight stream.
Richard Hinthorn, with the Newkirk Fire Department, said, “This is what this is all about,” after seeing the people coming out to take part in the water war.
He was recording live coverage for the department’s social media page during the event. “What a way to spend a hot summer’s day,” Hinthorn said during the route as he saw the people coming out to take part in the event. There were numerous times during his live feed that they posted requests for the fire departments to come by an address and soak the people outside.
Hinthorn expressed hope that this will become a yearly event after seeing the positive turnout from the public.
Newkirk Fire Department Chief Adam Longcrier had been wanting to do this event for years, Hinthorn said.
One of the last stops, Hinthorn, said, was at an address at 3rd and Cedar when someone there requested them to stop by.
Response from the public was overwhelmingly positive with many people coming up to Hinthorn as he traveled around Newkirk and thanking him for the event. He said he looked forward to hearing comments and suggestions from the public to make next year’s event even better.