WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – It’s a 50-minute drive to Watertown, but Chris Sherwin with the Morristown Fire Department didn’t think twice before making the trip.
“Wow! No water for the city of Watertown,” he said.
He brought more than 6,000 gallons of water with him.
“I’ve been a volunteer fireman for 35 years,” Sherman said. “I enjoy serving my community, and the community that surrounds the one I live in.”
Behind Sherwin, a line of headlights lit up the Watertown High School parking lot Thursday night.
The sound of flowing water was clear as day, as people filled their trucks and their trunks with jugs of water.
“We’ve got our water, our non-drinking water, and we’re going to go home, and I’m going to have a glass of wine, and everything will be fine,” city resident Cathy Chirico said.
It was all hands on deck as state police, the Morristown Fire Department, and Fort Drum soldiers filled, capped, and repeated.
For some soldiers, it was a test of their training.
“The personnel that we have that are coming out to these different locations were just doing water training on their equipment, as well as perfecting their skills, just two weeks ago,” Chief Warrant Officer 2 Myiah Gilbert said. “So, this was perfect.”
The water in 2,000-gallon tanks the Army calls “hippos” came from the wells on Fort Drum.
“This is what the Army does,” Gilbert said, “supports the community and our country.”
Residents say this is what the north country is all about.
“Families taking care of families,” Chirico said. “People taking care of people.”
If you need water, you can get in line to fill up on drinking and non-drinking water Friday morning starting at 7 a.m.
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