Boy Scouts Jacob Leeds, 12, of Egg Harbor Township, left; Gregory Battschinger, 15, and his brother Cedric Battschinger, 13, both of Galloway Township; and Brayden Summers, 11, of Egg Harbor Township work in shifts to begin greasing the fittings on the township fire hydrants Saturday, Feb. 18. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Gregory Battschinger’s community outreach project for Boy Scout Troop 177 may very well equate to lives saved, according to Egg Harbor Township Fire Chief William Danz.

Battschinger, 15, of Galloway is working with Danz and his department as part of his campaign to become an Eagle Scout by adding markers to the township’s fire hydrants so firefighters can locate them easily.

Danz said they had considered several types of markers such as flags, but ruled them out due to cost.

“The flags would have cost $24 apiece,” he said. “It’s hard for a Scout to earn that kind of money.”

Instead, Battschinger will place 6-foot posts topped with pieces of PVC tubing covered in reflective tape. The posts will be set approximately 24 inches behind each hydrant and stand about 5 feet out of the ground.

“A lot of the hydrants are covered in brush, so with the posts the firefighters will be able to see them better,” Danz said, noting another challenge for fire departments is when fires occur after large snowstorms and the hydrants are covered by snow banks.

Battschinger began the installations Saturday, Feb. 18 with the help of a few of his fellow Boy Scouts.

“I set up four shifts of 2½ hours each,” he said, noting he had about 10 other Scouts assisting that day along with his father Glenn Battschinger.

He also began greasing the fittings on the hydrants. On many of the hydrants, rust accumulates at the point where the firefighters connect their hoses, making it difficult to open the hydrant in time.

He said the maintenance on the hydrants was going quicker than the installation of the posts.

“We will probably get 35 of those done today, and four posts in the ground,” he said, explaining he needed to have a permit to dig each hole for the posts. The permit applications had to contain very specific location information before approval, and he was only able to get four applications approved to date.

He presented his project to Township Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 8, during which he said he had already obtained a map of the locations from New Jersey American Water Company.

The St. Augustine Preparatory School student will need to raise $2,500 to complete the project. He said he plans to have a few coin drops to help raise money. His fundraising got a big boost over the weekend when the West Atlantic City Volunteer Fire Company pledged to contribute $500 to his project.

Committeeman John Carman said Battschinger should ask the water company for a donation to the project.

Gregory Battschinger, 15, of Galloway presents the details of his project to the Township Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 8.