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Daily Talker: Is $100 Fine Enough For Blocking Fire Hydrant?

Boston firefighters say it was "inexcusable" that a parked BMW was blocking a fire hydrant near the scene of an 8-alarm fire in East Boston Wednesday night.

Firefighters smashed through the driver and passenger windows to feed a hose through. The hose still had a kink in it, so bystanders helped firefighters lift and bounce the car away from the curb.

"You can move the car a short distance which is what they did to get the kink out," Steve MacDonald of Boston Fire told WBZ. "Again this is all effort that should be concentrated on putting the fire out."

The BMW was brand new. The registration was only two days old.

"I wanted to cry for him," said Rafael Henriquez, a friend of the car's owner. "Of course he brought that on himself."

The owner now has a new car that needs some repairs to the windows and to dents, and a $100 fine for parking at a fire hydrant.

Do you think that is enough of a punishment for blocking a fire hydrant? What should it be? Share your comments below, and watch for them on WBZ News in the Morning from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m.

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