A Fort Dodge boy is being rewarded for helping firefighters after heavy snowfall blocked the city's fire hydrants.

9-year-old Colton Holmes took part in a citywide contest that encouraged kids across the city to clear snow from the fire hydrants for a chance to ride to school in a fire truck. Advertisement

He says spending some of his time in the snow to help out was a no-brainer.

"I wanted to help people out and be a hero," he said.

But this nice gesture turned into a lifesaving action just a day later, when a firefighter used the hydrant he cleared to respond to a nearby structure fire .

"Given the situation, the heavy snowfall recently, time was of the essence," Fort Dodge Lt. Devon Schuster said. "Fire actually doubles in size every minute, so the fact that we didn't have to di

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