Hydrants — The Haves and The Have-Nots
The pictures above and below, by Todd Dudek of the Salisbury Daily Times, are part of a story running in USA Today. Under the title “Sprawl exceeds reach of hydrants”, Joseph Gidjunis looks at how we are moving out further from the urban areas, but the hydrants aren’t following us. Not a shock for firefighters, but it can be for homeowners. This includes Robert and Tammy Weber of Salisbury. That’s their home burning a little more than a month ago.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Six out of 10 homeowners in Wicomico County, Md., a growing area between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, do not have hydrants within the recommended 1,000 feet, says Jack Lenox, county planning and zoning director.
Nearly a fourth of U.S. families face the same protection inadequacies as the Webers because they live in extended suburban or rural locations with no hydrants, says Lori Moore-Merrell, an operations analyst with the International Association of Fire Fighters. The lack of fire hydrants is a growing problem as more homes are built outside urban and suburban infrastructure, she says.
On the other side of the coin are places where there are a lot of hydrants. Washington, D.C. would fit that description. An April fire at the Georgetown public library brought attention to hydrant problems in the Nation’s Capital.
The Washington Post’s Michael Ruane has an update on the inspection of 10,000 hydrants by D.C. firefighters and an agreement being worked out with the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for funding of future inspections.
