KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Faulty fire hydrants have some Kansas City residents worried, but Kansas City Fire Department officials reassured residents that the delay in finding a working fire hydrant did not delay fighting the fire
On Sunday morning, an apartment building caught fire at the intersection of Linwood and Jackson. Several residents had to leave the building to avoid the smoke and fire
Residents noticed that fire crews tried unsuccessfully twice to hook fire hoses to nearby fire hydrants. A third fire hydrant did work and the long line of hose was connected to the fire engine.
KCFD Deputy Fire Chief James Garret explained that the firefighting was not delayed because the fire trucks have water in them
“We carry over 500 gallons of water to the fire itself and so when we start the fire-fighting operation we start off of our water reserve and so when we get a hydrant is a secondary source that we have come in to make sure we’re able to put out that fire,” said Garrett.
We asked the Kansas City Water Department for inspection reports on fire hydrants in a two-block area of this fire.
They sent the following statement:
“KCFD utilizes fire crews to inspect fire hydrants and provide the inspection results to KC Water. We do not have any records showing that the fire hydrants in the area you requested have been inspected since 2013.
There more than 24,000 fire hydrants in Kansas City.
Right now, a little more than 3% are on the repair list.”
Deputy Chief Garrett said all 24,000 fire hydrants are supposed to be inspected every year but regardless—he insisted that if there is a problem with a fire hydrant, fire crews are trained and ready and multiple firetrucks have water and several outlets for water hoses to fight almost any fire.
