Grand Street resident Patricia Pieroni feels surrounded. In the past seven years, Pieroni said her 3rd Ward neighborhood has been dotted with house fires and responders have discovered that some of the hydrants don’t work.
“I’ve lived in that house for 50 years, and they used to come and flush the hydrants,” Pieroni said. “When the house down the street burned, the guys had to go and drag hoses from North Transit to have water to put the fire out.”
Addressing the Common Council last week, she listed the “hot spots” in the neighborhood surrounding E&R Machine Inc.: A home directly behind her on Prentice Street burned and is a parking lot now; another Prentice Street home several doors from that burned; two homes on Grand Street; a home on Hawley Street; and the store located at Hawley and Green streets.
Pieroni said she went out to the fire hydrant in front of her house while firefighters were responding to the Grand Street fire.
“I was out there and I talked to them, and he said, ‘This is no good, it doesn’t work.’ ”
Speaking to aldermen, she said, “When you get homeowner’s (insurance), they ask about the proximity of a fire hydrant to your structure. Well, if the fire hydrant doesn’t work, you really can’t say — I have one right in my front yard.”
Rowland O’Malley, 3rd Ward alderman, said he had spoken to City Fire Chief Luca Quagliano to obtain information on how many hydrants are out of service or providing low pressure, and their locations.
On Tuesday, Quagliano said there were eight broken fire hydrants across the city, but he did not know the locations because “I don’t do hydrant replacement. The Water Department fixes them.”
When asked if he monitors that repairs are made, Quagliano said the water department sends a notice of completed repair. Quagliano said inspection of hydrants is assigned to Water Distribution and is not a responsibility established in the fire department’s union contract.
At the Tuesday meeting of the city’s fire board, Quagliano provided a summary of each of the past week’s fires. Speaking of the blaze at 216 West Ave. on Saturday, he said the first hydrant the crew tried had inadequate pressure because it’s a 6-inch main.
“There is not nearly enough water on that street for a main street,” Quagliano said. “You’ve got to figure that 6-inch main is corroded to 5.”
Kevin Kirchberger, alderman-at-large and chair of the city’s Highways & Parks and Water Distribution Committee, said a parts order was placed to repair hydrants at 52 Walnut St., 425 Park Ave., 100 Irving St., 38 Highland Drive and 25 Roosevelt Drive.
Kirchberger said the cost per hydrant was nearly $7,000 each. He was unaware of the repair status for the hydrant at 204 Grand St. Repairs will be made once the materials are received, he said.