Across D.C., Dozens of Hydrants Are Broken

Fire officials pointed out that firetrucks carry 500-gallon reservoirs. But Dugan said that is enough to handle a small one-bedroom house fire, hardly a match for what happened Monday at the library and at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. Both fires raged for hours.

"On a big fire like Eastern Market or Georgetown, you need a reliable water source because we're going to be using a whole lot more than 500 gallons," Dugan said.

Fire union officials said the city and WASA should have a more aggressive, computerized system to give firefighters a clear idea of which hydrants are out of service.

WASA General Manager Jerry N. Johnson disputed the scope of the problem, responding "absolutely not" when asked if Monday's trouble signaled a citywide problem.

He said WASA has two crews that inspect and maintain hydrants. If a hydrant is reported out of service, it is inspected within 24 hours and repaired within five days, he said. Hydrants with more severe problems can take longer.

As long as more than 99 percent of all city hydrants are working, fixing the broken ones is not a priority, Johnson said. The city tries to keep the number of broken hydrants below 90, he said.

"You can have a hydrant out and the fire department may not have a concern about one hydrant in a block. But if you have two or three out in a block, then that creates an issue," Johnson said.

D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who represents the Georgetown neighborhood, said last night that he will hold Johnson "personally responsible" for answering why hydrants were out of service.

Evans said that 10 years ago, he helped create a program to inspect hydrants every six months. "The point is, this should never have happened," he said at a community meeting in Georgetown.

Soon after the library fire was discovered Monday afternoon, firefighters laid out their hose and connected to the hydrant at Wisconsin Avenue and R Street NW, outside the library. It didn't work. The same trouble occurred at 32nd and R streets, the next-closest hydrant, officials said.

Other companies had to hook up their lines blocks away. "I've never seen the two closest hydrants not working," said Sgt. Theodore Robinson, one of the 200 firefighters and other responders who arrived at the scene.

Georgetown residents at the meeting last night said WASA had not acted on earlier requests to fix other hydrants in the neighborhood.

"Quite frankly, going to WASA is an experience in sheer aggravation," said Bill Starrels, a Georgetown community leader.

Johnson defended WASA, a quasi-independent public agency, at the community meeting. He said he believed that one of the faulty hydrants near the library -- at 32nd and R -- appeared to have damage that was never reported to WASA.

The other one -- across the street from the library -- was known to WASA, he said. D.C. police reported that it was leaking Feb. 6, and Johnson said it was turned off but never repaired.

"We did have something that went foul here," Johnson said. "I fully concede there was some slippage here."

Staff writer Elissa Silverman contributed to this report.