Across D.C., Dozens of Hydrants Are Broken
Disrepair Often Not Found Until a Fire

By Keith L. Alexander and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Dozens of fire hydrants across the District are not in working order, including the two closest to Monday's fire at the D.C. public library in Georgetown.

Fire and union officials say the faulty hydrants often aren't discovered until a fire breaks out, as was the case in Georgetown. Firefighters tried hooking hoses to two hydrants, including one just across the street from the blaze, but were unable to draw water. They wound up using hydrants roughly two blocks from the burning building.

Officials said the broken hydrants slowed the response of some units by a few minutes but did not have a major effect on the blaze, one of two three-alarm fires in the city Monday. All hydrants were working near Eastern Market, the other building that burned.

The city has struggled for years to keep hydrants in good working order, firefighters said. With nearly 9,300 hydrants citywide, keeping up with inspections can be difficult, they said. Some broken hydrants are clearly marked, but only those that have been identified as needing repair. The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority oversees the maintenance of the hydrants.

"The way we find out a hydrant isn't working is when we pull up to one and connect to the hydrant," said Dan Dugan, president of the D.C. Firefighters Association. "If it's not working, we connect to another one. It just slows us down."

Dugan said the firefighters union has been complaining for years about problems.

No one was hurt in the library fire, but numerous artifacts were damaged or endangered as the flames spread across the 1935 building.

Yesterday, fire officials released a list -- compiled by WASA -- that identified 53 hydrants in need of repair or replacement. They are scattered throughout the city: 15 in Southeast, 12 in Northeast and 26 in Northwest. Some leak; some have defective parts; and some yield no water. WASA officials played down the extent of the problems.

But questions arose about the accuracy of the list. The two locations in Georgetown were not on it.

And many D.C. fire stations keep their own lists of broken hydrants, believing their information is more up-to-date than WASA's. One firehouse, at 1018 13th St. NW, in the heart of downtown, keeps its tally on a board. Yesterday, the board displayed 11 locations -- several of which were not on WASA's list, including one directly in front of the firehouse. That hydrant was damaged two weeks ago, firefighters said, when it was struck by a vehicle.

Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin, who took command of the department last month, said he is concerned about the problem. "You're always worried about it," he said. "It's a component of fire protection."

Rubin said he plans to work with WASA in checking hydrants and identifying those in need of repair. The initiative, set to begin this month, was in the works when the fires took place this week, he said. Other fire officials said the project will probably take months to complete.

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.