Area Had Enough Water In D.C. Blaze, Study Says
Fire Department Findings, Chief Differ

By Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The D.C. fire department had access to enough water in Adams Morgan to extinguish a blaze that temporarily trapped firefighters on a condominium roof last month, according to a fire department report. That conclusion appears to contradict initial accounts that the water supply system in the area completely failed.

Results from hydrant testing after the Oct. 1 fire counter statements by Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin that undersize water mains forced his department to unfurl thousands of feet of hose into an adjacent Northwest neighborhood to secure water, which, he said, impeded efforts to combat the blaze. Rubin's comments raised concerns that there might be a citywide problem fighting large fires in areas served primarily by small mains.

The report deflects any fire department responsibility for the water supply delay, saying that commanders had no way of knowing whether nearby hydrants were connected to small or large water mains because that information was "not available."

The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, with which Rubin has repeatedly sparred, provides firefighters with water maps.

The fire department "has very little information to identify reliable alternative water supplies for this type of situation," says the report, issued under Rubin's name. "The water system maps are outdated, difficult to interpret and lack critical information."

The report identifies three high-volume hydrants close to the fire along the Columbia Road NW corridor, including one near the Ontario Road intersection and two near the 18th Street intersection. The hydrant near Ontario Road, which is connected to a 20-inch water main, was not tapped until an hour and a half into the firefighting, and a hydrant near 18th Street attached to a 12-inch main was never used, according to the analysis after the fire.

At Rubin's request, WASA has recently started color-coding hydrants according to their water flow.

Rubin and other fire department spokesmen declined to comment on the report, referring questions to the office of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).

The report and an analysis by WASA of the capability of hydrants attached to smaller mains citywide were released Friday night by e-mail, a method in stark contrast to the news conferences that the Fenty administration usually calls to announce any major findings.

The fire at the Avalon condominium in the 2600 block of Adams Mill Road NW left dozens homeless. It also set off a flurry of finger-pointing between Rubin and WASA general manager Jerry N. Johnson about whether the water system could provide enough pressure and volume to fight large fires. The need for water dramatically increased at the Avalon when firefighters started an aerial attack and the hydrants closest to the building, which were along smaller mains, started to dry up.

The fire department's report says the testing showed that "water mains and hydrants within the Adams Morgan neighborhood are unable to deliver the needed fire flow."

But on the previous page, the report says each of the Columbia Road hydrants provided 1,900 gallons a minute during testing. Fire department officials said a total of 3,500 gallons a minute were needed to fight the fire.

Alan Heymann, a senior speechwriter in the mayor's office, said that the sentence stating that the Adams Morgan water mains lacked adequate flow for fighting fires was incorrect and that only hydrants within the area immediately around the Avalon performed unsatisfactorily.

That refinement still seemed at odds with the WASA report, which did not include Adams Morgan among the three areas of the city that it says lack hydrants capable of providing adequate fire protection. Only one of those areas has development: Mayfair Parkside NE, a residential community on the eastern edge of the Anacostia River.

WASA used modeling to reach its conclusions, according to its report.

The water agency said that in all other areas, hydrants connected to small water mains should provide at least 1,000 gallons of water a minute in a 1,000-foot radius, a fire protection standard.

On the western side of Mayfair Parkside, firefighters would have to unfurl their hoses 2,200 feet to reach adequate water.

"The question is whether there is adequate fire flow within a reasonable distance of six-inch mains" across the city, Johnson said. "The answer is yes."

When asked for further explanation of several conclusions, Heymann said that "the information is within the report."