10-2-2013 Colonial Beach / Westmoreland Journal

Page 10

10

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013

The Journal

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Do you worry about fire hydrants?

Op-Ed Ruby Brabo Did you know that even though there is a fire hydrant in your area, King George Fire & Rescue may still not be able to use it to fight a fire due to inadequate water flow? In an effort to continue the conversation started last week, I want to address how the King George Public Service Authority (PSA) impacts the fire suppression capability within our community, and how that ultimately impacts the ISO rating provided to the County. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) “develops, publishes, and disseminates more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the

possibility and effects of fire and other risks.� In other words, these are the guidelines and standards used by our fire/rescue personnel in providing service to our community. The NFPA also includes guidelines and standards for fire hydrants such as the recommended distance between hydrants, maintenance and acceptable flow rates based on the type of building to be serviced. Every structure has a specific needed fire flow. For example, a single-wide mobile home has less fire flow requirements than a multifloor home, which would require less than a commercial building. Currently, the PSA regulations only require “the applicant install a fire service connection to supply a fire protection system� [fire hydrants] in conformance to the “standards� of the PSA. This would explain why homes within the Cleydael subdivision and

those located at Fairview Beach have found themselves to be within the required 1,000 feet of a hydrant but cannot actually be serviced by one. The hydrants do not meet the water capacity requirements for the necessary flow rate to fight a fire even though they meet the standards of the PSA to provide homes with water for drinking, bathing, toilets and water heaters (domestic water use). The more domestic water use is increased, the greater the reduction in the water reserve (storage tanks) available for fire suppression. Cleydael and Fairview Beach currently have hydrants that cannot be used for fire suppression due to the lack of water reserve available. Hence, this was the reason for the recent vote of 4 to 1 to borrow $2.5 million to rectify the flow rate problems in Fairview Beach. Possibly the County could resolve

the water capacity issues at Cleydael if the PSA were allowed to use the water tank which has sat unused since it was constructed. EvenMohawkDrive,offofIndiantown Road, provides homeowners with a false sense of security as the installed piping is too small for fire suppression capability. Using the hydrants at those locations to fight a fire would actually cause damage to components inside of the homes such as the toilets and water heaters when pulling that amount of pressure. Eden and Presidential Lakes subdivisions currently contain no hydrants. The installed piping used is also not big enough to handle the required water flow capacity to maintain a fire suppression system, meaning no hydrants could ever be added without a major investment such as is now being done at Fairview Beach. Currently, in King George County, if a home/business is located within

five miles of a fire station and is within 1,000 feet of an adequate fire hydrant, then the ISO rating for insurance purposes is a 6 (out of 10, with 10 being the worst). For those homes/businesses located within 5 miles of a fire station and are within 1,000 feet of an inadequate hydrant, the rating is a 9. This impacts how much you will pay for your property insurance if your insurance company chooses to insure you. As stated in the PSA regulations, “After installation of each hydrant, the PSA shall assume ownership, maintenance and operation thereof and shall pay for any replacement or relocation which may become necessary.� Currently, the 3900 PSA customers are footing the entire cost of operation and maintenance, which includes projects like the one at Fairview Beach to rectify the mistakes of yesteryear’s development process, all in an effort to improve the

overall ISO rating for the County. As the community continues to develop, we can no longer accept that the PSA simply meet the criteria for a water/sewer system. The PSA must become more proactive in planning for and meeting the NFPA fire flow requirements. There needs to be an ongoing dialogue between the PSA and Fire/Rescue regarding what both sides need. There are lessons learned only through actual fire/rescue experience such as determining appropriate locations for hydrants at intersections. While we have made great progress in this area over the past 10 years, better planning and improvements are now needed to get to where we should be today. In closing, I would once again point out that a well-maintained PSA is of benefit to the entire community and not just to the customer. Ruby Brabo is the Dahlgren District Supervisor.

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