Dallas Fire Raises Fire Hydrant Fears

A faulty fire hydrant was replaced Monday across the street from a northwest Dallas home destroyed by fire Saturday.

Six people escaped from the blaze with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and the next door neighbors’ home was damaged, too, in the 10500 block of Royal Club Lane.[[298076401,C]]

Residents wondered if closer water supply could have helped extinguish the fire faster.

“The whole neighborhood is up in arms about it,” neighbor Tom Hardison said. “Everybody is calling the city and people are pretty upset.”

Dallas Fire Rescue Spokesman Jason Evans said the bad hydrant was reported for repairs to the Dallas Water Utilities Department before the fire.

He said the faulty hydrant did not impede fire suppression because water from a fire engine tank was used to fight the fire until another hydrant was connected.

Water Department Assistant Director Randy Paydon said other hydrants in the neighborhood were inspected since then and all are now confirmed to be working properly.

Retired Coppell Fire Department Captain Joe Chavez now runs a company called Fire Hydrant Servicing that tests and maintains fire hydrants. Chavez said some cities now struggle to inspect all their fire hydrants.

“Back in the 80s and 90s you had more time,” Chavez said. “But now the state puts so much on the fire department for training, it’s hard for the fire departments to get out there and devote all these days to servicing their hydrants.”

Dallas has around 29,000 fire hydrants.

Evans said annual inspection is still expected by Dallas Fire Department crews in their assigned neighborhoods.

Evans and Paydon could not answer Monday exactly how long before the Saturday fire the faulty hydrant on Royal Club Lane was reported for repair.

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