Dade County water crews continued to mend problematic fire hydrants Thursday after a fire chief scorched the water authority’s maintenance of the plugs at a recent commission meeting.
South Dade Volunteer Fire Department Chief Roger Woodyard said 21 of 91 hydrants in his area were not working before the crews began their recent campaign. While fighting a fire in January, one of his teams was slowed when they discovered the hydrant across from the blaze was dry, he said.
“I’m just of the opinion that it’s a bad time to find a hydrant doesn’t work at the scene of the emergency,” he said.
Dade County Water Authority director Doug Anderton explained that, due to the state’s water restrictions due to drought, his department wasn’t able to check the hydrants as it normally would. In the tests, hydrants must be flushed, spewing public water out into the street.
Mr. Woodyard compared the hydrants to cars.
“If you don’t test them, it’s like your car if you didn’t crank it for a year,” he said. “There would be a lot of little problems with the gaskets and the seals.”
The fire chief called out the water authority at a commission meeting earlier this month, saying the authority was not being held accountable.
Mr. Anderton disputed Mr. Woodyard’s count, saying there were problems, but there were not 21 hydrants completely out of service. He said his crews had been working on maintenance since recent rains washed away the water restrictions last year.
“I don’t think he realized that we were already working on the problem,” Mr. Anderton said. “If we work together as a team, we can get it done.”
Dade County Emergency Management Agency Director Alex Case said firefighters had not brought any concerns about the hydrants to his department but, as a volunteer firefighter, he had seen problems with the hydrants.
His fire department had either fixed their own plugs, he said, or contracted the work out with help from the water authority.
He praised the water authority for springing to action quickly after Mr. Woodyard’s statements.
“I think this has woken them up a little bit,” he said.