For months, fire hydrants in Brooklyn Park haven't pumped enough water to put out an average house fire. Now, Anne Arundel County fire officials say they have come up with at least a short-term solution.
When a fire is reported in Brooklyn Park, the Fire Department will dispatch an engine from the Ferndale station equipped with a 5-inch-diameter hose to the nearest hydrant on Ritchie Highway where the water pressure is better. The driver will be prepared to run the hose -- larger than other engine hoses -- to the fire to provide additional water capacity.
In addition, the department will send a tanker truck to help if Brooklyn Park firefighters say they don't have adequate water pressure.
The lack of water pressure became apparent Oct. 28 when firefighters battling a house fire in the 100 block of W. Seventh Ave. got very little water out of a backup fire hydrant, said Battalion Chief J. Gary Sheckells, Fire Department spokesman. Gaynelle LeMaster, 73, died in that fire, and her family was left homeless.
The hydrants in Brooklyn Park are on Baltimore's water system. Some of the mains are more than 60 years old and have become clogged with mineral deposits and rust, county and city officials agreed.
The city Department of Utilities tested 13 hydrants and found flow rates ranged from 93 gallons a minute on Seventh Avenue and Marshall Road to 950 gallons a minute on Southerly Road and Ballman Avenue.
Mr. Sheckells said the average fire can be handled with "between 200 and 300 gallons" a minute.
The situation "is not life-threatening or dangerous," said state Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, who represents the area. "But there are obviously some deficiencies to be addressed."
The improvements could involve cleaning and lining the old mains, replacing them, or a combination of both, said Jerry Silhan, chief of utilities engineering for Baltimore. Because the mains are in Anne Arundel, the county would be responsible for the cost, he said.
The county has a program to clean water mains and line them to help guard against corrosion, but Brooklyn Park is not included because the city owns the mains, said Lisa Ritter, a spokeswoman for the county's Department of Public Works.
Meanwhile, Woodie Bowen, whose house in the 100 block of Seventh Ave. is in front of the hydrant with the lowest pressure, says he has "a little problem between both municipalities."
"I think between the two, they owe us some service for our money," he said.