HLRGazette Archives

Relive some of our best stories.

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Liberty Water Refuses To Support

E-mail Print PDF
Liberty Water Refuses To Support
Emergency Fire Suppression
The management of Liberty Water, a subsidiary of Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp., a Canadian company, advised the HLVFD in a letter dated January 24, 2011 that "Liberty Water does not provide fire fighting capabilities ..." and "The Holly Ranch VFD was seen drawing water from a hydrant on or about January 12th...Please contact Valerie Knowles, at our Hawkins Office to make payment arrangements for this usage." This is a complete change from the policy of the previous water companies serving Holly Lake Ranch and is not consistent with the three neighboring water companies. We do not think it is representative of most rural water companies.
The incident Liberty Water was referring to is when the HLVFD was observed drawing water from a hydrant on the afternoon of January 11 (it was 24 degrees outside). The HLVFD plus four other volunteer fire departments were actively trying to put out the fire consuming two mobile homes at the intersection of 2869 and 49. Water was about to run out and this hydrant was the closest available water source (across the street from the Catholic and Holly Tree Churches on 2869). In trying to refill our tank truck at this water hydrant, we discovered that the flow rate had been reduced from 1260 Gallons Per Minute (GPM) in 2008 when the hydrant was installed to support the Fire Department, to approximately 100 GPM now. Thanks a lot! The firefighters on the tank truck had to abort this water hydrant and go to the dry hydrant on the golf course just inside Holly Lake Ranch to finish filling the truck. The mobile homes were total losses and more water faster probably would not have changed that, but it could make all the difference next time. The timeshares are a high risk now as there are four hydrants in that area. These hydrants were used not only for the time-shares but also for shuttling water to houses in that area. It should be noted that during the 40 years that the HLVFD has been in operation we have never caused a problem with reducing the water pressure to the point that a water company had to put out a boil notice. We use the existing water pressure to flow water to fill tank trucks. We cannot carry enough water to a structure fire to finish the job, so a water shuttle is needed in most incidences. This is going to be much more difficult now.

The State Fireman's and Fire Marshals' Association released the following press release in September of 2007:
AUSTIN, Texas, September 18, 2007-During the 80th Legislature, the House and Senate passed H.B. 1717 to aid in the identification of non-functioning fire hydrants and assist fire fighters in responding to fires in a timely manner.
"Over the years, fire fighters have become increasingly concerned, especially in rural areas, that non-functioning fire hydrants are preventing us from protecting homes and businesses from fire," said Chris Barron Executive Director of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association. "Too many times, we lose houses and businesses because when we arrive at the scene and hook up to the hydrant, there is no water."
The legislation requires fife hydrants that are non-functioning or otherwise unavailable for fire suppression use to be painted black. A device is considered non-functioning if it pumps less than 250 gallons of water per minute. This is a minimum requirement based on uniform standards adopted by the National Fire Protection Association and used across the country.
Unfortunately, some wate utilities in Smith County have over-reacted to the legislation by painting all fire hydrants black, most of which are functioning hydrants that pump well over 250gpm. 'The utilities are painting all hydrants black to protect against liability," said, Cody Crawford, Fire Chief of Chapel Hill Fire Department. "While this makes sense to the lawyers, it doesn't make good common sense and it puts
homeowners at risk. In our view, it creates more liability than it removes."
In Texas, water utilities are not required to provide water flow for fire suppression. So while homeowners may think they are protected because they have a hydrant on the comer of the street, it may be providing a false sense of security and nothing more.
"SFFMA commends the authors of the bill and the legislators who supported it for their efforts to protect homeowners and business by helping fire fighters know which hydrants are functioning and which are not," said Chris Barron. "We encourage water utilities across the state to assist us in implementing this common sense approach to safety. "
The State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association is the oldest and largest fire service association in Texas with approximately 19,OOO members. SFFMA provides certification for volunteer fire fighters and departments across the state and sponsors the world's largest fire school at Texas A&M University."
To our knowledge, Texas law does not require rural water companies to design their systems to provide for fire fighting capabilities, nor does it require them to provide water for fire fighting. However, most water companies appear to be concerned about public relations and realize a moral obligation to offer their services "free of charge" as best they can for emergency fire operations.
It is apparent that legislation is needed to increase the liability of water companies that do not recognize a responsibility to the communities they serve. This is a complex problem that was exacerbated by HB 1717 during the last legislative session and we do not have all the answers. We are just trying to provide the best service possible. We have asked our Texas congressmen (Kevin Eltife and Bryan Hughes) to work on additional legislation.