Apalachicola takes closer look at firefighting

After listening to reports as to the city’s firefighting capabilities, Apalachicola city commissioners took steps Tuesday evening to grant greater oversight to the volunteer fire department, leading to a possible increase in funding for the department for the next budget cycle.

The lengthy discussion on fire hydrants was prompted by a devastating fire in the historic district last month that underscored gaps in delivery of adequate water pressure. On Feb. 8, as firefighters fought to prevent the 120-year-old Wright house, at the intersection of 16th street and Avenue B, from burning to the ground, they discovered the nearest hydrant was out of service. A subsequent survey of the city’s 200 hydrants showed five were inoperable.

The 30 minutes set aside by Mayor Van Johnson for the fire hydrant discussion Tuesday evening expanded to about three times that amount, as commissioners heard from the engineer who revamped the season a decade ago, the head of the county’s firefighter association, angry citizens and the city’s fire chief.

“I think this was a wake-up call,” said Johnson, who last week had called for an independent investigation of the city’s fire protection system by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), which rates a municipality’s firefighting capability for home insurance purposes.

It became clear, however, during Tuesday’s discussion that bringing in ISO officials right now would only lead to a downgrading of the city’s rating of 6.

“I wouldn’t bring them in here today,” said Jay Abbott, the St. George Island fire chief who serves as the president of the Franklin County United Firefighters Association.

The discussion began with remarks from Richard Delp, project manager in the environmental division of Baskerville-Donovan (BDI), the engineering firm responsible for revamping the city’s water distribution system in 2002.

Delp said due to budget constraints on the $3.7 million project, which encompassed everything from putting in new wells and water lines to expanding the water treatment plant, a decision was made to achieve cost savings by removing about 20 hydrants.

“Could we do with less hydrants without deteriorating the protection?” said Delp, noting that the decision was made to remove hydrants that were connected to the old cast iron pipes.

Delp, a former volunteer firefighter, strongly defended BDI’s recommendation, and the city commission’s decision at the time to support it.

“We did that without jeopardizing the fire protection standards,” he said. “The way the system is designed, you should have adequate pressure and flow.”

Delp said all residents served by the Apalachicola fire department, including those in outlying areas outside the city limits, are within 500’ of a 6” water line, well within the ISO standard of all structures within 1,000’ of a water line. He said commercial structures downtown are all within 300’ of a water line.

Delp said the Ten State Standards, another accepted measure for determining a system’s capability, calls for all structures to be within a 600’ radius from a hydrant.

During the 2002 water system revamping, BDI replaced all the hydrants, many of which had not been properly maintained and were encrusted and brittle, with new units, Delp said.

Bobby Miller, a neighbor of the Wright House whose home was spared damage from the blaze through the work of the Apalachicola, Eastpoint and St. George Island fire departments, questioned Delp as to why so many hydrants were taken out, especially since many of the city’s historic homes are built of “fat lighter” known to burn quickly.

Delp stressed that fire protection standards had not been compromised in the redesign, and praised the local firefighters for their efforts. “I have the utmost respect for volunteer fire departments,” he said. “They probably did the best they could with the equipment they had.”

Apalachicola Fire Chief George Watkins said he and his fellow firefighters have assisted the water department in their examination of the city’s hydrants over the last three weeks, and determined that trouble with the 6’ steamer caps is the major problem.

William Cox, who heads the water department, said all 200 hydrants have been tested, and that in addition to the original five that were replaced, two more had surfaced with problem. One of them, on Fred Meyers Street, needed to be serviced, and the commissioner recommended that it be quickly replaced with a new one by GAC Contractors.

In addition to the issue of working fire hydrants, firefighters also had to deal with diminished water pressure when they fought the Wright House fire.

Delp said that was a function of the height of the city’s water tower and the width of the fire hose, with smaller hoses having more friction loss in pressure. He suggested the city may need to add a supplemental pump to the system to boost water pressure.

Watkins said the department has ordered 1,100’ of 5” fire hose, double the width of the existing hose, which should assist with the water pressure issue. In addition, he said the department has ordered 20 new radios, to eliminate any problems with communication that had arisen in the past. “We’ll all be on the same page in our department,” he said.

In his presentation to the commission, Abbott stressed the need for an ongoing fire hydrant testing system, so as to comply with regulations by the Department of Environmental Protection. He also noted that homes on St. George Island, which maintains an ISO rating of 6, are all within 1,000 feet of a hydrant.

Abbott said it is important to maintain a minimum flow of at least 500 gallons of water per minute, especially with the older wooden homes whose intense heat is capable of fending off water spray. “These old buildings, it’s like pouring gasoline on them,” he said. “It takes tons of water.”

Abbott said he was surprised at the water pressure during the Wright House fire. “You could squeeze the hose with your hand,” he said. “You should be able to run over it and not put a dent in it.”

Jimmy Waddell, with the engineering firm Inovia, has provided City Administrator Betty Taylor-Webb with a quote for doing an independent water pressure check of all the city’s hydrants.

The commissioners also heard an impassioned appeal from resident Karen-Cox Dennis, who described the situation as “Dukes of Hazzard on steroids.” She called for increased funding for the fire department, which only receives about $35,000 out of a city budget of about $1.5 million.

Johnson said he would consider an increased funding request during the next budget cycle, and asked that Watkins prepare his budget and send it directly for commissioner review, similar to how the police and other departments make their request.

The commission also acted on Dennis’ request to have all the old, abandoned fire hydrants, which were sold off as part of a humane society fundraiser, removed if they are standing in the city right-of-way on peoples’ property.