Officials: Hydrant testing uses water, but saves lives

Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Even during a major desert drought, fire hydrants need to be tested, sending 300 gallons or more of water per minute cascading down streets and gutters.

Local fire agencies and the Las Vegas Valley Water District say it is a small price to pay, even in these water conscious times, to make sure the hydrants are in optimal working order to fight fires and save lives and property.

North Las Vegas officials announced last week they are in the process of testing their 4,500 fire hydrants by flushing water through them. The city of Las Vegas will test its 13,000 fire hydrants in the early spring, while Clark County will test its 16,000 fire hydrants in the fall.

Officials say the tests generally last about one minute. And while that may translate to the potential loss of millions of gallons during the current drought alert, the water district says such tests compare favorably with regular daily residential water consumption.

"An average home owner uses more than double what is used during an average hydrant test to water his front yard for just one day during the summer," said Las Vegas Valley Water District spokesman Niel Laudati, noting that about 700 gallons from a sprinkler system is used to water a lawn.

"We encourage local fire departments to use good judgment, and we feel they do. When it comes to testing hydrants we are talking about public safety."

While the cities of North Las Vegas and Las Vegas conduct one-minute, full-open tests, Clark County generally conducts a more limited test that loses about 20 to 30 gallons of water per minute.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said the county opts for the more limited hydrant test in most cases because it would be disruptive on major arteries to fully open hydrants and flood streets.

He said the county's procedure is to check the valves, grease the fittings and crack open the hydrant just enough to determine there is a flow.

However, if the county fire department is doing a water pressure test, or it is otherwise suspected that water pressure might be low, the hydrant is fully opened for about a minute, just as it is in the municipalities, Leinbach said.

"No one in any fire department wants to be perceived as a water waster, so we are all conscientious about hydrant testing," Leinbach said.

On Friday, North Las Vegas fire officials, at their first two hydrant test sites found one stripped valve and opened another hydrant that emitted a brown sludge that could have damaged fire apparatus had it been an emergency.

"Like anyone else we are concerned about the drought and conservation, but we have to open them to test them," said Assistant North Las Vegas Fire Chief Jimmy Johnson. "This process is necessary to protect life and property.

"We timed this year's tests to coincide with the flushing of the reservoirs by our (North Las Vegas) water district and because the demand is not as great for fire services this time of year."

Johnson said each test will last roughly 30 seconds to one minute.

"With the drought being such an issue, we want to keep the public informed of what we are doing, and we do not want to be perceived as water wasters," Johnson said.

"In our fire stations we have changed procedures to use damp cloths instead of flowing water to clean (fire engines) and we now sweep the floors with a broom instead of using water to spray them clean."

Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said years ago hydrant tests in his city would take several minutes, but that has changed in recent years to prevent large amounts of water from flowing into the streets.

"However, at hydrants at construction sites, we still might have a longer flow to make sure there are no rocks or debris left in the line," he said.

"Each year, we find problems that require the servicing of about 20 hydrants, including ones that were hit by vehicles and were damaged to the point where we can't get a hose connected to them."

Szymanski said water pressure is not the problem it was several years ago in the booming northwest part of the city because pump stations have been built and the water district's pumps are controlled by computer.

"Years ago, we would have to call the water district from the scene of a fire and ask if we could get more pressure from the hydrants, but now their computers increase the pressure automatically," he said.

Fire codes require developers to install hydrants before they start to build in the municipalities or the county.

"It is essential that they meet minimal water supply requirements throughout the stages of construction," Leinbach said. "Those standards are different for smaller projects like four homes on a cul-de-sac than they are for major apartment complexes, shopping centers or high-rises.

"For a high-rise, pumps are required to make sure the water supply and pressure can reach the higher levels."

Generally, adequate water pressure to fight a fire is 80 to 100 pounds per square inch, Johnson said.

Szymanski noted that in the city, developers have to bring their blueprints to city employees who are trained in fire flow calculations to determine the number of hydrants that will have to be installed before construction begins.

In the city of Las Vegas, there is, on average, a fire hydrant every 300 feet.

Southern Nevada developers, not the fire departments, install fire hydrants that are approved by fire departments.

One method to supplement hydrants, especially in remote parts of the cities and county, has been the installation of automatic indoor sprinkler systems in homes. But fire officials say they likely won't replace fire hydrants.

"We have seen new models with automatic indoor sprinkler systems, especially in homes off the beaten path," Szymanski said noting they are more of a supplement to fire hydrants and won't replace them.

Johnson said that while his department encourages technology such as indoor sprinklers in residences, they are not mandated by ordinance and he too does not believe they will replace hydrants.

Leinbach, a proponent of indoor residential sprinklers, said they are an excellent first line of defense against a fire.

"The technology has been around for about 16 years -- it works and it is affordable." Leinbach said. "These systems are good for homes that are not near fire stations or close to a hydrant and (are good for) other homes as well.

"They go into action at the very start of a fire and that can help a lot with containment before firefighters can get there. And you can never really say that anything, including fire hydrants, is forever."