Of Worcester’s 6,084 fire hydrants, 39 are currently out of service, according to a report submitted to the City Council by City Manager Eric Batista.
Fire Chief Martin Dyer said the hydrant system is designed with redundancy and that firefighters responding to a fire can see which hydrants are working and which are not. Known nonfunctioning hydrants are also marked with black paint on the bonnet.
“One of the ways it communicates that the city is on top of it is that if the bonnet is painted black, that we know that fire hydrant is out of service, it’s been documented appropriately in the water department’s work order system, and it is on the fire department’s response platform, so that all of our officers are aware of that,” Dyer said. “We have backup plans ready to go.”
Councilor Satya Mitra asked how the department learns that a hydrant is not working.
“How do you know it’s not working? Is there a process to find out if they are working or not?” Mitra asked.
“Unfortunately,” Dyer said, “Sometimes we’re waiting until we actually try to use the hydrant to realize that it’s not in service.”
Other problems are more apparent, Dyer said, such as when a hydrant is damaged by a vehicle or snowplow or affected by a water-main break.
Repairs can take time, particularly when the work requires shutting down a water main and notifying affected residents in advance.
“It takes the appropriate vendors to be scheduled. It takes the water department staff to be available. If it requires notification to the neighborhood that’s going to be affected, because heir water service will also be shut off for that period of time,” Dyer said, adding that sometimes hydrant repair waits for upcoming road work so both jobs can be completed simultaneously.
Hydrants are typically about 500 feet apart, often near intersections, and fire apparatus carry 1,000 feet or more of hose, Dyer said.
Councilor Luis Ojeda asked specifically about two out-of-service hydrants in the May Street area.
“My concern is, in that small block area, there doesn’t seem to be any fire hydrants working,” he said.
Dyer said he did not know the specifics of those hydrants but believed the city was attempting to coordinate the repairs because the work would disrupt the water main on May Street.
He said firefighters responding to an emergency see a map showing which hydrants are operational and which are out of service. Batista said there are not always quick fixes for individual hydrants, but the system’s redundancy provides coverage.
“Those hydrants that are not functional in that area, do not pose a threat to the neighborhood, because there are enough hydrants within the area that can provide the network that’s needed for the department,” Batista said.
The council referred the hydrant report to the Public Safety Committee.
