Instead of using this hydrant, Beavercreek Twp. fire officials chose to truck in water from hydrants on New Germany-Treibein Road and Big Woods Trail.
Beavercreek Twp. Fire Chief David VandenBos said the department didn’t want to risk the time it might take six to seven firefighters to carry 600 pounds of hose 600 feet down a recreation path to the closer hydrant.
“It was very snowy and icy. They decided that was not a good option,” VandenBos said. A nearby retention pond was also a poor option, according to the chief. The surface could have been ice-covered, and drawing water from the pond might clog the line with debris.
Michal Souder stood in front of his brick home Friday, inspecting the damage to his nearly $200,000 home.
“I’m not a firefighter. They did the best they could. They were probably as frustrated as I was,” said Souder, who had just moved into the home six months ago.
Like a few other older Beavercreek neighborhoods, Brook Hollow is without fire hydrants. When built, these neighborhoods were out in the country. While inside the city limits now, utilities aren’t piped in: residents have wells and propane is delivered by truck.
Of the 50 square miles in Beavercreek Twp., only 57 percent is covered by fire hydrants, according to VandenBos.
“If you move into a neighborhood without hydrants, there is an additional amount of risk in that,” VandenBos said. “It does take longer for firefighting operations. There’s no way to get around it.”
VandenBos said in a “non-hydrant scenario” there are far more variables to consider and it can take minutes longer to begin battling a fire.
“There are more tasks to be done to make it happen,” he said. The first major difference is setting up a dump tank, which is the receptacle for tanker trunks, then the tanker has to go to the water source and back.
VandenBos said even if a hydrant were right in front of the house, the outcome may have not been much different.
“It appears like the house was a total loss when we arrived,” VandenBos said.
Scott Roark, who lives across the street, said he thought the snow had picked up when he first saw smoke coming from the home.
“It looked almost like a white out of snow. I looked up top and saw the black smoke up top,” he said. He said he tried to save the couple’s two dogs but the flame and smoke were overpowering.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to VandenBos.
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