Special Reports

Out Of Order: Third Of Fire Hydrants Failed Test

AURORA, Ill. (Aurora Beacon-News) ― Your house is on fire and rescue crews race to the scene. They hook up to the closest hydrant, only to find there's not enough water, or pressure, to fight the blaze. That's the danger in many Illinois communities uncovered by a CBS 2 and Aurora Beacon-News investigation.

Fire spreads rapidly, doubling in size every minute, so working hydrants are critical to saving lives and homes.

"Unbelievable!" was the first word out of Charles Meeks's mouth when he learned the fire hydrant on his Aurora street has extremely low water pressure. The Aurora hydrant measures less than a quarter of the pressure needed to fight a house fire according to recommended standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Meeks worries about his neighbors too. The low pressure fire hydrant is the only one on his entire street.

"They all are wooden houses with aluminum siding and plastic siding, they'd go up in a hurry," Meeks said.

The CBS 2 investigation examined fire hydrant records for 70 different local cities, towns and villages. It looked at 151,894 hydrants across the region and found only 17 percent of hydrants were given the kind of flow test recommended by NFPA. Perhaps more startling, more than one-third of the hydrants tested failed to meet NFPA standards.

One of those hydrants was across the street from Meeks' home at 14 Webster Street. Aurora city records indicate its pressure has been low since 1994.

"I would like to see it fixed," Meeks said. Making matters worse, his home sits on a dead end street with no other hydrant in sight.

In fact, records indicate since 2004, there were 57 Aurora hydrants recorded as having "zero" pressure and at least another 90 hydrants had water pressure below the NFPA recommended standards.

However, the vast majority of Aurora's 8,600 hydrants are good. They are tested every three years, maintained and meet industry standards.

"To me it's a non-issue," said Deputy Aurora Fire Chief John Lehman, who says low water pressure is not jeopardizing homes. "The system is more than capable; I feel very confident in our system."

"I could control a fire in a residential unit with 200 gallons per minute," Lehman said. The NFPA recommends a minimum of 1,000 gallons per minute flowing from a hydrant to fight a house fire.

Officials from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, as well as the incoming president of the Illinois Fire Chiefs' Association, Dan Hermes, agree with NFPA standards and say 200 gallons a minute is simply not enough water to fight a house fire. Hermes also says communities like Aurora, with older water mains, need to consider installing larger mains to increase hydrant water pressure.

"It would be unfortunate if the fire department showed up to a house fire and there were people trapped inside and somebody died because the fire department could not get sufficient water to put that fire out," said Hermes. "We have to think about the bottom line and that is, we need the water to protect and save lives. We need to find the money to rebuild those infrastructures."

Aurora officials did find money to make at least one major repair. Our CBS 2/Beacon-News investigation prompted officials to replace an old water main on the 800-to-900 blocks of Ridgeway Avenue.

"This area is going to be taken care of," says Alderman Rick Lawrence. "This is about a 100-year-old water line in here, and this hydrant here is just about dead or very low pressure."

He credits the CBS2/Beacon investigation for leading to this action. "To have this information brought out, now we have to do something about it."

"They should be commended," said Hermes about Aurora officials replacing the main. "The fact that they are being proactive and fixing them is wonderful."

Other plans are in the works to improve Aurora's hydrant system according to Lehman. "We have older areas of town, in those areas of town the water and sewer department are actively making plans to upgrade the systems," he said.

Lehman says the fire department knows where low pressure areas are and have plans in place to deal with any potential fires. He added that the fire department is confident the city is immediately fixing problematic hydrants.

Our joint investigation found problems tracking those repairs. The Public Works Department tests and repairs hydrants. Of the 57 hydrants our investigation found with "zero" pressure, there was a lack of records indicating when or if those hydrants were fixed. City officials insist those repairs were made.

"I see no need to check up on the water department," Lehman said. "Those guys are out there working for us and not once have they given us a reason to suspect they are not doing that."

Lehman did admit there has been a record keeping problem. "If you are looking for a series of checks and balances, I will admit, there is none."

In the Oakhurst North subdivision, homeowner Aidan Stephens learned from this investigation that the hydrant in front of his home, on the 400 block of Saratoga, was found in city records to be at "zero" pressure for more than a year.

"I am surprised, and kind of shocked, and I would like to follow through and find out if it's working," said Stephens. "I think it is a serious, very serious matter. Personal property, and the lives of people more than anything else, could be in jeopardy if the fire hydrants aren't working and that is what we are paying taxes for. So I hope, as a result of the your work that gets fixed."

Aurora city officials promise Stephens' hydrant has already been fixed, but have yet to explain why records show a one year delay.

Ald. Rick Lawrence says he wants answers. "There is absolutely no excuse for that type of response times."

Other communities, our investigation found, had significantly more problems -- including hundreds of low pressure hydrants outside of homes and businesses. Some communities, including Forest Park and Schiller Park had low pressure hydrants in front of schools.

The largest Illinois city, Chicago, doesn't even test all of its hydrants. Chicago's Department of Water Management has conducted NFPA recommended flow tests on less than 1 percent of its 47,000 hydrants. Chicago officials claim its pressure or water flow has never been an issue.

"The big picture is we need to fix the system," said Hermes, who plans to lobby lawmakers for some more uniform testing laws in Illinois. "Hopefully this (investigation) is going to spark what is needed to get the systems fixed. I think it is wonderful that it is being brought forward."

In other action, the Village of Maywood's Public Works department immediately began repairing broken hydrants exposed by the joint investigation -- including one outside of a public school.

Meeks is concerned about these low pressure hydrants. He's lived in the city for 43 years and wants to make sure his family is safe.

"I don't know who I will have to talk to get it fixed but I would appreciate the help," he said.

CBS 2 Investigative Producer Michele Youngerman contributed to this report.

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