Playing with fire! - Thieves, dishonest developers ripping out hydrants

Unconscionable developers have been putting lives and properties at risk by removing fire hydrants from housing developments after they have received certification from the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB).

Commissioner of the JFB, Stewart Beckford, made the startling revelation during an interview with THE WEEKEND STAR at the Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week launch on Wednesday.

"We [the fire brigade] will go to these locations and conduct inspections and the hydrants are there, because we won't give certification until all of those things are in. When we do a follow-up inspection, or if there is an incident, they're gone. What people do is to put them in to get certification and, once they get that piece of paper in their hand, they go back and remove the hydrants," Beckford said.

Developers are responsible for the installation of hydrants in developments such as housing schemes and apartment complexes. The JFB has, however, detected a trend where the hydrants, which are critical in fire-fighting, are removed from developments.

Beckford told THE WEEKEND STAR that the removal of hydrants is not limited to planned developments. He said that even public property is being stolen.

"Sadly, in Jamaica, we are faced, as a fire brigade, with the challenge where [we] go to a location and there is a hydrant there working effectively and you go back there next week and it's missing," he said.

"They steal them to put them in other places or resell them on the market. They steal them to sell to who may need it ... there is always a willing buyer and so that is why they keep doing it," Beckford added.

The fire chief said that it difficult to put a number on the number of hydrants that are being stolen. He said, however, they are replaced once they are discovered missing.

"Where it mostly happens is where you have like subdivisions being done, because, in most instances, those hydrants are not yet pressurised by the National Water Commission (NWC), and, with no water in them, they can be removed much easier," Beckford said.

He also noted that hydrants are also destroyed in motor vehicle crashes and during construction work.

BLOCKING HYDRANTS

"Sometimes people are doing construction and a hydrant may be close by and they will tip the material, whether it's gravel, sand or marl on the hydrant, so, when [we] go, we can't access it," he said.

The brigade has been responsible for servicing the fire hydrants since 2008. Before that, the NWC had that task. However, Beckford highlighted that they maintain a close relationship with the NWC as they are the main suppliers of water but more so because they have the technical knowledge and skill set in terms of repairs and maintenance.

"We are still learning in terms of that. We have expanded our in-house teams to four, so we have one in each area and they are equipped to maintain and service these hydrants," he said.

The commissioner explained that the fire trucks have a limited amount of water and, as such, once the firefighters arrive on the scene of a fire, the first task is to identify a working hydrant that is close by. He said that the stealing, removal or destruction of hydrants exposes the public to a significant risk.

"Water is our main medium that we use to fight fires, and so, if we turn up at a location where there is an urgent demand for water, because we have a large ongoing fire that requires a constant supply of water that is not there, and we have to make trips, then it simple means we would be losing valuable time," Beckford said.

He said that fires tend to double in size every 10 minutes, and stressed that "if you don't have a reliable hydrant at your disposal, you run the risk of losing that property".

"And God forbid if somebody is trapped in a building and we can't get the water to aid in a rescue operation, lives could be lost," he added.