HOLIDAY, Fla. — A Pasco County man believes a fire hydrant that wasn’t working led to delays in fighting the fire that damaged his home.
The ABC Action News I-Team uncovered that when it comes to inspections and maintenance of fire hydrants, not all hydrants are treated equally.
“This was the worst room,” Kevin McMillen said, giving a tour of what remains of his Holiday townhouse.
“That was a brand-new roof practically,” McMillen said, pointing at the blue sky visible from the third floor of his residence, where the roof used to be.
“This is years and years. Almost a quarter of a century I’ve been in this home,” McMillen said.
McMillen had no home insurance.
He’s now hoping to save and repair whatever he can.
Four of his neighbors’ homes on Boardwalk Street are nothing but rubble.
“When they hooked up, there was no water”
McMillen was upstairs on March 4 at 9:15 pm when he heard a loud noise.
“When I went to the window to look to see what was going on, I could see a fire down here,” McMillen said.
According to a police affidavit, a suspect used gasoline to set fire to a van.
Deputies arrived and evacuated residents.
When the first fire crew arrived, firefighters hooked a hose to this hydrant across the street.
“When they hooked up, there was no water,” McMillen said.
According to a Pasco Fire Rescue spokesperson, the first engine carried 750 gallons of water, which was gone within minutes.
“As the time passed, I started getting concerned,” McMillen said.
Flames crept closer and closer.
“Eventually, I said oh, this is not looking good,” he said, “We’ve got no water pressure.”
A neighbor’s cell phone video shows how large the fire grew.
“All these firemen are here and they can’t do anything. There’s no water,” McMillen said.
“They can’t move from here. They’re in their location and are waiting,” he said.
“It was mayhem. At first, it was just really scary,” said Max Szpryka, who watched firefighters frantically unraveling and laying down hoses to connect them to a working hydrant in his front yard.
“They hooked them up and unlocked this and they put it on, turned on the water and they just all filled up,” Szpryka said.
Closest working hydrant was 1,000 feet away
We measured the distance between the working hydrant and the townhouse complex.
Our odometer showed it’s more than two-tenths of a mile, or about 1,000 feet.
“Probably 20 minutes to a half hour passed, and by that time, the house was on fire,” McMillen said.
He said the firefighters who were first on the scene were helpless until other firefighters were able to hook up to hoses.
“They wanted to be putting that fire out,” McMillen said.
So why didn’t firefighters know the Boardwalk Street hydrant didn’t work?
According to a spokesperson, “Pasco Fire Rescue maintains a mapping system of available hydrants; however, the only information noted in the system is the location, not ownership.”
The county also said, “Pasco County does not have a reporting requirement for private fire hydrant.”
And the county doesn’t require the owner of a private fire hydrant to inspect it, maintain it or even let the fire department know whether a hydrant works or not.
The hydrant near McMillen’s home was installed by the developer of the townhouse complex and a nearby golf course decades ago.
Records show hydrant was tested and worked in 2019
Pasco County maintains about 4,000 county-owned hydrants that are subject to stringent inspection and maintenance rules.
Engineer Chad Duffy writes standards for the National Fire Protection Association, which recommend how cities and counties should inspect, catalog and maintain fire hydrants.
“Our codes and standards are written based on research, testing, experience,” Duffy said. “It’s really up to the state and local authorities to figure out what they want to have in place. “
The state regulates maintenance and testing for both public and private hydrants, but fire protection systems for “one-family or two-family dwellings” are exempt.
Pasco County said it confirmed in 2019 that the private hydrant on Boardwalk Street was operational as part of its community risk reduction program.
According to townhouse residents, the developer operated a small system to supply water for the townhouses, the golf course and the fire hydrant.
Pasco County took over water for residents when the golf course was sold in 2021, but the county said it wasn't given information about the hydrant.
The broken hydrant has now been covered, so firefighters won’t try to use it if there’s another fire on Boardwalk Street.
“Being prepared is important for everything. You can’t fix it once it happens,” McMillen said.
If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com.
