The Fannin County Fire Department is currently working to finish up fire hydrant checks for this year.
According to Fire Chief Larry Thomas, the department still needs to check 156 hydrants out of the 948 hydrants within the county as of July 2.
“We’ve got to do this every year to stay state compliant or with ISO,” Thomas said. “It’s a yearly check that has to be done. It’s always been done as far as spot checks and stuff like that, but now our goal is all the hydrants.”
When the department finds a hydrant that they deem to be out of service, whether it be due to damage or an inability to properly reach it, Thomas informs the city municipality in which the hydrant is located. The city is then responsible for correcting the issue.
Following questions asked at a Fannin County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, June 23, it was determined that a need for more communication between the fire department and cities was needed to determine if the out-of-service hydrants reported were being fixed and made to be available for fire department use.
“Things have to happen and the word has to be passed along,” Thomas said. “People can’t be kept in the dark when it’s an important issue, and a hydrant is a very important piece of equipment that we do rely on.”
Thomas has arranged a meeting for emergency services personnel to discuss the hydrants with representatives from the cities and their water departments, which was scheduled to take place today, Wednesday, July 9.