As many as 80 of 953 fire hydrants were out of service across Fannin County as of early November 2019, but there is no update as to the progress in fixing the problems.
Fire Chief Larry Thomas, when asked if he was aware of how many have been addressed since then, said, “No, in fact, I hadn’t received any notification that they’d actually been fixed. But there was actually some on Highway 5 that I’ve noticed that’s back in place that was missing.
“But as far as hearing anything lately (he hasn’t been informed of any progress), there have been several that I’ve visually inspected, and they’re back in service.”
While it is each city’s responsibility to fix the hydrants on their respective water systems, the hydrants are taken into account when determining the county’s ISO ratings. Thomas is hoping that will be re-evaluated by July of this year, but there has been no official confirmation.
Thomas said the fire department plans to go ahead and knock out inspections as soon as the weather clears up rather than waiting until the end of the year.
“We are staying on top of it,” he said.
Problems with the hydrants, as reported in November, include being overgrown with brush and kudzu and having been sheered off as a result of motor vehicle wrecks and bush-hogging. $1,200 to $1,500 was estimated as the maximum range cost to fix a hydrant.
“I’m sure it’s gonna take them a while to get to them,” Thomas said of the cities’ responsibility.