A fire department staff member in Blacksburg described a device known as a “water thief” or “portable hydrant” and said pumps and hoses were pressure-tested last week as part of routine readiness checks.

The staff member said the portable hydrant lets crews split a 5-inch supply line into multiple attack lines during a large working fire. “So this is a water thief or portable hydrant. So it allows us when we get to a scene and we've got a large working fire and we need multiple lines coming off, we put a 5 inch here and a 5 inch can go out. And then we can hook all these different hoses and work on these individually. And we have multiple lines. So you can have 1 truck in this, and you've got a correct water supply, adequate water supply,” the staff member said.

The speaker described the department's hose inventory and testing regimen: “You can get 2, 4 more lines off of this to work. So, again, we have tons of tools. We carry, 5 inch, a thousand feet of 5 inch hose up here. We carry, 3 inch hose on this side. And then we have 2 attack lines, on this side right here.”

On testing, the staff member said the hose is pressure-tested annually by an outside company and that recent checks covered the town’s apparatus: “So that's a thousand foot. It's tested every year, by a company that comes in and pressure tests all of this hose. So last week, every fire truck in the town of Blacksburg, the pump was tested and all the hose was tested.”

The remarks were informational; no formal policy change or vote was recorded. The comments summarized equipment capabilities and routine maintenance intended to ensure adequate water supply and functioning pumps and hoses at large fires.