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Commissioners warned 15 fire hydrants are out of service; they call for faster parts and better coordination
Summary
During the water-district portion of the meeting, staff reported about 15 hydrants countywide were out of service; commissioners pressed for spare parts, better communication with fire departments and an alerting system to reduce public-safety risk.
When the board met as the Bladen County Water District Board of Directors, staff reported that roughly 15 fire hydrants across the county were out of service because of broken parts and compatibility issues between multiple hydrant types and vendors.
A water official said some hydrants require full replacement, others are waiting on parts, and parts availability varies by vendor. "We probably got 15 inside of service," the official said, adding that some parts must be ordered and that differing hydrant models make repairs slower.
Commissioners described the situation as a public-safety hazard and urged the water department to stock common parts, create a single hydrant inventory, improve communication with local fire departments and consider a computer alert system when critical components fail. They compared the issue to an outage of a stoplight and warned that a house fire with no available hydrant would be a severe risk.
Staff also reported short-term water-quality maintenance (a carbon changeover at several facilities) that may cause brief discoloration but should not interrupt service. Commissioners asked the water department to provide a hydrant list to fire departments and to pursue standardizing hydrant models to speed repairs.
