Pennsylvania fire hydrants should be flow tested regularly

THERE ARE FEW THINGS IN LIFE that are more important than water.

We need it to drink. We need it to clean. We might need it to control a heating system or a power plant or to run a factory.

None of those is as immediate and specific as putting out a fire.

A fire hose without a source of water is as pointless as a race car up on blocks. It’s there. It could do the job. But it’s prevented from fulfilling its purpose by the lack of one crucial element.

A source of water might be a tanker, but those have a finite amount of water. They are the go-to in areas without water lines.

In most residential and commercial areas, firefighters rely on hydrants. They are meant to provide a steady stream of water from the system with enough pressure to help firefighters douse a blaze.

But sometimes they don’t. A TribLive investigation showed that 35 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County hydrants did not meet the national standard of 500 gallons per minute.

Most of those were anomalies — just a scattering of one or two in places like Versailles or Jeannette or North Apollo. In Hempfield, there were four; in McKeesport, there were eight.

On the one hand, it’s a small statistical sample. The authority has 8,800 hydrants.

On the other hand, more than 500 of those hydrants have been flow-tested since 2014. Pittsburgh Water has flow-tested 968 of its 7,500 hydrants since 2020. Pennsylvania American Water did not disclose its flow-test numbers. It is facing a federal lawsuit in Luzerne County over claims of a malfunctioning fire hydrant in 2022.

Flow tests are not the same as inspections, which are done more regularly. An inspection looks for wear and leakage. The purpose is to make sure the hydrant functions. That’s absolutely an important thing to do.

But a functioning hydrant can still be a hydrant that isn’t up to the job. Flow testing does that.

Think about it like the stickers on your car’s windshield. An emissions test is important for completely different reasons than an inspection that certifies the vehicle as road worthy.

Pennsylvania has recommendations for flow and testing in line with the National Fire Protection Association but not requirements. That should change.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, has voted for fire safety measures.

However, she is correct that the water providers “should not need legislation to address a commonsense issue.”

It is in the best interest of every provider to have functional fire hydrants because those hydrants support homes and businesses that pay water bills. A burned-out shell is a poor customer.

“All of our hydrants can provide water. A few might just not have the highest volume,” said Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County deputy manager Brian Hohman.

That’s a quote that would ring hollow in the aftermath of a tragic fire.