Sad

Tragically, our neighbor's house caught fire this past June. Thankfully, the family was not at home when it started. When the fire trucks arrived to put out the fire there was no water in the hydrants. It seems this has been a big problem in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

In Texas, it is a law that if you have a non-working fire hydrant it must be painted black. Ours were at one time painted red. I'm not aware of when they were painted, but no one from Cash Water Supple bothered to notify us that our hydrants were no longer working. Cash’s lame excuse for why the hydrants are off is pathetic. Apparently, after 911 they turned them off to prevent vandalism and terrorist activity. Really? Terrorist activity? And, aren't all fire hydrants susceptible to vandalism? Whatever! They say that the local fire departments were notified and were told they could turn the hydrants on with a special tool, yet no one had that tool the night of the fire. I’m sure that information is very consoling to our neighbors. I don’t understand the point of having fire hydrants in a neighborhood if they don’t work.

Anyway, as of right now, our neighborhood is in the process of purchasing this "special" tool so that when someone has a fire we can let them know that they need to use it. Grabbing a “special” tool is not exactly what I'm going to be thinking about while my house is burning down. Right now, my only hope is that our neighbors can put their lives back together and start over.

Below is the news story. Very sad.

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=276576