BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo firefighters have been facing water supply issues while battling fires at least twice in the past 13 months. City lawmakers are asking the departments 'How?' and 'Why?'
Just over a year ago, a fire on Grace Street caused $600,000 in damage, forcing the demolition of two homes. One of those homeowners has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying, "The fire hydrant directly across the street from 123 Grace Street was not functioning, causing a delay in fire suppression, resulting in a total loss of the Plaintiff's home."
Then, a three-alarm fire on Victoria Avenue destroyed the home of Jamilla Gittens and her family a few weeks ago. While everyone escaped safely, Gittens said that nearby fire hydrants failed to provide water during the emergency response.
Buffalo Fire Department Commissioner William Renaldo and Principal Engineer of the City of Buffalo's Division of Water, Peter Merlo, were asked to attend a city council meeting on Tuesday to answer questions about how and why these incidents are occurring.
Renaldo: “There are a number of what we call ‘red-tops,’ which are low-volume, flow low volumes of water.”
Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart: “How many ‘red-top’ hydrants do we have across the City of Buffalo, do you know?”
Renaldo: “5,274”
Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart: “So, we have a little over 5,000 fire hydrants that have low water pressure…”
Renaldo: “Volume, I would say volume, low water volume. They’re flowing less volume.”
Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart: “Which means, more than likely, you won’t really be able to utilize them.”
Renaldo: “It depends on the size of the fire.”
WATCH: 'Wouldn't this make the city liable?': Buffalo lawmakers question fire hydrants
Councilwoman Leah Halton-Pope: “Where are we seeing the most low-[volume] hydrants?”
Renaldo: “The majority of them, not the overwhelming majority of them, but many of them, are on the East Side of Buffalo.”
Councilwoman Leah Halton-Pope: “I guess, and this would be a question for law at some point, but wouldn’t this make the city liable for somebody losing all of their life in a fire, because we didn’t prioritize those communities that have historically been disproportionately impacted in general.”
Renaldo said only the city's water department is tasked with maintaining the hydrants. Merlo said the cost to fix water volume across the city would be extreme.
Merlo: “We have 800 miles of cast, ductile, concrete and some PVC pipe in our system. The number to replace it all is astronomical, so we really have to deal with spot replacement.”
Still, Everhart closed the discussion, asking the fire and water department to put together a plan to fix those issues. She said that she hopes to share that plan with Governor Hochul.
