Hydrant upgrade — 05/03/08

Sat, May 17 2008

— A long delayed plan to upgrade hydrants throughout the city of Greenup is about to get underway. And if all goes as hoped, the improved hydrants should result in an improvement in the city’s rating by the Insurance Service Organization. A lower rating will mean Greenup residents will be paying less for fire insurance.
The Greenup Volunteer Fire Department currently is testing hydrants throughout the city to identify problem areas. Once identified, the fire department will ask the Greenup City Council to make improvements.
Assistant fire chief Neil Wright said some hydrants will have to be replaced at a cost of about $2,500 each and new hydrants will have to be added at a cost of about $4,000 each. Some water lines also may have to be improved to service the hydrants.
The goal, of course, is to improve the first department’s ability to fight blazes in the city. Some hydrants date back to the 1940s, Wright said, and areas like Applegate Plaza do not have enough hydrants.
A few years ago, Greenup improved its rating from the ISO from 6 to 5. Replacing existing hydrants and adding others should combine with the addition of a ladder truck three years ago to lower the rating to 4, Wright said.
Even more important than the impact the improved hydrants will have on the city’s insurance rating is the improvement in the city’s ability to effectively battle blazes. Indeed, having the equipment and water pressure needed to douse fires is the greatest benefit of upgrading the hydrants.
The city may have to budget the improvements in its hydrants over a period of several years, but that can be achieved by placing the highest priority on correcting the most serious shortcomings first.