A dry hydrant consists of an arrangement of piping with one end inserted into a body of water and the other end extending to dry land. These hydrants are available for connection to a pumper. Dry hydrants are an integral part of rural fire fighting. In the Lower Richland area of Columbia, 12 dry hydrants were lost during the flood. Only two have been restored.
Columbia Fire Department Division Chief James Travis Carricato said the loss of these hydrants have complicated firefighter's response and altered their response routes. He said the Department is aggressively responding to this issue with alternative ways get water to fight fires.
Chief James Travis Carricato remembers how October’s historic flood impacted emergency services.
“It really impacted infrastructure. It was just catastrophic,” said Carricato in his office on Laurel Street in downtown Columbia. He said there was “damage to the water system, damage to the ponds, to the roads, it was comprehensive in all aspects.”
Carricato said, before the flood, the area already had limited systems, including bridges and water supply. 12 dry hydrants were damaged or lost during the flood. Only two have gone back into service. Most of the remaining 12 hydrants that are out of service, he said, are intertwined in complicated, private dams, public roads issues.
The map above shows two dry hydrants, located not far from each other, on both sides of Highway 378 (Garners Ferry Road). The highway is a major thoroughfare. Fire officials say it would not be ideal to cross a busy highway to get water when trying to fight a fire, this could increase shuttling time. The dry hydrant located off Congress road sits next to an earthen dam that failed during the flood. The road has since been repaired. But there is still a hole in the dam. Captain Sampson Parker with Station 29 in Eastover said the dry hydrant is still operational.
"There is still enough water in the pond, that is, as long as it's not down because of lack of rainfall, which has not been an issue here lately, you can still get water out of it." Parker did add, the pond level is below where it normally would be, had the flood and dam failures not taken place.
On the other side of highway 378 at the Lorenzo-Davis dry hydrant, Firefighters from Station 29 demonstrated how they use a dry hydrant to fight fires. Captain Parker said the process is completed in a matter of minutes.
WATCH: Firefighters from Station 29 demonstrate how they use dry hydrants.
Missing dry hydrants in the Lower Richland area could potentially cause another fire- protection related concern.
“It could have an impact down the road because our ISO rating was based on those dry hydrants being in service,” Carricato said.
The Insurance Service Organization, or ISO, provides analytics and statistics that insurers use to set rates, develops insurance programs, and helps providers comply with state regulations.
“They evaluate a fire department’s ability to suppress fires. Their number one goal is fire loss dollars,” Carricato said.
Earlier this year, the Columbia Fire Department announced it had obtained its highest ISO rating by advancing from a Class 2 to a Class 1. Richland County advanced from a Class 4 to a Class 2, after its last inspection in 2006. This Class 2 rating places Richland County in the top 2% nationally and is one of only 73 of the 601 fire-protection areas in the State to reach this significant accomplishment. According to the announcement posted to the department’s website, the process of determining a fire protection rating includes a comprehensive evaluation of four major components: communications, water supply, fire service and community risk reduction.
Because of these new ratings, Carricato said residents could see a savings when it comes to their homeowners insurance.
"For us taxpayers, yeah its a good savings. In Richland County proper, unincorporated areas going from a [Class 4 to a Class 2], many homeowners should see a cost decrease. But that's going to be between them and their insurance agency."
But what about the next rating cycle? “We were one of the first groups to go through the new rating system. In 2012, they kicked off a new system and then began re-evaluating some of the departments to the new standard.” Carricato said departments were evaluated every 10 years, but under this new system departments may be evaluated every three to five years.
"So, kinda good timing with the ISO rating. But again, when they come back in, they are going to be evaluating the water supply issues down in Lower Richland."