WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For at least the third time since taking over the DC Fire & EMS Department a little more than two years ago, Chief Dennis Rubin is citing a lack of water pressure or broken hydrants as hindering efforts by firefighters to put out a large fire. More than four hours after a blaze broke out at the mansion of the former president of the District of Columbia Board of Education Wednesday evening, the home was still burning.
Peggy Cooper Cafritz was reported to be vacationing in Nantucket when her home at 3030 Chain Bridge Road, NW caught fire. A caretaker living at the house was not home at the time the fire was reported. Neighbors report the family dogs made it out safely, but that an expensive art collection was destroyed in the fire.
The first DC Fire units arrived at the home near American University at 8:21 PM. DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer says that was just five-minutes after the initial 911 call.
Piringer and 9NEWS NOW Digital Correspondent James Hash report an aggressive interior attack by the first firefighters on the scene. The firefighters were met with heavy fire coming from a couple of rooms on the ground floor near the front of the house. Piringer confirms water pressure problems developed forcing the firefighters to retreat from the home.
James Hash reports it was at that point the fire, which had been darkened down, flared back up and the house was lost.
The house sits at the top of a hill not far from American University. Firefighters had to lay hoses a great distance from the burning home to find an adequate water supply. As a precaution, tankers were brought in from Montgomery and Fairfax Counties.
Chief Dennis Rubin told The Washington Post it took two hours to establish a sustained water flow saying, "Throughout the evening, it's been spotty." Rubin added, "This is an unfortunate situation".
According to Chief Rubin, the DC Water & Sewer Authority (WASA) is charged with letting the fire department know where there are water pressure issues. He said to the Post's Clarence Williams, "We are not responsible for that. WASA was supposed to have a detailed report".
WASA spokeswoman Michelle Quander-Collins tells 9NEWS NOW the agency's early assessment of the situation is that there was adequate water pressure when the first pumper hooked up to the eight-inch main on Chain Bridge Road. Quander-Collins says problems developed as other fire engines tapped into the same main. She says WASA crews are on the scene conducting additional flow testing.
Chief Rubin has been in this position before with WASA. The chief complained about the lack of water pressure during an October 1, 2007 four-alarm fire that destroyed an apartment building in Adams Morgan. Chief Rubin was also concerned about a slow response to the 2007 fire by WASA.
Wednesday night, in an interview close to two hours after the fire began, spokesman Piringer mentioned that representatives of WASA were not yet on the scene.
A report on the Adams Morgan fire by consultant J. Gordon Routley called the city's water infrastructure "highly questionable". Routley also wrote that both WASA and the fire department need to do a better job in handling the water supply needed for larger fires. The report pointed out "an experienced WASA engineer should always be available to respond to major fires or water outages".
WASA's own report in the aftermath of the fire told a different story. It found only three areas in the city where smaller water mains would provide insufficient pressure for the fire department. All three areas mentioned are in Southeast and Northeast, far from Wednesday evening's fire.
This issue was later highlighted in WASA's 2008 Annual Report under the heading Report shows District of Columbia well protected by public water system:
An analysis and evaluation of areas of the city serviced by smaller-diameter(8-, 6-, 4-inch) water mains was undertaken to ensure the availability of sufficient water flows from hydrants to fight fires. Small diameter mains make up approximately 900 miles of the city's 1,300-mile distribution system. The report identified a one block, populated area that did not meet the fire flow guidelines, and a new 12-inch water main was expeditiously installed. Available water in the area now exceeds the fire department criteria. Chief Rubin's problems with WASA began months before the Adams Morgan fire. An April 30, 2007 fire that destroyed the historic Georgetown Library was impacted by broken fire hydrants near the scene. The fire chief and WASA entered into extensive negotiations in an effort to secure funding and resources for an ongoing hydrant inspection program conducted by firefighters.
An online database is now available to the public to show where hydrants are out of service. About one-percent of the city's more than 9,000 hydrants are not working. This includes a hydrant on Chain Bridge Road, NW toward the bottom of the hill, just south of Wednesday night's fire.
Pete Piringer says firefighters were aware that hydrant was broken and did not attempt to use it. Piringer did not believe the broken hydrant was a significant factor in the Chain Bridge Road fire.
Piringer expects that firefighters will be back in the neighborhood on Thursday testing hydrants. Neighbors say there are constant problems with water pressure at the top of Chain Bridge Road.
One firefighter was slightly hurt and taken to the hospital by a basic life support ambulance.
Republished with permission of WUSA-TV.
