Hydrant Problem 'Dangerous' For Ill. Mobile Homes

March 13--BLOOMINGTON -- About 50 homes in Southgate Estates mobile home park lack sufficient access to water in case of a fire, and Bloomington Fire Chief Mike Kimmerling has ordered the park's private management company to correct the situation.

Kimmerling's order notes the inadequate system "constitutes a dangerous condition and a hazard to life, health and safety."

Southgate Estates, on the city's south edge, has about 331 homes. Tests in February revealed that about 50 of those homes, in the park's northeast corner, are served by private fire hydrants that don't have enough water pressure.

City Manager David Hales said Southgate is "a wakeup call" and the city is working to develop an ordinance that would require periodic testing of private fire suppression systems and communication of those test results with affected residents.

Kimmerling last week ordered Newbury Management Services to hire engineers to design a better hydrant system, notify residents of Kimmerling's order and to work toward long-term solutions. Newbury has 21 days to begin implementing a plan to raise the hydrants' water pressure.

Until Newbury's engineers determine what is wrong with the hydrant system, the city will automatically call for mutual aid from the Bloomington Township Fire Department when the city is called to Southgate. The township will provide a large water tanker and engine company.

Michigan-based Newbury took over management of the park in June 2011 after foreclosure proceedings began with Southgate Estates LLC.

Newbury regional manager Joseph Carbone said the management company hand-delivered explanatory letters to residents Monday and has started to comply with the city's orders.

The low pressure was discovered after the system was tested in January, and it showed up again in February. The fire department has had problems with the hydrants dating to November 2010, when firefighters learned department hoses do not fit properly on the hydrants, Kimmerling said.

Fire engines carry 875 gallons of water, which can provide about five minutes' worth of water for firefighting, and 1,000-foot hoses that can be hooked to hydrants in the unaffected parts of Southgate Estates, Kimmerling said, but the situation is not ideal.

Craig Cummings, director of the city's water department, said Bloomington has about 50 private water supply systems.

Copyright 2012 - The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.