As firefighters in Houston and other Texas communities continue to scramble a drastic increase in calls triggered by this week's severe winter weather and widespread power outages, they've encountered another challenge while responding to fires: issues with hydrants and water supply and pressure.
Crews in Houston ran out of water while tackling a fire that gutted an apartment in the northwest section of the city early Wednesday, KPRC-TV reports. Hydrants near a house and a four-car garage that had been converted into an apartment had frozen in the cold, and it took firefighters around two hours to drive several miles in order to get enough water to the scene to put out the flames.
The cause of the fire also is believed to be connected to the winter storm. A space heater in the converted garage apartment was left plugged in during a power outage, and it ignited the fire when it began sparking after the electricity was restored.
Despite difficulties with the water supply, firefighters were still able to keep the fire from spreading. Two people who were inside the garage apartment and two people inside the main house all were able to escape the flames safely.
Water pressure problems also forced crews battling a fire at a Houston apartment building Tuesday to call for more help, according to KPRC. The fire damaged around 18 units in the building before it was put out.
The Cy-Fair Fire Department, which serves the Houston and Harris County area, also have encountered water issues. Firefighters responding to a house fire Tuesday were hampered by low water pressure from hydrants and needed to use tankers for their water.
In an online update Tuesday night, Houston Public Works said the city's water and waste water systems "are operating at emergency pressure levels and experiencing system-wide low water pressure." Because of that, the department and Mayor Sylvester Turner are urging residents to be prudent when it comes to water use.
"The City is working very hard to maintain water pressure but it is becoming increasingly difficult," Turner wrote in a social media post. "There are 2 requests: please do not run water to prevent pipes from freezing and turn off water if pipes have burst."
Houston isn't the only Texas community dealing with these types of water issues. Abilene firefighters were forced to watch a house burn Monday night because of a lack of water.
“It’s not in the nature of firefighters to watch a house burn. They had to watch that house burn,” City Manager Robert Hanna said Tuesday, according to KTAB-TV. “There’s not much they could do but make sure the other houses around it didn’t catch fire.”
Power outages caused by the severe winter weather created the city's water supply issues, and officials had asked residents to limit their water use to cooking and drinking less than two hours before Monday night's fire, KTAB added.
