By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
When firefighters pulled up to a house fire in the 60 block of Sheron Street along the shores of Lake Orion on Friday they had a game plan.
They jumped out of the trucks and immediately started dousing the flames coming from the attic using the water they had on the truck.
Fewer than 20-feet from the driveway was a fire hydrant but when firefighters opened it to supply their trucks and hoses, they had no pressure.
The incident was quickly upgraded to a second alarm and departments from Oakland, Oxford, Addison and Independence began sending large fire truck tankers with thousands of gallons of water aboard.
The tankers took the place of the fire hydrant by dumping water into a reserve tank and supplying the firefighters. But because of the narrow streets on Central drive, the tankers became congested.
‘The whole neighborhood has very narrow streets that make getting the large equipment in and out very difficult and once you get down to where the house was there is not easy way to turn around,? Orion Fire Chief Robert Smith said. ‘Command had called for surrounding departments early on for tanker shuttles but again with the location it made it very difficult to haul water in.?
With fire engulfing the structure, and a partial roof collapse, limited personnel available for firefighter rescue, and water supply complications an exterior-only mode was chosen to fight the fire.
During this transition, a commander onsite directed a fire truck to pull water from Lake Orion.
Forty feet of tubing was required to get the water from the lake to the fire truck.
Although the department had practiced and trained for fires in difficult locations, they were surprised when the hydrant had no water pressure.
Earlier in the year the department had worked with the Village in trying to map areas of low pressure.
‘We spent the summer with the Village DPW locating trouble spots in the area but we were surprised to find virtually no pressure at all,? Smith said. ‘We preplan for low water pressure areas and have in place a tactic where we could put a portable tank up and flow water into it from a low pressure hydrant but in this case, we did not know we would not have any pressure.?
In Orion and many communities in Oakland County, the fire department does not maintain or control the pressure in the fire hydrants.
According to Smith, his firefighters do as much work as possible with hydrants but do not have the ability to increase the hydrants? pressure.
‘When time allows in the summer months the fire personnel go out and spot check hydrants for damage, blockage and that the caps come off easily,? he said. ‘If we discover damage we report it to the Village and/or Township and they send their personnel out to correct the problem. Water pressures are normally maintained by these two units and they should be monitored by them.?
According to Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett, the township receives water through a 36- inch water main supplied by the Detroit Water and Sewer Department. Branching off that main are two 16-inch water mains that supply Lake Orion Village’s water system.
‘The pressure entering the village water system is equal to the township’s but the village has older and smaller diameter pipes,? Barnett said. ‘It appears there are issues with their water mains. I was under the impression, from talking to the residents on Friday, that that main had just been replaced in the last 12 months.?
Following Friday’s fire, citizens took to social media voicing concerns over the watermains throughout the township and the village.
Traci Booth posted to the Lake Orion Chatroom on Facebook: ‘Wow that’s crazy! Seems like they should do monthly checks for that type of thing if they have been undergoing repair – you don’t expect that to happen especially around here with our high tax base to cover these things.?
While Mary Jo D’Onofrio relied: ‘We, as Orion Township and Village residents, should be outraged. The DPW’s, Barnett, Smith, Fire Dept., Village mgr. all need to respond and address this issue. Pumping from the lake is not the answer when we have hydrants, gov’t, pay taxes, fire equipment, and an excellent fire dept, etc.?
In response, Barnett, who was on scene during that fire for several hours, said that a solution to the village hydrant pressure issue would be examined immediately.
While on scene, Barnett bought pizzas for the fire crews who had been working going on five hours. The majority of the food went to the crews but Barnett didn’t forget about the homeowners who lost everything and bought them dinner as well.
‘This family went through one of the worst things life can throw at you and they have our deepest condolences,? he said. ‘Nothing will truly replace the house and the memories made in it but I am just so thankful they and the rest of the firefighters were not injured.?
Barnett said there would be meetings to plan action.
‘I have requested a meeting with our fire chief, village manager, village council president, and village DPW director,? Barnett said. ‘It is my understanding that the Village should be testing the flow on all hydrants on an annual basis.?
The Review asked if there are any areas in the township where the hydrants would not be able to feed a fire truck during a fire.
Barnett said ‘no, all hydrants on the township’s system can support fire flow.?
He also mentioned that all township hydrants are serviced annually. The village of Lake Orion did not return several emails and phone calls for comment.
While extinguishing the fire, some residents asked about the use of a backhoe.
The village DPW was asked by fire officials to bring a backhoe to the scene for help in accessing pockets of fire unable to be reached by firefighters.
Due to several collapses of the roof and second floor, there were spaces still burning and the backhoe was used to access those voids.
‘With the house collapsing on itself and fire under all of the rubble it makes it impossible to get to it to spray water on it so we use the backhoe to peel the layers back, so to speak, then we could get to the seat of the fire and put it out,? Smith said.
Auburn Hills Fire Department and Rochester Hills Fire Department also responded and provided coverage at Fire Station 2 and 3 while Orion units were still on scene.
The fire is still under investigation by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department but deputies said the owner. 58, reported he was shrink-wrapping a Tiki bar when some nearby embers started the fire, which then spread to the house.
The home to be valued at $564,600 but with the contents, Smith estimated the total damage to be close to $750,000.
‘There are no words that can truly describe what the homeowners went through and we couldn’t be more somber for their loss. Our firefighters, and those that responded from surrounding communities, worked until their muscles were numb trying to put this fire out and then they worked some more,? Smith said. ‘We will be steadfast in working with village personnel to determine a solution for the water pressure issue.
‘I would like to extend my sincerest appreciation for the surrounding departments that dropped everything to help our community. Though we are not proud of what was lost, we were proud that no citizen was injured, no firefighter was injured or killed, and none of the structures nearby were damaged. We have an amazing group of dedicated firefighters who will stop at nothing to see to it that their community is safe.?