Contractor using fire hydrant

imfml

A roofing contractor has accessed the fire hydrant on our street and released a large amount of water into the road. The water from the hydrant was brown.

Now the cold tap in mine and neighbouring houses is also brown and contaminated.

Are contractors allowed access a fire hydrant? I assume the fire brigade wouldn’t let these be interfered with and potentially damaged?

Is it possible that by using the hydrant the mains water supply could have been contaminated?

Any tips or advice? Thanks.

Farmer Bob

Section 31 of the Fire Services Act 1981:

31.—Any person who interferes with, damages or obstructs a fire hydrant or any apparatus for drawing water from a main for the purpose of fire-fighting otherwise than in connection with operations of a fire brigade or for any purpose authorised by the sanitary authority shall be guilty of an offence.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1981/act/30/enacted/en/print.html

You challenge is to find someone in authority who cares...

dathi

imfml wrote: »

Now the cold tap in mine and neighbouring houses is also brown and contaminated.



Is it possible that by using the hydrant the mains water supply could have been contaminated?

Any tips or advice? Thanks.

the water main for your house is probably at the end of a long leg of the water main which gathers sediment in the bottom of the pipe when the hydrant was opened a large volume of water rushed through the pipe stirring up the sediment you need to run your taps till clear and ask council /irish water to flush out main

imfml

Thanks for the replies. I contacted Irish Water who will be out during the week to flush the mains. The water in our tap ran clear after about 40 minutes.

I rang the local fire station and they will inspect the hydrant for damage.

Useful information for my conversation with the contractor on Monday too.

Farmer Bob

imfml wrote: »

Useful information for my conversation with the contractor on Monday too.

Why was a roofing contractor dicking around with a hydrant anyway?

Odelay

Farmer Bob wrote: »

Why was a roofing contractor dicking around with a hydrant anyway?

Testing if a leak or issue is fixed?

Farmer Bob

Odelay wrote: »

Testing if a leak or issue is fixed?

Yeah, it’s not like water is just falling out of the sky these days, is it?

Odelay

Farmer Bob wrote: »

Yeah, it’s not like water is just falling out of the sky these days, is it?

Ah now come on. Do you sit around with a bucket left out in the yard when you need water? Being silly now.

Gumbo

Farmer Bob wrote: »

Section 31 of the Fire Services Act 1981:


http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1981/act/30/enacted/en/print.html

You challenge is to find someone in authority who cares...

The fire service should be quite interested in this complaint.
Lodge it with the fire brigade HQ and also the fire prevention section of your council.