BUFFINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — Firefighters had trouble extinguishing the flames at a home in Fayette County on Friday morning after quickly learning the fire hydrants in the area were not working.

It happened on the 900 block of 4th St. in Buffington just before 8 a.m.

"When we got here, (firefighters) had actually laid a line in from the hydrant at the bottom of the hill. When they opened up the hydrant, they had no water pressure when the hydrant opened up," said Jim Bittner, a lieutenant with the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department.

Bittner said firefighters had to rely on tanker trucks to shuttle water in to put out the flames. Several departments were called to assist, including Footdale, Uniontown, South Union and Adah fire departments.

"If you can't get water to fire, what are you going to do? Except sit and watch everything go up in smoke," resident Tyler Bischof said.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority said it determined a valve that sends water to the hydrants was broken. Tim Saddis, the manager at the water authority, told KDKA-TV the valve was broken prior to the fire, but he was unclear on when it broke, how it broke, or why it wasn't repaired.

Bittner said not having working fire hydrants brings challenges for crews.

"We had an aerial device here that was flowing water down on top of the fire, but we had to keep shutting it down, obviously, to preserve water until we were able to get that shuttle operation in place," Bittner said.

Many residents in the area were unhappy to learn that the fire hydrants were not working.

"That's a big problem. Like I said, it could have been any one of our houses," Bischof said.

Bischof was leaving for work Friday morning when he said he saw smoke coming from the home and went over to alert the homeowners.

"I actually was locking the door and I heard kindling, kind of cracking. I turned around and saw smoke. I immediately went and got my girlfriend and she called 911. I went and banged on the door to get him out the door because I don't think anybody even knew because it was quiet. Nobody was doing anything. So, I just wanted to get them out the door," Bischof said. "It took them a few minutes, but then they were immediately out running into the street."

Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire. The Fayette County Emergency Management coordinator said three people were inside at the time. Residents are now demanding that the hydrants get fixed.

"Lives aren't replaceable," Bischof said. "They need to get out here and take care of the issues around here."

The water authority told KDKA-TV that it had crews in the area working to fix the valve as of Friday afternoon. 

Saddis said typically, the water authority will test the hydrants twice a year in the spring and fall. Bittner said the fire department plans to test them again once the valve is fixed with the township next week.

This isn't the first time fire hydrants haven't worked in a Fayette County neighborhood. Last January, none of the hydrants worked in Monarch, Dunbar Township. Several firefighters were injured and the home was a total loss.

KDKA-TV reached out to the Fayette County Commissioners and Menallen Township Supervisors on Friday to learn what they're doing to ensure all hydrants are working, not only in Buffington, but across the county. We're still waiting to hear back.  

Erika is an award-winning investigative journalist who joined KDKA in October of 2021. She is thrilled to be back in her hometown and reporting for the station she grew up watching!

First published on October 14, 2022 / 11:08 PM

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