Dysfunctional fire hydrants a worry in Linden

“It’s like throwing water on duck back” – Councillor

The issue of dysfunctional fire hydrants in Linden continue to be a worry for both residents and officials, and recently Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) Councillor Gordon Callender, referred to the situation as “throwing water on duck back.”

He noted that the numerous calls by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to remedy the situation have yielded no results. During the hosting of the RDC statutory meeting recently, Callender pointed to several fire hydrants in the community, including one on Linden’s main thoroughfare, Republic Avenue, Mackenzie.

He emphasised that the issue is one that has been highlighted by the Council for months. Addressing Regional Chairman Renis Morian, Callender made a suggestion to have a letter written to the Public Infrastructure Ministry in an effort to have a technical assessment of the fire hydrants conducted.

Pointing to the hap-hazard condition of some fire hydrants, Callender urged the Council to make the necessary representation, noting that it is a relevant intervention in the instances of disasters: “It’s like throwing water on duck back… We need to look at these things…in the event of any disaster whereby fire is concerned,” he said.

Meanwhile, Councillor Charles Sampson called for the re-institution of a former system which he noted was used to trigger the amount of water pressure needed to operate the hydrants, since according to him, the community lacks the capacity to even provide the required amount of water pressure to homes:

“We’ve been talking about fire hydrants for years… A fire hydrant is supposed to have a certain amount of water pressure in it. We don’t even provide enough water pressure to go upstairs in people’s houses in this community. How are we going to satisfy the needs of fire hydrants? It’s a logical problem and we keep bringing it up at this forum without any results.”

In response Morian told the Council that the issue is a national one, while he made suggestion for a proposal to be sent to the Public Infrastructure Ministry through the Regional Works Committee of the RDC:

“I remember in 2012, nobody seemed to want to take responsibility for hydrants. GWI said it’s not theirs, Public Infrastructure said it’s not theirs… I know there is a programme to rehabilitate all of the hydrants…We would have to do it in phases, so the first phase we’re going to rehabilitate the ones we have.”