Fircrest fire - charred remains and brown water

A fire crew remained on the scene to put out the hot spots
Photo by Debbie Kellogg

You may not think of the water district responding to a fire, but it's important that fire fighters have access to enough water to fight the blaze.

In Thursday's massive fire at Fircrest, the North City Water District opened a normally closed valve to a long dead end water main inside the Fircrest property.

According to Denny Clouse of the North City Water District,

The fire departments were putting water on the fire at approximately 5000 GPM (Gallons Per Minute), which in the Fircrest steel pipes exceeded the normal velocity of 8 FPS (Feet Per Second) to around 15 FPS or more. This pushed sediment that resulted in Brown Water into residential water mains.

Residents were advised that their water was safe and they should just run the water until it cleared. Most reported that it did not take very long before the sediment was gone.