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The Los Angeles Fire Department did not notify the city’s Water and Electricity Department by mid-February, despite being aware of the issue several months ago.
According to city records and officials, the fire department discovered damage to a fire hydrant during an inspection months before the Palisade fire on January 7th, destroying thousands of homes.
Firefighters suffered from low water pressure during the flames, but it is unclear whether the damaged fire hydrant played a role.
The lapse of sharing inspection records was revealed on February 12th, when KCBS-TV reported that LAFD had compiled a list of 1,350 fire hydrants that need repairs. Some of these repairs appear to have been flagged in January 2024, according to a list obtained from LAFD through a request for public records.
Within the DWP, the KCBS report was filled with surprises and alarms.
DWP relies on LAFD to perform annual inspections of the city’s approximately 66,000 fire hydrants. According to Janisse Quiñones, DWP’s chief executive and general manager, in August, the DWP received an annual report from LAFD documenting the city’s fire hydrant status, but none were flagged as requiring repairs.
Since the Palisades fired, the DWP has repeatedly stated that there have been no pending reports of damaged fire hydrants. After the KCBS report, only on February 14th, DWP received a list of damaged fire hydrants, Keignon said.
“Reports we received [Feb. 14] This week, Quiñones said at a meeting of the Electric Power Committee’s committee. “It was the first time I’d seen “repairs needed.” ”
“The claim that LADWP received the information [about damage] Anselmo Collins, DWP’s water business chief, added at the board meeting:
The episode presents yet another issue at the city’s fire department in the wake of the Palisade fire, and comes as former LAFD chief Christine Crowley is trying to overturn Mayor Karen Bass’ decision to end her.
The reasons for firing Crowley were Bass cited that Pallisard did not deploy firefighters in advance before firing, and that he refused to complete a post-action report on the fatal flame.
LAFD did not answer any questions regarding the fire hydrant inspection process. A Crowley spokesman did not return calls or respond to questions.
The DWP owns and is responsible for maintaining city fire hydrants, but the task of inspecting them falls to LAFD. Each year, the utility pays approximately $2.5 million of fire stations withdrawn from fee payers’ revenues to conduct inspections and report their findings.
Over the past few years, the number of fire hydrants that require repairs has been significantly different, said Collins, the head of the water business.
“In 2021, we only had five fire hydrants that needed to be repaired. We won 375 in 2022,” Collins said at the board meeting this week. “So it’s a big variability and it all depends on what the fire department is finding when they’re doing the inspection.”
The list provided by the DWP in August included 66,000 fire hydrants, their locations, and whether they were owned by the DWP or the Private Party. Rather than detailing damage or repairs, it categorized about 40% of fire hydrants as “needed to inspect.”
After KCBS reported on 1,350 fire hydrants classified as requiring repairs, DWP was forced to receive information.
“The idea that somehow there were 1,350 fire hydrants was totally news for us,” said Joe Ramallo, DWP’s Chief of Communications and Customer Service.
DWP received a list of damaged fire hydrants on February 14th, with another line detailing the repairs required. Over 120 people were listed as “dry.” Some had broken valves, while others had curved, tight or damaged stems. Over 100 people were leaking, but a handful were blocked by vegetation.
Not all fire hydrants on the list are within the DWP range. Of these, 100 are private fire hydrants where repairs are performed by the property owner. And their status was unknown as dozens were hampered by homeless people and camps.
As of Tuesday, the DWP said it had fixed about 200 fire hydrants.
At the DWP Board, Ramaro suggested that the LAFD has not yet provided an explanation of what happened.
“We don’t have a clear idea yet. Other than receiving this list later [Quiñones] Reaching out directly, “Give me anything you have, because it never communicated to the department,” Lamaro said.
Nurit Katz, a mayor-appointed committee member, said the LAFD should provide inspection reports “more often than annually.”
“Getting 1,000 repairs at once at a time doesn’t seem to be that helpful to our team in terms of ensuring they’re done,” Katz said.
Quiñones said she was working with LAFD’s interim chief Ronnie Villa Nueva to say that in the new “quality control” process “we hope there will be no such mistakes in the future.”
“The ultimate goal is that we have fire hydrants in the city, and that’s what we all need to strive for,” she said.
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