Less Than Half Fire Hydrants in Benton County Usable
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BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. – With the number of fires this time of year usually increasing, some say that it is disturbing to know less than half the fire hydrants in Benton County are usable. A fire hydrant sits in the Camden Fire Department. Because it is so old, they were not able to buy a part for it and now use it as decoration. There are several others in the county, though still in neighborhoods and along streets that are useless. “It’s about time Benton County does put fire hydrants in,” said Gina Larkins, a Benton County resident. Camden Fire Chief Jerry Pierce said Benton County’s water system was built 100 years ago. “It was put in for drinking water,” Pierce said. “It wasn’t put in for house fires back then you didn’t have fire trucks like we have today”. He said the fire trucks now are so powerful, the lines would burst if they tried to use them. When an old line needs to be replaced, they can do it, but replacing the whole system is just not possible. “It would take megamillions to be able to do that,” Pierce said. For now, Pierce said Benton County has a dependable system to put out fires. He said they use drop tanks to hold water and put out the fire. And a truck drives back and forth and keeps the tank full until the fire is out. “That’s the way we fight fire today. As soon as we see a structure and we don’t think we’ll have the capacity to..We call for backup,” Pierce said. Benton County has applied for grants to have the system completely redone. Camden Fire Chief Jerry Pierce also said he knows of hundreds of other towns across the country that face the same problem due to old water lines.
