Detroit Firefighters Hampered By Low Water Pressure At Huge Blaze; 2 Suffer Smoke Inhalation
DETROIT (WWJ) - Two Detroit firefighters are recovering after suffering smoke inhalation while battling a large fire on the city's west side.
The fire took off early Wednesday morning at a vacant multi-family home at Richton and Lawton streets and quickly spread to a nearby vacant apartment building.
Tyrone Evans, who lives in the area, said it took crews over an hour to even address the fire because they couldn't get any water through their hoses.
"I was standing out here when they first got out here and they wasn't getting no water, there wasn't no water going on the building," Evans told WWJ's Mike Campbell. "It's terrible that the water pressure's not up because it took an hour and a half to get water over here."
Fire officials said they did have issues with low pressure until a city worker eventually arrived on the scene to regulate the water. But even then, crews were still struggling.
Senior Fire Chief James Houseworth said it actually took two hours before the water was fully pressurized to extinguish the blaze.
"We had problems getting water so that house burned down to the ground, as you can see," he said. "It caught to the apartment building next door and because of the fact that we could not get water in a timely fashion, this is what happens."
Charlie Brown, who lives nearby, said he couldn't believe the maze of fire hoses crews were weaving.
"They're stretching hoses from three blocks north and one block south and two blocks west," he said.
No injuries were reported, but two firefighters were taken to the hospital after suffering smoke inhalation.
"When it comes to smoke inhalation, you can never say 'Oh, he's going to be alright' but I'm hoping my guy is going to be fine," said Houseworth.
One of the firefighters has since been released from the hospital.
Authorities believe the cause of the fire is arson. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information on the arsonist. Tips can be submitted by calling 313-628-2900.
It's not unusual for the city to regulate water flow in certain neighborhoods, especially those with older pipes. Officials say forced low pressure is necessary to keep the pipes from bursting.
