If Belle Isle (especially the people from this latest fire) want proper coverage then they need to pony up the taxes to pay for it. SC is 80% volunteer. This is LUDICIROUS in this day and age. The volunteer system is a dying, bloated corpse that will continue to take houses and lives because of the lack of proper coverage. This is no means taking away from the men and women who volunteer. They have jobs like everyone else and cannot always be there all of the time. These volunteer areas need to get a life and stop blaming the fire departments. They need to blame their politicians for not making paid PROFESSIONAL CAREER FIREFIGHTERS that are on the job 24-7. The day of the volunteer firefighter hanging around the firehouse waiting for a call is for the most part over. You want the service... you pay the price. You don't want the service... you pay another price.

Posted by Get Real 2 on 10/17/2008

The root causes are is simple. (1)Fireground operations by another incompetently led and poorly prepared fire department. (2)Operating funds provided to fire departments without accountability by our elected officials to demonstrate proficiency or continuous improvement. (3) No authority for the State Fire Marshal to measure the basic proficiency of fire departments compared to NFPA standards. (4) Insurers of fire departments who continue to look the other way when their insureds do not meet basic NFPA standards and who could be motivating fire departments into better training, preplanning, etc. with insurance premiums. It's a broken system. Hopefully, this family's home was properly insured and can be rebuilt in a few months.

Posted by Risk Manager on 10/17/2008

Maybe they should re appropriate the A-tax "accommodations tax" money to fund increased routine checks and repairs on our fire hydrant systems. They give that money away every year as grants to local business owners, why don't they use that money to make our homes and families safe by contracting someone to perform these much needed checks? We need safety more than we need a surfing museum or an addition to a flower shop.

Posted by Citizen X on 10/14/2008

The county fire department doesn't check the hydrants enough?! True. But only because they don't have enough personnel to do so. They rely VERY heavily on volunteers and the personnel that are paid staff are not paid enough! Does it sound like I know what I'm talking about? I should. I'm married to a Georgetown County Firefighter.

Posted by Fire Guy's Girl on 10/13/2008

You need another tab. Agree, Disagree, Report Offensive and Ignorant Report.

Posted by Baitbucket on 10/11/2008

Responder,truth, whatever. Taxes were not mentioned.The water bill is seperate.A service is paid for,it should be recieved. You rent.If your utilities are included,good for you.I have an account with the city and pay a bill each month like everyone else.Get over it.

Posted by jay on 10/11/2008

Unfortunately most people who have never rode a fire truck dont realize that a structure fire is a complex thing requiring timing, resources and manpower to effectively extinguish. The county station that servers that area has one truck responding and at best probably two firefighters on board plus and ambulance. The county Chief will be careful to avoid this subject but all the departments in the area have to rely on mutual aid, which means help from neighboring departments. The county would have to call the city whose closest station is Maryville which has three people on board the engine and about 6 miles away. The county will of course activate their other stations first though which will be at Pringle ferry, Santee, etc. Which takes time. The bulk of the manpower for the county will come from volunteers which relies on if people hear the call and can come to the fire. Just because there is a shiny red truck on the way does not mean there are anywhere enough people at the scene in a quick enough time frame to mount an adequate attack. There has to be an engineer, an incident commander, at least two firefighters in the building and at least two packed up ready to go in to rescue the ones inside (called two in two out). The ones inside the building have at most 15 minutes before they have to come out and get new air tanks, so they need support personnel to change the tanks and more firefighters to replace them. This is what they need for the first 15 minutes if this house is of any size and there is much fire involvement beyond just one room those numbers are much larger. There has to be enough water to overcome the BTUs being generated by the fire. If water or personnel limit the amount of water that can be put on the fire it will continue to burn, fire grows at a rate of 400 times a minute. So until enough people can get there with enough equipment the very best efforts made may not be enough fast enough to save the building. The water department does install the hydrants but each area decides who is responsible for hydrant maintenance. In the city the fire department flows the hydrants anually. I believe in the county the Fire department checks their own hydrants I do no know the schedule, in Midways area the county water department checked the hydants until very recently now the fire department is checking each hydrant for operation. No matter how well they are checked however there will be problems. A hydrant is a valve in the ground that is only opened once a year at best, imagine if you only opened your bathtub facet once a year it might not work either. The county relies on volunteers to operate the fire department, without them there would be a huge increase in taxes required to man the stations. I am sure they would welcome the assistance of the people who are posting here complaining about the job they did. Remember they run into burning buildings, wear 40 pounds of gear plus a 25 lb airpack and lose about 10 years off thier life (exposure to smoke etc) for compensation that probably won't pay for the gas they burn on the way to the call.

Posted by just me on 10/10/2008

It's not the fire hydrants fault it had low water pressue, it's due to global warming. Blame George Bush. It's his fault.

Posted by The Answer on 10/10/2008

It's simple, Find the problem and FIX IT! Whether County or city, every home owner, renter, visitor should be able to sleep well knowing that our water and fire departments are working together to insure the reliability of our water systems. I think anyone who pays taxes in this city/county would not mind if both departments conducted routine checks of their own. The hydrants are a critical tool to manage fires. Why would you not insure the tool you need is working properly? What if a fire fighter was inside when the water stopped, would it matter then? Would that be important enough to investigate. Why do we wait until a life has been lost before we try to prevent the loss of life. How close to the edge do we need to get? Find The Problem and FIX IT!!! The question should be "how can we help the Sessions?"

Posted by Citizen X on 10/10/2008

Instead of being so quick to point fingers and act childish about it, ALL involved departments need to use this as a wake up call to review themselves and make sure they are operating at their best abilities. This family experienced a HORRIBLE tragedy and they need all the support and help from the community they can get to pick up the pieces of their lives and get new vehicles, a new home, etc. I'm sure they lost precious momentos of their children's as well as their past that even a Homeowner's Insurance payout can never recover. Sounds like some people need to have a heart around here... what happened to helping your neighbor? You could be the next victim of a house fire and you wouldn't want people making light of your tragic situation. That is heartless and cruel!

Posted by Gtown Resident on 10/10/2008

To Check the Facts: there were many neighbors witnessed what happened during this fire, and the people whom I know personally told me essentially the same story as stated by Jeff Sessions in this article, even before the story was printed in the newspaper--first hydrant, non-functional; second hydrant, hardly any pressure. If you want to "check the facts" do so with the eyewitnesses who were actually there, not any local official who has an interest in spinning the facts to avoid criticism or liability. Do you really think no one in local government has ever lied to you?

Posted by No Spin Zone on 10/10/2008

Who installs the hydrants the fire departments or the water departments? The water departments. Who repairs the hyrants? The water departments. Who owns the hydrants? Again the water department, but everyone seems to think that the Fire Department should be responsible, please explain to me why?? If the truck breaks down at a fire are you going to blame the water department for it, no you are going to blame who owns the vehicle. Also what is "adequate" water flow, 900 gpm is not sufficient to handle more than a couple of lines at a time. You also have to know how far the hydrant was and take into account friction loss for water travelling through the hose to the truck. Again, if you are going to be an arm chair quarterback, at least know what you are talking about. After actually reading the articles related to this, there are accounts from bystanders stating that there was no water at times, and that the first hydrant didn't work. 2nd the water department stated that the pumps turned on at about 9:15 to allow for the water pressure to increase and that they were getting around 900 gpm. And last but not least, the Sessions were unaware of the fire until their smoke detectors went off, which means they were already behind the proverbial 8 ball, because first arriving units had flames through the roof, which means it was already speading through the attic area.

Posted by Get Real on 10/10/2008

Again a small fire turns into a disaster, again they blame the water pressure, again the water pressure is fine. Again someone has lost their home....that is really sad, I feel bad for them. When are people going to get to the root of the problem..... Are we going to have to have a "Charleston Nine" here before there is change? Look to the leaders, look at their leadership, look into their qualifications that got them their jobs.

Posted by Fire Hydrant on 10/9/2008

It does matter who a renter and who an owner is when the RENTER is ranting about how much he pays in taxes for services! Your complaint about the hydrants IS legitimate, but his complaint is baseless.

Posted by responder on 10/9/2008

This is not a matter of who is a renter and who is an owner. This is our neighborhood too. We pay a water bill every month as does every one else. What happend to that family is a tragedy in the least, and in the event another emergency situation arises, there needs to be reassurance of quick, and available help. All hydrants need to be inspected for the safety of our homes, families and surroundings. THAT IS THE TRUTH!

Posted by Alexis on 10/9/2008

Truth: truth is your still a pathetic coward unable to identify who you are, as you continue to post under a different alias. Your pointless attempts to follow me from board to board is hysterical. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Posted by Jay on 10/9/2008

Apparently hydrants are NOT the issue. The Fire Chief says the hydrant was working at the time of the fire. The City water department reports the hydrant closest to the house produces 900+ gpm. So all the criticism here about the City or hydrants is not factual.

Posted by Check the Facts on 10/9/2008

I agree with just me, the non working hydrants rest on Georgetown County. I can say they dont maintain their hydrants as often as they should. City guys are out almost every month checking their hydrants and the first sign of problems its reported. County doesnt do as well as that. If they checked them often then they could report of the malfunctions and have city take a look if in fact its their problem. I too live in county and that is a huge worry of a hydrant not working in my area. No matter whether they pay more or less bc they use city water has no issue. Issue is the County needs to do a better job in checking and reporting non working hydrants. My prayers definately go out to Session Family.

Posted by Concerned on 10/9/2008

Jay, you do not pay at a higher rate beacause you are renting the home that you reside in. Quit the baseless rhetoric.

Posted by The Truth on 10/9/2008

Captain Obvious, if you are so Obvious then use your real name. Seriously your unreasonable comments are offensive to a family who just lost their home and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Posted by Kim Barnwell on 10/9/2008

This should be a wake up call to check all of the hydrants in the City and County. This is about a family losing their home. They are in my thoughts and prayers. Shame on those of you who feel they some how deserve this because they live in Belle Isle and don't pay city taxes. Whatever, get over your self (LOSER!)

Posted by Ms. Giggles on 10/8/2008

Who is Capt. Obvious? Apparently one who knows nothing about why Belle Isle receives city water...it was not our choice to pay DOUBLE for water that tastes, looks and does the same things county water does...really, who would ask for that? Get a life...and BTW you should change you pseudonym to CAPTAIN OBNOXIOUS! Our prayers go out to the Sessions family.

Posted by HELLO!!!! on 10/8/2008

This shouldn't happen to anyone no matter where you live!!! It is aweful!

Posted by DUH on 10/8/2008

Testing of the hydrants rests with the County Fire Department first and with the city second. Unfortunately Maryville has poor hydrant converage as well as low pressure. Many of the hydrants in the Maryville area are 500 gpm or less. Look at the color of the hydrant tops. Red 0-500, orange 500-1000, green 1000-1500, white 1500 plus gpm. I bet the hydrants are red tops in that area.Two 1 3/4 lines will just a bout kill a red top hydrant. Also note how far apart the hydrants are from each other.

Posted by just me on 10/8/2008

To Captain Obvious, do us a favor and leave not just the city, the whole state of South Carolina!

Posted by Don't Cross Me on 10/8/2008

Ok capt. obvious. Residents of belle isle aren't getting over on the city. We pay for a service the same as city residents and pay a higher rate due to living outside the city.It is the city that benefits by the extra revenue. If you pay for a service you should get it. PERIOD. Fortunately it only resulted in a loss of property and not life. When a hydrant fails it not only endangers the residents,but those men who fight fires also.

Posted by jay on 10/8/2008

Quit Complaining??? It's an account of what happened. My parent's house is gone. Are you saying they should blame themselves for where the city line is drawn? You need to either get a clue or some sensitivity Captain Obvious.

Posted by Offended on 10/8/2008

The hose connects to the fire hydrant, the other end connects to the pumper truck. The person running the pumper truck, controls the water pressure. Then you have hoses that run from the pumper truck to the fire. It is strange that so many places that start out as small fires, engulf and burn everything down, all because there is no water pressure? But when the hydrants and equipment are checked afterwards and there where always in excellent working condition. Human error again? Screen tight fire and several others over the years.

Posted by fire hydrant on 10/8/2008

If this is the type of service the citizens get in the city with their tax dollars, who would want to be in the city? The water service speaks for itself!

Posted by Belle Isle Homeowner on 10/8/2008

If they were part of the City are you saying the water pressure would be better or what?? Because according to the article there issues with the hydrants. Do you people actually read the stories or just use this as place for your own agendas. Get a life and respect the fact that these people lost their home and vehicles. To the Sessions I am sorry for your loss.

Posted by Again What on 10/8/2008

Yep, go figure. Belle Isle wants the benefits of city water, city sewer etc, but they don't want to be in the city. Maybe they should quit their complaining and blame themselves...and join the city.

Posted by Captain Obvious on 10/8/2008