INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Fire Department is investigating after a fire destroyed a south Indianapolis log cabin Saturday evening.
According to social media posts from the department, the fire was reported around 8:15 p.m. March 9 at a home in the 3400 block of West Thompson Road, near the new Interstate 465/Interstate 69 interchange.
IFD said the nearest fire hydrant was roughly two miles away, necessitating backup tankers be called. In total, six tanker trucks from IFD, as well as Morgan and Hendricks counties, were called to the scene.
This map shows every fire hydrant in Marion County. You can see there are none near Thompson Road.
Citizens Energy Group said while it is relatively uncommon in Marion County, there are still pockets of homes without central water service, due to the decision to install wells at the time of original construction.
In total, the city has more than 24,000 hydrants.
“The vast majority of non-hydranted areas in the Indianapolis district, we know about,” said Battalion Chief Ted Waldroup. “They show up on our computer system, and we upgrade the response to include tankers.”
IFD said firefighters are also proactive in their district.
“They will drive through non-hydranted areas and pre-plan for themselves to see where the closest hydrant and best access is to set up tankers, should something happen in that neighborhood,” Waldroup said.
When tanker trucks are called in, they will go to the designated hydrant to fill up and then bring that water to the scene. Usually, it requires multiple trips.
IFD said it is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
“A fire can double in size every two minutes. With a tanker operation, an engine carries about 750 gallons of water on it. It takes time for the tankers to arrive, and then, they have to set up and empty their water. Then, there is the travel time to refill and come back to the scene and dump. A handline flows 180 gallons a minute for one handline. You multiply that for two or three handlines, you go through water pretty quickly,” Waldroup said.
Neighbors tell 13News they prefer their well water but admit that not having fire hydrants is a challenge.
If they decide to connect to the city’s water, Citizen Energy Group said homeowners would have to foot the bill – which is pricey.
“If there is a water main, the cost is probably $7,000 to $10,000 just to put in a hydrant. If there is no water main, then there is the cost of bringing it from the nearest water main into their neighborhood, which can be very expensive,” Waldroup said.
In areas of new construction where a water main already exists, current building standards require homes to be connected and fire hydrants to be included in the development plans.
In this latest fire, no one was injured, and the fire is still under investigation.