NIAGARA FALLS, NY - A bright red fire hydrant is on display in the Niagara Falls Water Board lobby, but ironically, the condition of hydrants on city streets was ignored for years.
Out of 2,500 hydrants in the city, the board acknowledges that this time last year, 166 hydrants were out of service. And that's been a problem for 20 years or so. Back in February, 2 On Your Side had to use the Freedom of Information Act to get a list of 45 broken hydrants.
Niagara Falls Water Board Chairman Dan O'Callaghan says, "Somebody just didn't do what they were supposed to do. They didn't follow up with their obligations."
2 On Your Side asked, "Are those people still working here?" To which O'Callahan said no.
"So anybody that was involved with fire hydrant maintenance in the past, to the best of your knowledge, is gone?" we asked.
"Well the administration is completely changed. The administration tells the worker what to do," he says.
And they claim marching orders went out this spring to water board workers to fix those hydrants.
O'Callaghan says, "We've repaired or replaced all of them. We're down to zero. And over this last weekend we had three of them that were hit by vehicles. So we're on track to get them fixed within the next two days."
Niagara Falls Fire Chief Thomas Collangelo wasn't available for an on-camera interview. But he told us over the phone that it's been "night and day" as far as what he seen from the Niagara Falls Water Board in terms of fire hydrant maintenance.
The chief says the dramatic change is seen in color coded caps on hydrants that spell out pressure amounts, and better location and maintenance updates that help his department when they roll up on a fire. But after the 72nd Street frozen pipes and the sewage discharge issue in past years and now the hydrants, is there a competency question for the board?
2 On Your Side pointed out to Nicholas Forster with the Water Board, "There's a trust issue here - for taxpayers and ratepayers in this community. And now they're putting their trust in you...Can you guarantee that they're gonna stay on top this issue going back 20 - 30 years?"
Forster replied "Here's what the board is gonna do...the board's gonna come up with a resolution that we can't have more than five hydrants out of service at a given time. So we're not gonna have to play catch up or next board members playing catch up in getting hydrants in service."
The Niagara Falls Water Board released a list showing that 847 hydrants have been flushed, 545 have been flow tested for pressure checks, and 925 have been newly painted over the past several months.