Broken hydrant hampers fight in Fairdale apartment fire

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The very name, Legacy Apartments, would have been the first clue Fairdale firefighters would be battling a blaze in a nearly half-century-old building.

"The smoke went all the way across the apartment to the other apartments," said Lonnie Moore. "The firewall is what stopped it from going all the way across the building!"

Moore's aunt lives in the unit directly across from where the fire started early Monday evening. She and her neighbors are unharmed. But firefighters lost about twenty minutes of their battle, looking for a water supply.

"The hydrant itself did not operate, it's a privately owned hydrant," Fire Chief Don Wittry said.

"He cranked it--I'd say at least 30 times," resident Daniel Garrett said. "He gave it a good college try. But nothing but sewage came out the other side."

Tuesday's morning light made clear that a dozen apartments have fire, smoke and water damage. Investigators blame a malfunctioning heater, or the complex's electrical system.

Still foggy, is why the hydrant failed.

"What we believe at this time is that the owner was unaware of the water situation and of Louisville ordinances," Chief Wittry explained.

The ordinances are extremely specific concerning hydrant size and spacing. Hydrants have to be at least 25 feet away from masonry structures and 50 feet away from wooden buildings. They can be no farther than 15 feet from roadways, nor 500 feet from the buildings they're designed to protect.

"They're required to be tested once a year," Chief Wittry said.

That's true in Fairdale, but not necessarily so in the rest of Jefferson County. Ordinances state only that private hydrants may be tested periodically and that owners should notify their respective water companies before they do so.

"We've called a plumber to fix the stem, the part of the hydrant that broke," Legacy Apartments manager Susanne Laytham said Tuesday. "It should be done within hours."

Neither Laytham nor Chief Wittry could say when the hydrant last was tested, but repeat violators can face criminal and civil penalties; up to 60 days in jail and fines of up to $1,000 per day until the hydrants are fixed.

The owners have no citations pending, but Legacy Apartments has been cited for code violations three times in the past eight years, according to Jessica Wethington, public relations specialist for Metro Louisville Codes & Regulations.

Amanda Martin is glad she bought renter's insurance. "I think I'll be okay there, but this business with the hydrant—I'm done," she said. "Right now, I have a hotel. Where I'll be with my children tomorrow, I don't know."