Taken down once we got a bad fire at
residence off of off of Split Rail trail.
Major fire. Flames filling the sky.
Trail up in Pickens County.
We have a there's a fire going on.
And you could hear the popping of
the windows shattering explosions.
All houses on fire.
I need you over here now. The man
making the urgent plea for help.
Steve Schultz. He lives next door.
It was his brother's
old home on fire. The heat was enormous.
You could not get within 200
feet of the of the home. Pickens
County firefighters arrived just
outside Jasper within 9 minutes.
A short time later, though,
Steve noticed something raw water
from the fire hoses, losing pressure,
unable to extinguish the blaze,
the hose would fill up and then 15 minutes
later it would shrink down to nothing.
While the home burned 911 operators
called the Jasper Water Department,
asking to increase its water
pressure to nearby fire hydrants,
is there absolutely anything you guys can
do to get more water out there 'cause
they are completely and totally out in
the fire is not out yet. No, there's not
firefighters on the scene
called 911 back asking for help.
Can you call the City Water
Department and have them
increased pressure up here?
We asked them already and
they said they couldn't do it.
By war said here, waiting on water,
we're watching our parents.
I'm sorry the
Water Department solution, a fire
hydrant more than a mile and a half away.
That's where the best water
pressure yell are probably going
to get it going to come from
the city of Jasper's water director
and the Pickens County Fire Chief
declined on camera interviews,
but a review investigation discovered
two potential problems that August Day.
The first a water line in
the area wasn't working.
City water employees mentioned it
multiple times to dispatchers.
Because our line that goes underneath
the Creek is still currently out,
so there's no way for us to
adjust the pressure to that area.
The other problem,
these hydrants in the area?
Sure, they look like the hydrants
you've seen used by firefighters,
but according to the Jasper Water Department,
they were never intended to
be used to put out fires.
According to the city it installed
the hydrants about 10 years ago
in the Hickory Cove community,
where Steve in about 40
other homeowners live.
But the water pipes were only intended
for home use like washing dishes,
laundry and showers.
They're too small for anything else and
not adequately equipped to battle fires.
Jaspers Water director told me the
homeowners should have known that.
Did you know those fire hydrants
were not to be used to fight fires?
Not all fire
hydrants to me are there for a purpose.
They're called a fire hydrant,
and that's when we saw them being put in.
It was relief. Steve isn't the
only one in the community.
That's what I would think.
I mean, how would you?
How would you know otherwise?
We were never told,
never use it to put out fires when asked
on the community's Facebook group.
Six more homeowners said they didn't
know either one writing we weren't aware.
Pretty scary, false sense of security.
Definitely. Paul says Steve
knows the risks of moving into
a rule community. The home likely
would have been a total loss,
but Pickens County is seeing a lot of
new construction and he hopes county.
And city officials will be more transparent
with homeowners before the next emergency
by Warsan here waiting on water.
Will watching her burn
something else that could have helped a
water tower built and the Hickory Cove
area the city of Jasper asked Steve if it
could build one on his property years ago.
He said yes, it never happened.
The water department tells me there are no
immediate plans to build one or install
larger water lines and the community.
For the hydrants to properly work.