Pictured in this May 2023 photo is a Chester Road house in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä destroyed by a fire that left a dog dead after city firefighters reported insufficient flow at three hydrants. Homeowner Ric Cavender sued the West Virginia American Water Company over the hydrant issues.
Pictured in this May 2023 photo is a Chester Road house in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä destroyed by a fire that left a dog dead after city firefighters reported insufficient flow at three hydrants. Homeowner Ric Cavender sued the West Virginia American Water Company over the hydrant issues.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail file photo
A confidential settlement has been approved between West Virginia American Water and a ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä resident whose house burned down due to a lack of usable water in the nearby fire hydrants, according to the plaintiff’s attorney Michael Hissam.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey filed an order last week saying she understood that all matters in the case “have been resolved and satisfied.â€
Ric Cavender, who is president of the Kanawha County Board of Education, sued the water company in May 2023, the same month his Chester Road house burned down. ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä firefighters reported that three nearby fire hydrants didn’t have adequate water pressure.
According to Gazette-Mail reporting from the time, the fire took four hours to put out. ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä firefighters used water tankers from three other departments.
The family dog, Duke, died in the fire after running back into the house. No people were injured.
New fire hydrant rules
The fire resulted in the Public Service Commission proposing rules last month for inspection, flow testing and color-coding of public fire hydrants statewide.
Based on responses from 256 water utilities, PSC staff found only two-thirds of hydrants are inspected every year.
The proposed rules would require fire hydrants to be inspected at least once a year and flow test each hydrant every five years. The hydrants must be color-coded or marked within 30 days of a flow test completion.
“I am glad that this case is resolved and appreciate the efforts that West Virginia American Water, along with utilities across the state, is undertaking to further reinforce their systems providing fire service,†Cavender said in a statement provided by Hissam.
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