Rural Living

LightRock says: 

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In the first column I ever penned for Firegeezer.com, I discussed some of the fire problems that arise from “modern” techniques and materials used in today’s single and multi-family residential construction. At this juncture, at least in firefighting circles, it is a well accepted fact that this type of construction brings with it a number of firefighting challenges. These would be significant enough alone, however, some recent media coverage has highlighted another troubling element of today’s emerging firefighting equation: Many of these new homes are being built in areas beyond well established cities and suburbs and lack the infrastructure (read: hydrants) needed to effectively fight fires.

Last Friday’s USA Today featured a front page article on the topic, which can be seen HERE. Additional research by the Geezer revealed that this article was taken from another, longer article originally published in another Gannett owned newspaper in Salisbury, MD and can be seen HERE.

Working through or discussing this issue fully in a single column wouldn’t do it justice so, what I’d like to do is layout some of what I see as the key factors surrounding this issue and address some more specific firefighting implications over the next few weeks.

1.  Many Americans crave space. Whether it is a full-time home or some sort of vacation/weekend getaway secondary residence, many people like the feel of open spaces. Some people moving to these areas apparently don’t fully appreciate is that with open space comes distance, not only from your neighbors, but from shopping, other conveniences and emergency services. According to the articles, 25% of the U.S. population lives in areas beyond the cities and more well established suburban areas. What that means is somewhere in the range of 75-80 million people. The way I see it, that is a lot of houses.

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2.  Growth. Plain and simple, the country is continuing to grow…and it is growing in ways that haven’t been seen before. The U.S. population is currently estimated at just over 300 million and many experts in the population field feel this is likely understated by 5-10% because immigrants (legal and not), as well as other groups slip under the radar. If one assumes that this is the case, then the actual population is 315-330 million. Where are all these people going? Many cities and virtually all of the suburban areas are continuing    to grow. But beyond these traditional population centers, there is continuing growth in what had been traditionally rural areas, as well as the phenomenon of “extended” suburbs, or as they are more commonly called, exburbs. These areas are neither traditional suburbs nor entirely rural…they are something in between…and typically lack the infrastructure found in closer-in areas. Many people that have “made it” are migrating to these areas.3.  Service Expectations. I think it is safe to say that for many Americans, including those migrating to the exburbs and beyond, fire protection isn’t the first thing they are thinking about. They only think about it after a fire starts and then they expect the firehouse to be right around the corner and for there to be abundant resources, including staff, apparatus and a fire hydrant right down the street. A quote from the articles is worth repeating here. “Nowhere during the sales pitch or mortgage paperwork did someone say the nearest fire hydrant was more than a mile away and the closest responders would take 10 minutes to arrive.”

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4.  Water and sewer are dirty words in the open space areas. To those who have “made it” and have migrated to the exburbs the mere mention of the words water and sewer set off an almost reflexive negative reaction. Why? With water and sewer comes the opportunity for more development and more dense zoning. Those who want to keep the open spaces open know that by limiting water and sewer they slow down development. Of course, at the same time, they also impose limitations on firefighting effectiveness. It would seem that for those who haven’t had a fire that it is an acceptable risk. For those who have…well…that is a different story.As I noted above, we’ll save a more detailed discussion of firefighting implications for future columns but, for now, start tuning yourself in. Imagine a hypothetical fire in a house that is say 4,000 square feet, built to current codes and using “modern” building materials and techniques. Once you get the call…and that may not be very quickly…you have a 15-minute run even under the most ideal conditions. The only water you have is what you are carrying with you. Even if your per unit staffing is A-OK, the nearest assisting units are 10-15 minutes behind you. What are you going to do when you roll in and have fire blowing out of half a dozen or more windows? For many fire departments, this isn’t pie in the sky…it is a reality that is becoming more common place and that they have to deal with.

To be continued…

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