NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — Some residents in unincorporated Leon County who live more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant say they're paying higher property insurance costs.
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Leon County Commissioner David O'Keefe, who represents District 5, says those costs are becoming one of the biggest concerns he's hearing.
Now, he is asking the board to explore installing more fire hydrants in unincorporated areas of the county.
Tuesday, commissioners asked staff to bring back an agenda item identifying how many homes lack a nearby hydrant, where those homes are located, and how much installation would cost.
The county would need to work with Talquin and City of Tallahassee to install additional hydrants and connect them to a water supply line.
"It'll be likely a significant cost, but we can't just not take a look at it, so we need staff to bring back ideas and to work with our partners at Talquin, at the city, and elsewhere to see how many homes do not have a fire hydrant with a thousand feet and what can be done to start to rectify that," O'Keefe said.
The shortage of hydrants also limits the Miccosukee Volunteer Fire and Rescue's options for refilling during a fire response.
Brian Carroll, Chief of the Miccosukee Volunteer Fire and Rescue, says hydrant access in the area is limited by the infrastructure that exists.
"Here in the Miccosukee northeast territory area, there's a few along Crump Road, and that's because that water tower was constructed there," Carroll said. "It doesn't go very far. They're gravity-fed, so they can only go out so much from those sources."
A map of active hydrants shows just two closest to the main station — more than two miles away.
There is technically a third option: a re-fitted tanker serving as a refill point at the Heatherwood Station, made possible through an Eagle Scout project.
Carroll also says they try to counteract the lack of hydrants by participating in a "Tanker Task Force," in which volunteer agencies can request more tankers from different agencies in Leon County to avoid running out of water.
He believes the county is taking a step in the right direction in its efforts to look into installing permanent infrastructure.
"The reason I do volunteer fires is because we care about our community, we care about our neighbor, and I don't want my house burning down as much as I don't want my neighbor's house burning down," Carroll said. "So, working to come up with a solution is always the best way instead of just saying they're going, well, they won't do it or they won't do it."
O'Keefe said there is no specific number of hydrants the county wants to install — the goal is simply to build more.
The timeline for installation will depend on what staff reports back regarding costs and locations.
"Let's find out how many houses we're talking about. Let's find out where they are and let's find out what we can do with our partners," O'Keefe said.
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