By Kytja Weir
The Examiner
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some of the emergency water pipes needed to put out fires in Metros subway tunnels weren’t designed to carry adequate water pressure, according to a Metro report.
The report calls the problem affecting 26 sets of pipes in the Red, Green and Orange lines a life-safety issue that must be corrected.
Such problems can mean that the pipes wouldnt be able to carry enough water into the confined space of tunnels if a major fire occurred. The report says the ability to fight fires is reduced though not eliminated.
Its like bringing a knife to a gun fight, said Montgomery County Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham. Its extremely dangerous not only for firefighters but also anyone trying to exit the trains.
Portions of the Metrorail system smoke or catch fire an average of about three times a week. The agency had 86 fire incidents in the Metrorail system in 2010 and 85 smoke incidents, according to online agency data. Most dont require using the standpipe system, said Graham, but firefighters hook up to them each time just in case.
The problem stems from an error in which a designer incorrectly calculated the water pressure used by local firefighting pump trucks, according to the report. That means the flawed Metro pipes do not meet the National Fire Protection Association standards.
The transit agency estimates about 8 percent of the dry- standpipe systems in the agencys train tunnels have the flaw. They are mainly clustered in the District, but a few are in Montgomery County.
We want to assure riders that Metro has enough standpipes delivering water to address fire anywhere in the Metrorail system, said Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates. The pipes work, and fire departments can access them for water supply.
Fixing the problem, though, will cost $6.2 million and take three years, according to the agency. The report says Metro is trying to recover the cost. Work is under way, Gates said.
In the meantime, Montgomery County and D.C. fire officials are working out plans to deal with any insufficient pipes. They met with Metro officials Monday to create plans to test the affected areas in the next few weeks.
The D.C. and Montgomery fire departments said firefighters always plan to have redundant systems to get water, no matter where a fire occurs.
Im not going to say its easy. But we plan for it, said D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Pete Piringer. We will bring our own water into certain areas, if we need it.
It was not immediately clear how long the problem has existed or how long Metro has known about it. The report said the agency started a program to replace its dry-standpipe network in 1998 and had completed seven design contracts. Four of them had the design errors.
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