CUDAHY PLANNED HYDRANT INSPECTIONS THIS WEEK

FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT FIRE

HYDRANT INSPECTIONS DELAYED

8.5 MILLION GALLON USE SHATTERS ONE DAY RECORD

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

The tremendous fire at the Patrick Cudahy plant came on the day the City of Cudahy Fire Department was to have begun testing the city's 571 fire hydrants. The fire began at 10 p.m. Sunday, July 5th, 2009, and continues as of this writing, 18 hours later.
"The City of Cudahy Water Utility wishes to notify all our water customers that the Cudahy Fire Department will be testing the City's fire hydrants beginning July 6, 2009," reads a news release from Frank Miller, Superintendent of the Cudahy Water Utility.
"The City of Cudahy Water Utility and Fire Department firmly believe it is very important to regularly conduct the fire hydrant testing program to assure our citizens' safety," he adds.
Miller was not available to answer questions, and the fire department, you can be sure, is going to delay the testing of the hydrants.

Mayor Ryan McCue has ordered mandatory evacuation of much of the city, and has asked water utility customers not to use water, since the city needs all of it to fight the fire. Over one hundred firefighters from 15 departments have worked the blaze thus far.
The city's water works has a capacity of 6 million gallons per day, and pumps an average 2.8 mgd of treated water and 1.1 mgd of untreated water through 59 miles of underground pipe to 5401 customers. The untreated water is for three industrial customers.
The peak consumption was 5.2 million gallons at an unspecified date -- perhaps during another fire. Today's fire has used 8.5 million gallons, and the city risks running out of water. City of Milwaukee water is being siphoned into the system, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.