We Didn't Start the Fire, But we Would Like to Put it Out

This week, I primarily focused on creating a finding aid for the newspaper articles that I have been working with for the last several weeks. So, this involved more of the same as I searched for the article title, newspaper name, the author, and any other relevant details that should be noted. As I thumbed through this week’s newspaper clippings, I kept seeing articles that mentioned the fire department, specifically conversations around fire hydrants and pipes, as well as continuous mention of the water utilities company. At first I brushed it off; admittedly, it did not seem like it was going to be a particularly exciting read.

However, these phrases appeared so frequently that I ended up pausing to investigate the articles in greater depth. As it turned out, it appears that in the early 1970s Casselberry had an issue where many of their fire hydrants and valves were not working. In 1973, more than half were out of commission, much to the dismay of the fire chief. The problem for most was not that they were broken either; it was that they did not seem to be properly connected to a water source or were not being supplied with water.

Based on an interview that the fire chief seemed to have had with journalists, the tone suggests that he was not too pleased with the way that the city was handling the situation. It appears that when he submitted this report, the city just told him that he needed to let the water utility company know. However, after he did just that and six months had passed without the issue being fixed, it seems he decided to get the journalists involved.

And now what I say next is merely an assumption, but at least in my experience, when people decide to approach a newspaper, they do so with the intended purpose of sparking outrage, hopefully putting some desired pressure on the issue. In this case, it seems like after the fire department became understandably dissatisfied with the issue not being fixed, they hoped the citizens would put some pressure on the city government.

 Though I am not sure that this is the only reason, the fire hydrant issue does appear to be at least part of the reason why the city of Casselberry actually ended up buying the water utility company in the 1970s. And as it turns out, Casselberry still owns and operates its own independent water system.

All this to say, as I am learning, that government drama, even at the local level, seems to be in the most unexpected places. I mean, reading the article where the fire chief gave a detailed account as to why the fire hydrants and valves were not working, I was just floored. After all, without access to water, people’s lives could be put at risk, a heavy possibility that the fire department seemed all too aware of.