Fire hydrant water flow causes concern for two Brunswick County schools

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Access to water quickly, is key to fighting a fire.

Concerns are now rising after water flow test were performed on fire hydrants at South Brunswick high school and middle school.

“If the whole school for some reason were to catch fire, we’re not going to have enough water for that,” Boiling Spring Lakes Fire and Rescue Captain Nathan McConnell said.

“On a 50% involved fire you’re looking at needing about 1600 gallons of water a minute, 1600 gallons per minute of water for that size of structure,” Captain McConnell said.

But fire hydrants that sit on the school grounds, only provide 900 to 1,100 gallons of water per minute.

“We have plenty of water by adding the two systems together to handle anything that we have in there right now,” Captain McConnel said.

The second system McConnell is talking about is the hydrant that sits across the street from the high school. That hydrant has a higher water flow.

By combining all the fire hydrants, Boiling Spring Lakes Fire and Rescue Captain said they have 2,400 gallons of water.

This is all news to Brunswick County Schools.

“Things related to the safety of our students we take very seriously,” Brunswick County Schools Public Information Officer, Jessica Swencki said.

Captain McConnell said they have access to enough water, but is looking at different strategies to fight a major fire.

Meanwhile, the school system is doing its own research.

“We think it’s important to to always investigate those things immediately when they are brought to our attention,” Swencki said.

Swencki also said if they find out any changes need to be made or anything needs to be fixed, they’ll do it.