Illegal scrappers put lives at risk in Detroit neighborhood after stealing parts of fire hydrants

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Thieves looking to make a quick buck have people living in a west side neighborhood worried about their safety.

"If a house catch on fire, what are we going to do?", said Louise Grissom.

A number of the fire hydrants on one Detroit street have had the adapter sleeves stolen right off of them, rendering them useless if firefighters need to tap the hydrant for water.

David Rudolph contacted us here at 7 Action News to take action for his family and their neighbors.

"If there was a fire, immediately, I recognize that the fire department would not be able to hookup to this fire hydrant," said Rudolph.

Neighbors tell us that a few nights ago, scrappers went up and down the street stealing the adapters that are made out of brass.

We're told brass at most scrap yards goes for anywhere from $1.10 to $1.50 a pound.

7 Action News notified the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department of the thefts. And a short time later, city workers replaced the stolen parts.

In case of emergency, firefighters will again be able to use those hydrants.

One city worker said in a single day, recently, he replaced 40 brass adapters on a total of 20 fire hydrants.

After learning of the repairs in his neighborhood, Rudolph said ".. WXYZ Actions News 7 and the office of Councilman James Tate were instrumental in getting a quick response from the City of Detroit's Water Department. I very please to see the immediate repairs to the damaged hydrant.  Now my neighbors and I can rest easy if there should be a fire, the hydrants are in working order."

A 24-hour emergency number to call the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department for any important issues dealing with everything from vandalized hydrants to water leaking in abandoned dwellings is (313)267-7401.