ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — A fire broke out at a home on Spring Hill Drive around 4 a.m. Sunday, March 1, and the homeowner says a lack of nearby fire hydrants prevented crews from fully battling the blaze.

Robert Bryant’s home is located in West Albany, near Old Dawson Road and Tallahassee Road.

Bryant said firefighters initially told him most of the house could be saved, but he says crews ran out of water and were unable to fight the fire for 20 to 30 minutes. A county statement refuted that claim.

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Bryant told WALB News 10 that at one point there were two trucks on scene and when the water supplyran out they had to get more water before establishing a caravan roughly two hours later.

“Without the hydrants, there’s really no way to put out a fire if it starts in someone’s house out in this area,” Bryant said. “[Fire officials] pretty much said themselves that if it happens to somebody else out here, the same result will happen again. They just can’t put them out.”

Bryant said the fire did not stop burning until more than 24 hours after it started.

Officials’ response

Dougherty County officials provided a response Wednesday, March 4, after WALB requested comment from the fire chief and EMS officials on Monday, March 2.

“During the incident, there were two brief pauses in water flow while apparatuses were refilled, lasting approximately two minutes and six minutes. At no point was there a 20-minute gap in firefighting operations, as has been suggested,” the statement read, in part.

The statement goes on to say that Dougherty County emergency personnel are committed to protecting the safety of residents and property. Officials said further questions may be directed to the public information office.

The Dougherty County Public Information Office can be reached at [email protected].

Read the county’s statement in full below:

“We’re part of the town.”

Bryant said the absence of fire hydrants reflects a broader lack of services in his area, including no access to cable or wired internet.

“We’re part of the town. There’s a lot of nice houses out in this area, but we’re not included in any of the safety measures,” Bryant said. The home is located in Dougherty County, just outside the Albany city limits.

Neighbor Brian Woodward said this is the third house he knows of that has burned in that part of the county and called on local leaders to act.

“We should have fire hydrants because this is the third house that I know of that is burned on this side of town,” Woodward said. “I feel like we are overlooked even though our property taxes aren’t being overlooked.”

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