There was no fire hydrant in sight when a Callahan home went up in flames Monday. It took 11 minutes for firefighters to arrive and another 45 minutes for them to bring the fire under control.
Even though no one was hurt, except for a dog that suffered minor injuries, the home on Yellow Jacket Drive was completely gutted. Nassau County Fire Chief Brady Rigdon said the lack of hydrant access is not unusual in rural parts of the county. As a result, families tend to rely on wells and septic tanks in lieu of waterlines.
"Our people know where the hydrants are and where they are not," Rigdon said of the hydrants, the vast majority of which are positioned along State Road 200 and in densely populated areas.