Letters to the editor: The lack of fire safety on the West Side of town - 48 hills

"I am talking about the fact that the city's high pressure Emergency Firefighting Water System does not extend much into the city's westside and southern neighborhoods. Without this vital life-saving infrastructure in place, the westside, in particular, with its hundreds of blocks of wood-frame buildings, will likely succumb to firestorms of unimaginable proportions immediately following the next great earthquake. My particular neighborhood is at great risk due to the lack of this vital infrastructure."

"I am reminded practically every day of the fact of the absence of the city's fire protection infrastructure. Right outside my living room window is a fire hydrant with a white cap. This piece of infrastructure will be useless in suppressing the conflagration expected after gas mains burst and the westside neighborhoods are a blaze as that type of fire hydrant isn't "hardened.""

The city's high-pressure Emergency Firefighting Water System does not reach much of the westside and southern neighborhoods. Hundreds of blocks of wood-frame buildings on the westside face likely firestorms immediately after a major earthquake. Many local fire hydrants are not hardened and will be useless after gas main ruptures. Reliance on future tax revenue from upzoning delays critical infrastructure for existing residents. Partial EFWS coverage, cisterns, and the Water Tender System are inadequate to protect life and property. EFWS build-out must be completed before implementing the proposed Family Zoning Plan.

Read at 48 hills