Fire Hydrants Being Used By Homeless

Low Angle View Of Fire Hydrant

Well, if it's not one thing, it's another.

We can't seem to clean up the homeless encampments in the streets effectively in Los Angeles, and now an NBC4 I-Team report has uncovered that homeless people across L.A. are using fire hydrants to bathe, wash clothes, shave, fill up water jugs and get this....fill water balloons. (Water balloons?!)

All this is just in time for fire season and fire hydrants are supposed to be completely operable 24/7, so that the next time there's a fire and our brave firefighters hook up to a hydrant, they can actually put OUT a fire, not come across a hydrant that's totally useless.

Last month, after NBC4's report on this, Mayor Garcetti ordered any damaged hydrants 'near homeless encampments' fixed immediately, and the LADWP went about fixing them. But it looks like it's not happening fast enough, and even when they do fix one, it seems that the homeless are immediately opening or damaging the hydrants again.

Advocates say it's not the fault of the homeless that they have to use a fire hydrant, if the city is going to let people live on the streets, it needs to provide them with a source of clean water, so they're not tempted to use the hydrants.

Becky Dennison, head of Venice Community Housing, which advocates for the homeless, told NBC4:

"We have a mobile shower program in LA, and it's just very very small and visits very few places. I think the city just isn't interested in truly addressing the conditions of folks living on the streets,"

Mayor Garcetti's office says they have a plan. Spokesman Alex Comisar told NBC4

"We are exploring various options to more quickly identify and repair any damaged hydrants, including by installing cameras and through other technological solutions."

We'll believe that when we see it Mayor Yoga Pants...


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