Going to the Wells

To the untrained eye, it’s just your typical swimming pool. But to an Orange County firefighter, that shimmering backyard oasis may represent the latest in firefighting equipment.

The water in one average swimming pool could fill up to 20 fire engines. Which means that in the event of a fire, harnessing the water capacity of Orange County’s more than 108,000 residential swimming pools would be the rough equivalent of having 2.16 million water-carrying trucks to call upon. That would go a long way toward assisting the Orange County Fire Authority’s 82 fire engines.

The county’s firefighting force is teaming up with the city of Mission Viejo to tap that potential. The city’s Fire Safe Council is launching a campaign urging 6,000 Mission Viejo homeowners to grant firefighters access to their backyard pools and spas in the case of an emergency.

The effort to recruit pool and spa owners will be combined with a citywide safety campaign to encourage people to fireproof their homes and surroundings. Officials hope other areas will follow the council’s lead.

“We are hoping that this will be a model program all communities can use,” Mission Viejo Mayor Sherri M. Butterfield said. “It’s a twofold program that makes firefighters aware of resources in the community and makes people aware of what they can do around their homes in what could be a very serious fire season.”

Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority says that while the weather has been milder than expected, the back country remains dry and could pose a fire hazard as summer temperatures rise. Brown said he also hopes the volunteer program will catch on.

“We see the benefits of this program in terms of a better-prepared community,” Brown said. “And it also gives us more water sources if the main water system is not working.”

A white or silver sign--a swimmer in the water--will be stenciled on the curb outside participants’ homes. This quickly flags firefighters to where they are welcome.

Garrett McCord, a 16-year-old student at Mission Viejo High School, has volunteered to coordinate the project as he goes about trying to earn his Eagle Scout badge. He will keep a list of participants and assign fellow Boy Scouts to do curb stencilings. He predicts they’ll be busy.

“I think a good percentage of people will participate,” Garrett said. “I have confidence in people when it comes to benefiting others.”

In case of an emergency, fire engines carrying special pumps can turn pools into reservoirs they can use to refill their water-carrying trucks. Local water districts have agreed to refill pools for free.

Traditionally, firefighters rely on hydrants for unlimited water. But in the case of a major fire or temblor in earthquake-prone Southern California, there is a risk that power will be knocked out, disabling the electric pumps that feed the fire hydrants.

“We could have used residential pools in the Laguna Beach firestorms,” Brown said.

The 1993 fire was one of the most destructive in U.S. history, burning 17,000 acres and destroying or damaging 441 homes. The water demand rose so sharply that water pressure was sapped across the region. That’s when an alternative source of water, like a pool, a lake or a river can be handy, Brown says.

The new system would also help in the case of brush fires, where a replenishing water source is not readily available. Fire engines could rush to the nearest residential area, fill up, and return to the fire, officials said.

The city of Pasadena was the first to act on turning residential pools into firefighting resources. Since 1996, when city hall and the Pasadena Fire Department started their outreach campaign, about 500 homeowners have volunteered to make their pools available, said Pasadena Fire Capt. Ed Cowens, who coordinates that program.

“In general, homeowners are very receptive,” he said. “You’re going to use that water to protect their home and their neighbors’.”

Mission Viejo jump-started its own program this year after hearing about Pasadena’s.

Pasadena hasn’t yet used a pool as a water resource in a fire, Cowens says. And although Mission Viejo is the only city that has followed Pasadena’s example, many cities, like Los Angeles, as well as Ventura and Los Angeles counties, are considering the plan.

“[The idea] is starting to spread through Southern California,” Cowens said. “It’s a very valuable source of water to assist the fire department in a major disaster.”

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SPOTLIGHT: Pooling Resources

The water in Orange County’s 108,000 residential swimming pools could be tapped in an emergency, helping firefighters save lives and property. Mission Viejo’s Fire Safe Council is launching a voluntary program in which a logo stenciled on the curb in front of a house would tell fire crews that about 10,000 gallons of water is available in the backyard. Officials hope the program will spread to other cities.

Sources: Sheri Butterfield, Mission Viejo Fire Safe Council; Captain Scott Brown, Orange County Fire Authority