Hydrant water pressure near blaze was reduced

RENO (AP) - Someone had used a tool to reduce the water pressure at the fire hydrant closest to a Reno apartment complex that went up in flames last week in an arson fire, authorities said.

Investigators don't know who partially turned off a crucial valve - including whether it was the arsonist - but it happened in the past year, Reno Operations Chief Joe Durousseau said Monday. It's also not clear how many hydrants were affected, he said.

The fire early Thursday destroyed more than 300 apartments at The Alexander, a luxury complex under construction on the south side of town. Damages are estimated at up to $30 million.

Firefighters switched to a hydrant a quarter-mile away, causing a delay of up to 10 minutes, Durousseau said.

He didn't know what effect the delay may have had on the fire's spread. But he said that in 25 years with the department, he'd never before seen a hydrant that was partially closed when firefighters responded to a blaze.

The tool required to adjust a water valve would be available to water and utility companies, construction workers, developers and fire departments, but it is not sold commercially, Fire Marshal Joan Presley said.

Presley said builders can turn off valves during construction, such as when they are running an electrical line.

Scott Estes, a spokesman for the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, which supplies water to the hydrants, said any adjustment would have to be made manually.

"This was somebody with some knowledge of how a system like that works," he said. "That isn't confidential information, but it's not something that most people know."