By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Family members of a woman killed in a mobile home fire are raising questions about a nearby fire hydrant that was out of service at the time of the blaze.
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The fire happened on May 20 near 39th Avenue and Van Buren Street in west Phoenix. Firefighters pulled Cathy Dillon from the trailer, but the 69-year-old died at the hospital.
Fire started during grinding work
Sylvia Apodaca, Dillon’s sister, said Dillon’s husband was using a grinder outside when the fire started around 8 p.m.
“It caught and it went up and some propane tanks that were near the trailer blew, paint cans that were near there,” Apodaca said.
As firefighters worked to put out the flames, the closest fire hydrant was out of service.
“Somebody has got to do something,” said Jose Herrera, Apodaca’s husband.
One neighbor said the hydrant had been out of service for months.
Fire department used alternate hydrant
A Phoenix Fire Department spokesman said crews arrived on scene with 500 gallons of water and used a fire hydrant directly across Van Buren Street. The department said the out-of-service hydrant did not impact their response and that the fire burned hot and fast.
“They did what they could,” Herrera said.
But family members questioned what would happen in a future emergency.
“For here to have the right corner in front of this mobile home park to be out of service just doesn’t seem right,” Apodaca said.
“It should be working just in case. What if their trucks, their pumps didn’t work?” Herrera said.
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City maintains 54,000 hydrants
The Phoenix Water Services Department maintains the city’s 54,500 fire hydrants. The department said fewer than 1% are not working at any given time. That number changes as hydrants are inspected, repaired, and replaced.
The department said hydrants are inspected annually and their status is shared with the fire department through mapping tools. The goal is to repair and replace broken hydrants within 21 days.
According to a joint statement from the Phoenix Fire Department and Water Services, preventive maintenance was performed on the hydrant in April 2025, confirming it was in proper working condition. During a routine inspection in May 2026, the hydrant was found to need repair and was red-tagged. A work request was issued for a follow-up inspection and repair.
Hydrant status is shared in real time with the Phoenix Fire Department through GIS mapping tools. In this incident, a nearby functioning hydrant was promptly utilized with no delay, providing an uninterrupted water supply to support firefighting operations, according to the statement.
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