Hydrant tests near Fairfax children’s center get mixed results

At least one of three fire hydrants near the Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center has a water flow capacity great enough to handle fires, officials said this week.

Ross Valley fire Chief Jason Weber made the assessment Wednesday after two hours of tests by a dozen staff members of the Marin Municipal Water District at the hydrants near the child care center in Deer Park.

“The good news is our water district has good water,” Weber said, referring to the water district’s fire hydrant at 104 Meernaa Ave. The hydrant, which also serves the surrounding neighborhood, had a water flow volume of just over 1,500 gallons per minute when opened at full throttle.

“Our public system performed beautifully,” water district board member Larry Bragman said of the MMWD hydrant test.

The other two private fire hydrants, located on the children’s center property, both had water flow volumes just under 400 gallons per minute — useful for a smaller blaze, but not enough for fighting a major fire, Weber said. In the case of a major fire, firefighters would link a hose to the water district hydrant, he said.

The tests provided new insight into what might be needed to address the fate of the children’s center, which has operated for almost 50 years as one of the only subsidized, low-cost child care centers in Marin.

An attorney for the Ross Valley School District, which owns the site, has advised that the center lacks up to $8.5 million worth of fire code, state Field Act and federal Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades that would be needed in order for the buildings to be considered safe.

Without the upgrades, the attorney, Terry Tao, had recommended the district give the center 30 to 60 days to vacate because of potential liability concerns. In response to his recommendation, more than 200 people crowded into a public meeting June 14 to protest closure of the center.

On June 23, district officials agreed to take the next few weeks to talk with Marin government and nonprofit groups to seek “solutions and options” for moving forward. Those could include a potential sale, but only if the purchaser would allow the center to stay put, Marci Trahan, Ross Valley School District superintendent, said Wednesday.

“Our goal is to sell to an entity that wants to keep them there,” Trahan said.

“We have no interest in shutting them down,” she added. “They definitely provide an invaluable service.”

Other options could include securing grants or other funding streams to allow for the upgrades. A third choice might be to ask the center to relocate temporarily while any work is being done to make the buildings safer.

“It all comes down to the kids, ultimately,” Trahan said. “We need to know that they’re in a safe environment.”

Trahan said district officials will meet with the center management Tuesday . A resolution is expected to be presented to the district trustees at the July 19 board meeting.

Trahan said the fire hydrant tests Wednesday were part of the information-gathering process the district to put the “future pathway forward.”

“We want to know everything there is to know about this site,” she said. “If nothing is wrong (with the water flow or pressure), that’s one less thing to worry about.”

Previous fire hydrant tests on June 15 only included water pressure calculations. Those generated some confusion over their significance and whether they met the minimum standards needed to ensure fire safety at the property.

The new tests Wednesday were expanded to include water flow volume, a more important marker, according to Weber.

“It’s a volume conversation, not a pressure conversation,” Weber said. “Pressure is important, too — but volume is key.”

“The two work together,” he added. “We have to look at both when we’re analyzing the strength of the system.”

Weber added that size of a water main that feeds a fire hydrant can also have an impact on water volume and water pressure. The underground water main at the Marin Municipal Water District fire hydrant on Meernaa Avenue has a 6-inch diameter. When it comes onto the Deer Park site, it drops to a 4-inch diameter, which then splits to two 2-inch diameter pipes for the two private hydrants at the children’s center.

Ross Valley Fire Marshal Scott Alber said specific minimum water flow numbers and water pressure standards were dependent on such things as the size of a building, the construction type of a facility or whether a sprinkler system were installed, he said. The Fairfax children’s center does not have a sprinkler system.

“If you don’t have a sprinkler system, we’d want more water available to us to fight a fire,” Weber said.

Weber said while the center’s buildings met all water flow and fire code standards when they were constructed more than 50 years ago, any upgrades would change that calculation.

“If they perform a substantial remodel or make substantial changes or change the occupancy of the building, that may trigger changes to what’s required from a water flow perspective,” Weber said.