inDECATUR

Decatur gets good ISO rating on fire hydrants

No state law governs testing of fire hydrants, so procedures vary by city and county. The variations in those methods can account for the different ratings Atlanta area cities and counties have received from the Insurance Services Office, an independent organization that rates the effectiveness of fire protection systems. Those ISO ratings can affect homeowner insurance rates in those communities.

The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 10. The lower the score the better. A rating of 1 represents “exemplary fire protection.” East Point has a 4 rating, compared with Alpharetta, which has a 2; Austell, 4; Atlanta, 2; Cobb County, 3; College Park, 4; Decatur, 2; DeKalb County, 3; and Marietta, 3. A community’s water supply — including the condition of its fire hydrants and how often they are inspected — accounts for 40 percent of what goes into an ISO rating.

Insurers pay close attention to those ratings, said David Colmans, executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, which represents home, rental and auto insurers.

“When rates are set for homeowner insurance, the ISO rating is figured into that,” Colmans said.

The American Water Works Association recommends that hydrants be inspected at least once a year to make certain they are working properly.

JR | AJC | 9/14/2008

ALL CLEAR: Water boil advisory lifted for all DeKalb

A boil water advisory was lifted Thursday afternoon [around 3:17P] for all zip codes in DeKalb County.

"DeKalb County Watershed Management officials conducted several tests," the county said in a press release at about 3:30 p.m. "Based on the results, officials have determined that all water is safe for drinking and normal use."

The county said it is not necessary for water customers to flush any lines.

YourDeKalb.com

This blogger received the all clear message from Decatur's CodeRed (999-911-9999) at 4:38P.

North DeKalb (including Decatur) under boil water advisory

UPDATE 3:17P Th 7/24/2008: YourDeKalb.com reports the tests were negative so the boil advisory has been lifted for all of DeKalb.

DECATUR -- Officials in DeKalb County have issued a boil water order for residents in much of the county, including Avondale, Chamblee, Decatur and Doraville areas until further notice.

Affected Zip Codes include 30319, 30030, 30340, 30341, 30345, 30033, 30329, 30084, 30087, 30083, 30030, 30002, 30307, 30306, 30079, 30021, 30032 and 30088.

Residents in the affected areas are being asked to boil water for at least three minutes before drinking or cooking.

Officials said that at 6:50 p.m., the Scott Candler Water Plant lost power in Tuesday night's storm. Technicians began working to restore water pressure to the system. The DeKalb County Health Department was working to notify area hospitals and restaurants.

At approximately 6:50 p.m Tuesday., DeKalb County Watershed Management officials were notified that the Scott Candler Water Plant lost power due to severe weather in the area.

County officials said residents are not to drink, bathe, cook, brush teeth, or make ice with the water until and unless you know the water is safe.

Residents are advised to use bottled water or to boil water at a rolling boil for at least three minutes before using it.

The Decatur Code Red System has so far failed to advise us of this. UPDATE: The call came to this blogger's cell phone at 8:46AM, long after most had made coffee, taken showers, brushed their teeth, and headed out to work or school.

UPDATE: 11Alive is reporting the boil water advisory will extend through Thursday.

Thanks to Carl and Carolyn for the heads up on this.

This is the second good reason recently to rotate a supply of distilled water containers.

Watch YourDekalb.com for the all-clear signal.

Gas leak just west of Decatur city limits Friday AM 4/25/08

Local news is reporting a gas leak just west of the City of Decatur, on W. Parkwood, sometime Friday morning.

You might want to avoid this area on the way home, as it sometimes take a while to patch up gas leaks. Watch or listen to the local news for updates. If you live in the immediate vicinity, you may be inconvenienced.

Decatur street map

While Decatur is considering expanding, it should try to annex the property over to the railroad right-of-way, as that would seem to be a more logical boundary. It already has the East Lake MARTA station.

h/t: Decatur Metro

I'd already heard it on the radio, but Nick beat me to the post, as typically happens for news which breaks during daylight. I typically beat him on news which breaks during darkness. Since we work different shifts, in effect, Decaturites can count on getting the latest news within just hours.

It's roughly analogous to when ATL had two papers: The Constitution in the AM and the Journal in the evening. Given the printing lead time, the Constitution had the news from the previous day, while the Journal had the overnight news. I delivered the Journal during the week, and a combo paper Sunday AM.

Is CodeRed appropriate for tornado warnings?

The National Weather Service said Monday that a "long-track supercell thunderstorm crossed a nearly 100 mile portion of central Georgia." Reports of damage "consistent with tornadoes" were received from counties along the path of the storm ... Apparently, there was no significant damage in DeKalb County, but there was damage near here. [AJC] As it turned out, the closest confirmed tornadoes were in Prattville, AL and near the GA line with the FL panhandle [AP].

Many of us noticed heard the siren(s) Sunday afternoon, warning us of a possible tornado.

This blogger was only two blocks from Fire Station #1 on Trinity, and thus heard it clearly. Could you hear it where you were?  Does the city have multiple sirens? Did Avondale people here Decatur's siren(s) or the one at the Avondale FD?

Decatur Metro pondered if the new CodeRed reverse 911 notification system should have been used.

One commenter at DM thinks it's not a good idea to call people when there's lightning in the area. [That logic would rule out many emergencies which are caused by thunderstorms accompanied by lightning. If a lightning storm has created a dangerous condition in my neighborhood, I'd like to take my chances with answering the phone to find out.]

He also says the sirens are intended only to get the attention of people outside, under the assumption those inside will be watching weather updates on TV or listening to the radio. [That assumes everyone has their TV or radio on all the time, which is not true for many this blogger knows.]

What inDECATUR would like to see is a comment from a city official or employee explaining the thinking in not using it.

So far, Decatur's CodeRed system has been used to notify us of special holiday trash collection schedules [as part of a test] and to not notify us of a possible tornado. We're now not quite sure when it will and will not be used, and whether we should count on it.

As of this posting, no explanation/clarification can be found at the City website, and no e-mail has been received.

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