One of the problems I have experienced is that getting to the appropriate information is very difficult. Our example is with regard to fire hydrants on common property when there is a street fire hydrant within 20 meters of the building and our pipeline to the fire hydrant has a leak.
I have spoken to fire specialists and they have been very helpful especially as to this stage they have not been engaged.
Our “essential services company” told us they would not even look at the problem until we had engaged the services of the building surveyor. This was signed by the sales co-ordinator.
The fire hydrants themselves have a clipped piece of aluminium indicating that they have been tested every 6 months for the last 3 years. I remain unclear what the tests were and what they revealed. The pipes leading to the fire hydrants is made of ungalvanized steel – about 1 metre in a garden bed and about 8 meters under cement leading to the two existing fire hydrants.
At the same time as we are trying to understand whether we can have just one or no fire hydrants, the council (water company) is upgrading the water pipes in our street.
Google maps clearly shows the fire hydrants on our property and the street fire hydrant.
If we could get council and the water company and fire specialists to talk to one another we could get a resolution that would not cost as much as getting the pipe replaced and which would not be used anyway as the fire brigade would most likely prefer to use the fire hydrant from the street.