More fire hydrants installed in Central Pahrump

A construction project along Highway 372 is expected to benefit nearby residents living in central Pahrump, as well as Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services.

Earlier this year, ground was broken on what Pahrump Fire Chief Scott Lewis described as an expansion of hydrants along West Highway 372 and Comstock Avenue.

Pahrump’s Great Basin Water Co. is performing the work.

Lewis noted that the project will also make way for additional resources to fight fires.

“The project will assist us by providing water down that corridor for fire suppression,” Lewis told the Pahrump Valley Times. “It will also assist the residents along that way, where they can tie in to the water if they choose, or however that’s going to work. It’s simply a water line at this point.”

Saving crucial time

Lewis also said that in the event of a structure or brush fire in that area, crews won’t have to travel far to recharge their apparatuses once the project is finished.

“From a suppression standpoint, we don’t have to come further east in order to utilize an existing system for structure fires and various other types of fires out on the west side of the valley.”

Household budgetary impacts

Lewis said that though the project won’t necessarily affect property values in terms of taxes in the area, it will however, have a positive impact on property insurance rates.

“Due to having an established water system in close proximity, it will help residents on their fire insurance.”

Water flows

The fire chief said that all hydrants in Pahrump have a distinguishing color-coded feature on their tops (bonnets), that allow fire crews to assess their performance.

“The color of the bonnet dictates how many gallons per minute that fire hydrant is tested and expected to flow,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to feel sad that their color isn’t what they want, but light blue is usually 1,500 gallons per minute or more. Green is 1,000 to 1,499; orange is 500, up to 999.”

Lewis said that solid red fire hydrants that are normally located on commercial property usually pump water at less than 500 gallons per minute.

A caveat

“Some complexes like Albertsons and others have what are called ‘yard hydrants,’” he noted. “All those hydrants because they’re on private property, may be a solid red color, and not be an accurate indicator of the exact gallons per minute.”

It is uncertain exactly when the water expansion project on Highway 372 will be completed.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On X: @pvtimes