An Editorial---Lack of Fire Hydrants in Grove

Is the lack of fire hydrants in some parts of Grove a safety issue?
Fire Chief Lee Dollarhide says no…"we have plenty of water to fight fires."
An entirely new subdivision, Lighthouse Springs, is without a single fire hydrant.
Patricia Island, nearby, has only three hydrants for 100 homes, some as far apart as 2880 feet.
Hydrants cost $2200 apiece and if these two areas were not in a rural water district, they would be required to have hydrants no more than 400 feet from homes per city code.
The lack of enough hydrants at Patricia Island was caused by lack of money from Rural Water District #9 and the developer never saw fit to install them as houses were built.
We don't know what the excuse is at Lighthouse Springs but heaven help the residents there if a fire occurs. The nearest hydrant is several blocks away.
The lack of fire hydrants effects insurance ratings for both the city and individual residents. Many homeowner policies ask how many feet there are between the home and the hydrant, while others don't care, instead they use the city's overall rating. But this too is affected by hydrant issues and fire department equipment.
Within the county, hydrants are not required in new subdivisions. It is left entirely up to the developer.
The other day we had occasion to call the Grove Fire Department to put out a builder-built fire next door; it took the truck 35 minutes to arrive, including 10 extra minutes for the pumper to go to a hydrant and fill the tanks. This would not be acceptable in the case of a house fire, as the house would burn to the ground in that time.
Somebody needs to take a look at the hydrant situation both within the city and the county. Homeowners should not be put at risk by developers and rural water districts, or lack of regulations in the county.