St. Louis fire captain invents device to restore water to 85 vandalized hydrants

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A St. Louis fire captain was honored with the Excellence in Service Award after inventing a device to restore water access to dozens of vandalized fire hydrants across the city.

Capt. Bradley Trower created the Brad Trower Supply Device, or BTSD, after thieves cut brass valves from 85 hydrants to sell for scrap metal, leaving them inoperable. The tool will now be assigned to every fire truck in the department.

“As we found all the vandalized hydrants, I can say that my blood pressure kept going up and up and up and the concern for the neighborhood,” Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said. “We didn’t have any way of supplying fire protection without our hydrants. They just cut the threads off.”

Jenkerson said a suspect was arrested in Granite City, Illinois, and indicted on 85 felony counts of property damage.

Replacing the damaged equipment would have cost the city between $8,000 and $9,000 per hydrant because the older models are no longer manufactured, Jenkerson said. While the city plans to replace the outdated models over the next several years, Trower’s device provides an immediate solution.

“Not only does this give us the ability to get water out of a hydrant that’s been vandalized, it also allows us to get water out of a hydrant that might have thread that’s worn out and we can’t get the hoses on properly,” Jenkerson said.

Flanked by Mayor Cara Spencer and his family, Trower called the project a team effort.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody who helped,” Trower said. “Glad it worked.”