Fourth of July fire serves as warning to Arizona homeowners living outside city limits

MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ (AZFamily) —A neighbor took drone video shortly after a West Valley home, off 87th Avenue and Deer Valley Road, went up in flames on Thursday morning.

Mark Blosser immediately noticed firefighters were having a tough time getting water on the house.

"It seemed like all the fire trucks were here, but there wasn't any water supply," said Blosser. "They had to pump water from 91st Avenue up to the pump truck."

Arizona's Family has learned that there are no fire hydrants near the house that caught fire, forcing crews to run hoses down the block and around the corner to reach the nearest hydrant.

The lengthy delay took valuable time away from saving the house.

Peoria Fire Battalion Chief Ken Wier said this can happen when you live on a county island.

"What's different around here from where we normally respond, are the hydrants," said Wier. "Not a lot of hydrants around here. We had to lay a couple thousand feet from each end to get water to the fire. It's just one of the risks for people who want to live out in the county and live unregulated, but that comes with some trade offs."

Right now, thousands of homeowners across Maricopa County could face a similar tragedy.

They live on a county island or unincorporated area outside city limits, with limited water resources and no fire service.

Shawn Gilleland with Rural Metro Fire said there are several things homeowners can do if they don't have city services.

He recommends getting a Rural Metro Emergency Response subscription to ensure that a crew will respond to a home in case of a fire or medical emergency.

The average cost of a subscription is $550 a year.

Some homeowners on other county islands, like in the Rio Verde community north of Scottsdale, have built water tanks on their property.

However, Gilleland says nothing replaces basic fire safety precautions.

"Having working smoke alarm and fire extinguishers, and then prepping property with defensible space, clearing out anything that could move a fire to the house, grasses, dead trees, that could ladder a fire on to a roof," said Gilleland.