Water pressure has been a problem in this area of town for at least 20 years.

https://buffalonews.com/2018/09/09/f...d-with-flames/

Bowmansville firefighters spent Sunday morning beating back the flames that consumed a ranch-style home in Lancaster and extended to three cars in the driveway. They were parked near the garage where the fire seemed to originate.

When the first units arrived soon after 8:42 a.m., they were told occupants were still inside 125 Pleasant View Drive, a ranch-style home in a neighborhood with big front yards and leafy streets. County records indicate it is the home of Richard and Laura Keil and their family.

Volunteers eventually determined, however, that three occupants and two dogs got out safely, Bowmansville Chief Thomas J. Trzepacz said. The Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps, however, took one occupant to a hospital for injuries the chief was unable to specify. He said the injuries were not life-threatening.

Trzepacz said the fire was brought under control around 10:30 a.m. In the meantime, firefighters engaged in a search for an adequate hydrant to help quell the flames. A hydrant in front of the house quickly failed to deliver enough water. Hydrants on nearby Stutzman Road and Heritage Road did not help. The firefighters found their best alternative on Transit Road, about 2,000 feet away. The Erie County Water Authority was told of the problem, Trzepacz said.

"We generally don't have issues," he said when asked how often hydrants fail. But he said that while a reliable hydrant certainly would have helped his team attack the blaze, "the fire was pretty out of control when we got there."

"At all times we did have water on the fire," he said.

At one point, Trzepacz had to order the firefighters who were battling flames from within the house, to get out. The roof was sagging and he did not like the threat posed to the volunteers as fire licked at the cars in the driveway. The teams then worked to drown the fire from the outside. Trzepacz figures the home was a total loss.