Destroying 75 fire hydrants in two days for scrap money is exactly what happens when you spend years romanticizing crime and calling it activism.

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Quoted cost of $600 in metal parts per hydrant. Which means the thieves might get as much as $60.

The cost to repair will be $6,000. Or possibly $60,000 if there’s a lot of water damage as a result.

It’s a lot easier to destroy value than to create it.

Thieves destroy nearly 75 Detroit fire hydrants to steal metal parts, putting lives at risk.

Thieves have destroyed nearly 75 fire hydrants on the west side of Detroit in the last 48 hours, stealing parts and putting lives at risk.

Crews with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department are racing to repair the broken hydrants along Southfield Road and across the west side after thieves tore through dozens in about two days.

“We think the number is about 75 so far,” DWSD Deputy Director Sam Smalley said.

The thieves are targeting metal nozzles and stems on top of the hydrants, which are worth about $600.

Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said the vandalism is a serious and unacceptable situation that puts lives at risk.

“No matter how fast we get to a fire, if we don’t have an operable fire hydrant, it takes seconds, sometimes even minutes away from maybe us saving lives,” Simms said.

 

h/t MM