It might be rare, but fire hydrants don't always work as they should.

Take an Oct. 18 fire at a house near Stevens Creek Road. Officials said the hydrant closest to the Falcons Drive home didn't produce water properly, so firefighters had to find another.

There also was an Aug. 29 fire at Merrick Place Apartments off Skinner Mill Road where a hydrant didn't work properly and a kitchen fire destroyed eight apartments, displacing nine residents.

Richmond County Fire Chief Howard Willis said apartment complexes are responsible for checking their own hydrants in Richmond County, adding that in the Merrick Place incident an underground valve was not turned on.

Overall, Chief Willis said, it's rare for any of the 12,000 hydrants in Richmond County not to work properly. But it has happened, so officials watch them closely.

"We don't have a tremendous problem with our hydrants," he said. "Every now and then, you find some type of problem, but never anything major."

Chief Willis said his department typically has an average of about 25 to 30 inoperable hydrants, but he said the county's Water Utilities Department gets to them quickly for repairs.

Capt. Mike Rogers, of the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department, said that every six months his staff is required by the Insurance Services Office, a national group on whose data home insurance rates are based, to inspect hydrants throughout the county.

Chief Willis said checking fire hydrants is "really a team effort between the firefighters and Augusta Utility Department workers. We identify the problems with the hydrants, and it's their jobs to go and do the repairs.''

Capt. Rogers said a common problem with hydrants is leakage caused by cars crashing into them. Nationwide, he said, the steady deterioration of water mains also is a problem.

In Richmond County, apartment complexes must submit records on their inspections of hydrants to the fire department. Chief Willis said the complexes typically contract out the work. In Columbia County, Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Chief Doug Cooper said his department inspects apartment complex hydrants.

"We want to know that they work," he said.

Chief Cooper said his staff also is required by the ISO to service its roughly 5,000 fire hydrants every six months. He said each of his engine companies checks the hydrants in its coverage area.

Currently, Chief Cooper said, his department has fewer than 20 hydrants out of service, and they're typically repaired within a week.

Keeping hydrants in good working order, officials say, positively affects an area's ISO rating, which can help home insurance costs. Such checks can provide peace of mind to homeowners.

Columbia County residents who want to check records on fire hydrant inspections can do so at Martinez-Columbia's headquarters, 3910 Desoto Drive. In Richmond County, Chief Willis said, residents can check records at the department's Fire Prevention Bureau on Reynolds Street.