FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — The Town of Fort Myers Beach is working to replace 36 fire hydrants that were damaged by hurricane impacts and maintenance delays, representing more than 10% of the island's supply.
Watch as Fort Myers Beach Community Correspondent Anvar Ruziev, visits the street that has no working fire hydrant.
Most of the hydrants are back online, but several remain out of service, including one on Egret Street that serves dozens of homes.
"It's something you don't really realize it's in your life every day and you don't realize it's something the storm has taken away so I'm glad that they're addressing it," said Cherie Smith, a Fort Myers Beach neighbor.
To address the issue, the town is requesting over $290,000 at Monday's town council meeting. The money is necessary to meet standards set by the National Fire Protection Association and would come from the town's water department.
"Especially with the storms you get here and the lightning, you just never know here as far as fires go," Smith said.
The work is ongoing with some hydrants already replaced. According to the Lee County Fire Hydrant database, only three hydrants remain out of service on Estero Island. However, town paperwork indicates the project is scheduled for completion in late 2026.
Residents of Lee County can check if their neighborhood fire hydrant is in service by visiting:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=c7334703f44642daa482d85a334fcdeb
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
