WELLSBURG, W.Va. — Questions are mounting after a catastrophic fire leveled Aspen Manor in Wellsburg early Wednesday morning, focusing on a reported lack of water to fight the blaze and the condition of nearby fire hydrants.
The Franklin Volunteer Fire Department said it had to draw water from the Ohio River because no water was available from the hydrants near the scene. That shortage has drawn attention to new state regulations governing fire hydrant inspection and maintenance — rules that went into effect earlier this year.
Under the final rule adopted by the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) in March 2025, hydrants must be inspected annually, flow-tested every five years, and marked within 30 days of testing to indicate their water capacity. Utilities are also required to maintain a written inspection program and file annual maintenance and quality reports with the PSC.
As of early Thursday morning, the PSC had not yet made public the inspection records for the hydrants in question.
The West Virginia Legislature created the Fire Hydrant Maintenance and Testing Task Force last year after concerns that some utilities were not properly testing hydrants — leading to cases where firefighters were unable to pump sufficient water through hydrants that were technically listed as “in service.”
The Task Force held its first meeting on April 26, 2024, to establish standards for the state’s roughly 50,000 hydrants.
The cause of the Aspen Manor fire remains under investigation.
