Hou Guang-chun, a Taipei City Council member of the New Party, yesterday called for attention to the problem that could undermine the firefighting operations.

He said there are 3,064 hydrants on the streets of the city with more than 7,200 copper covers.

However, over 2,200 of the covers are missing.

There are five hydrants on the 500-meter Songpin Road near City Hall and the World Trade Center. But the covers on four of the hydrants were gone.

Hou guessed the theft of the copper covers had caused a loss of more than NT$5 million of taxpayers’ money.

He said it could pose a safety threat because without the cover, the water pressure could be reduced when firemen open the hydrants for water to put out fires. Officials at the Water Department said that this is a situation that had never occurred in the past. They said the high unemployment and the rising copper price could be the reason for the theft of the copper covers.

The department has distributed the covers to all firefighting teams for emergency use, said the officials.

They have also decided to order new covers made of cast iron, which fetches a lower price than copper on the market.

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