PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. ( WBRC ) - A fire hydrant in one west Alabama town turned out not to be faulty after all; instead, it was a case of user error.

In the McShan community of Pickens County near Ethelsville, volunteer firefighters thought the hydrant in front of their own station had been out of service for about two years. McShan, home to about 500 people, has three hydrants, and firefighters believed only two of them worked.

James Dunn, a volunteer firefighter, said he had tried opening the hydrant at the station with no success. Even another hydrant about 60 yards away didn’t seem to work. But when WBRC contacted the Pickens County Water Authority and board head Michael Beavers came to check the fire hydrant, water flowed immediately.

Beavers quickly spotted the problem: the hydra

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