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'We can sleep easier' | West Knox County family cheers new fire hydrant installation

The Allen family home burned in a fire in January. The nearest hydrant was five football fields away.

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn — Most of us don't give much thought to fire hydrants. 

They fade into our neighborhoods, street corners and yards. 

But not Lyle Allen. In his West Knox County neighborhood, a new fire hydrant is his favorite feature. 

"Goosebumps ran all over my body pretty much," he said, describing the moment he found out crews had begun installing one at the end of his block. 

The yellow hunk of metal, just three and a half feet tall, will let him sleep easy tonight, he said. 

It brings him a sense of peace as he begins to rebuild. 

The Allen family home was destroyed in a devastating fire last January. The flames fried his toaster, left out burned-out photos on the walls and killed his family's pets. 

"Everything that you work for you lose in a second," he said. 

It was the firefight that's kept Allen awake at night. 

Photos from Rural Metro show hoses relayed together from blocks away, impacting response time as firefighters fought the flames. The nearest hydrant was three times the recommended distance from his house. 

Allen and his wife are in the process of rebuilding—and the new hydrant makes them more comfortable doing so.

"It actually brought my wife and myself to tears a little bit," he said. 

The West Knox Utility Board said it had always planned to install a fire hydrant at the end of Allen's block, crews just didn't make it there before his house burned. 

"I'm not going to hold a grudge," Allen said. "I just look at the positive." 

He said he's about eight months away from moving into his new house--and he'll never take the hydrant down the street for granted again.

"It's still surreal," he said.

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