A house fire Sunday in the Granite Park subdivision highlighted the challenges of fighting fires outside Billings city limits, where dry fire hydrants connected to underground water tanks replace traditional hydrants.Watch the f ull video below: Dry fire hydrants in Yellowstone County subdivisions raise questions after chaotic house fireFirefighters from the Billings Fire Department responded to the fire at 315 White Star Circle, which is outside the city limits but within the Billings Urban Fire Service Area (BUFSA).The scene was complicated by shots fired, requiring police to secure the area before firefighters could begin suppression efforts.Fire Chief Matt Hoppel said officers made sure firefighters were safe, and that allowed them to get water on the fire right away."What quickly became a very complex and dangerous incident," Hoppel said.The chief described a shuttle operation, with Billings Fire Department pumper trucks and trucks from other departments filling up with water from a nearby dry fire hydrant to fight the fire."Fire suppression operations were further complicated by the lack of fire hydrants within the subdivision," Hoppel said.Dry fire hydrants are connected to 30,000-gallon underground water tanks.The hydrants are outside the city limits, in the BUFSA, and maintained by the Billings Fire Department.Trucks hook up to the hydrant, fill with water, and drive to the fire scene.Councilman Scott Aspenlieder, who works on infrastructure and subdivisions with his company Performance Engineering, said any subdivision with four or more homes requires a 30,000-gallon dry fire hydrant."They're being maintained well by Billings Fire," Aspenlieder said.Aspenlieder said while dry fire hydrants can handle many fires, Sunday's fire presented a unique challenge."This is an example of the difference between what happens in the county when a house starts on fire versus what happens in the city," Aspenlieder said.Neighbor Maureen Shipp and her family saw the flames from their dining room and had not thought much about the dry fire hydrant nearby."Mostly our heart goes out to the family," Shipp said.Other neighbors said they felt reassured knowing the 30,000-gallon tank was nearby."When we moved in, they told us there's a 30,000-gallon tank down there that's full of water," said Pat Boehm. "So I believed him."Aspenlieder said 30,000 gallons is sufficient for fire suppression or, at the very least, to prevent a fire from spreading.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. ...read more read less