A rural water district seized equipment from an Arkansas fire department after it said it discovered that some firefighters there were tapping into a hydrant to fill swimming pools of residents, not train personnel, The Associated Press reports.

The Benton County Water District confiscated the equipment from the fire department and returned it after the water was paid for.

According to Water District Manager Eddie Cooper, the fire department didn’t notify officials that the firefighters planned to tap the hydrant or arranged to pay for the water. However, the fire department’s chief, John Whisenant, said the hydrant was used to fill private pools as part of their training. Whisenant also personally paid $78 for nearly 13,000 gallons of water taken from the hydrant in July.

A Benton County sheriff’s determined nothing criminal had taken place.

“It has been a long-standing thing that fire departments have done,” Whisenant says. “It helps us exercise the equipment. It is good training. ... We have the money to cover it. We paid for it. I don’t think there is anything wrong about that.” 

Source: The Associated Press