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# Truck Strikes Hydrant, Sending 30-Foot Geyser Over Downtown Britannia Pub
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/042305-story/
- Published: 2005-04-23T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:44:03.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: local, Downtown, #archive-import

DOWNTOWN — A 30-foot-tall geyser sprang up Friday morning after a tractor-trailer clipped a fire hydrant in front of Britannia Pub on Santa Monica Boulevard.

It took city crews and Santa Monica firefighters nearly 20 minutes to stop the water from gushing out of the broken hydrant, which was run over by a truck turning right out of the alley between the Third Street Promenade and Fourth Street onto Santa Monica Boulevard. It took another 20 minutes for crews to replace the hydrant.

About 15,000 gallons of water spewed from the geyser, said Gil Borboa, the city’s water resources manager. Water rushed down Santa Monica Boulevard and onto the Promenade long after crews managed to cap the hydrant.

The incident, which occurred at about 10:30 a.m., attracted about 100 onlookers from both sides of Santa Monica Boulevard. They applauded the workers when the water was finally turned off. The incident caused extensive damage to Britannia Pub, which is located just feet from the hydrant. Water slammed the pub’s patio, trashed its canopy and spewed over the building, causing damage to the roof and inside the bar. The floor will most likely have to be replaced.

Sonia Cain, co-owner of the pub, said she was working in her office above the bar when one of her employees came in and said there was a water problem. She assumed the problem stemmed from behind the building, so when she went into the alley and walked to front of the pub, Cain was shocked at what she saw.

“I just couldn’t believe the waterfall in front of the building,” Cain said, adding she immediately grabbed her digital camera, not realizing the damage the geyser was calling. “The water was thundering up the windows. It was quite an event.”

The pub, which serves lunch daily, did-n’t open until 2 p.m. on Friday. But everything appears to be back to normal.

“We will be open for karaoke on Saturday night,” Cain said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/042305-03_01.jpg)

City crews and firefighters work on Friday morning to turn off a damaged fire hydrant, which created a 30-foot-tall geyser in front of Britannia Pub on Santa Monica Boulevard. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 23, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042305.pdf?ref=smdp.com)