Neffs Fire Chief John Driscoll told NEWS9 Thursday that someone tampered with several fire hydrants in Bellaire, and it made the job harder for his crew when it came to fighting a recent fire.

Driscoll said someone purposely tightened the caps on a couple of hydrants and clogged another.

"It's not that the hydrants didn't work ... somebody had to have tightened it with a wrench," Driscoll said.

Driscoll realized that the hydrants had been tampered with when he and his crew arrived to fight a blaze at an apartment complex on Trumbull Street in Bellaire Wednesday night.

A 70-year-old woman suffered serious injuries due to the fire. And Driscoll said, while the tampered hydrants did not hinder his crews this time -- next time it may be a different story.

"It can make for a bad situation," Driscoll said.

The apartment complex was a total loss, but Driscoll does not attribute that to the hydrant situation. He said while crews were dealing with the tampered hydrants, they pulled water from other sources until they got the problems corrected.

Still, Driscoll said he hopes people do not tamper with the hydrants in the area again. He said he knows of other Valley firefighters dealing with similar problems, and it needs to stop.

"If you had somebody stuck in a building and you ran out of water, then you jeopardize not only the people in that building, but the firefighters that went in after them," Driscoll said.

On last check, Driscoll said the woman injured in the fire was still fighting to recover from her burns.

Driscoll said eight people total lived in the complex.

Police have been put on alert, according to Driscoll. He said if someone is caught tampering with a hydrant, he or she will be charged.