***THE CACHE IS WITHIN 5’ OF THE SIDEWALK, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO GO BEHIND THE WALL. IT IS NOT THE HOSE BIB/SPIGOT!!!***
As a new member of the local fire company, one of the only jobs you are permitted to perform when a fire breaks out is to be the ‘Hydrant’ or ‘Get-Off’ person. This position is responsible for getting off the fire engine at a hydrant to establish a sustained water supply to the engine to allow the remainder of the crew to attack the fire.
You, as a new member, have just stepped off the engine in an area where there are a couple hydrants visible from your location. The Fire Chief doesn’t want you to ‘hit’ (hookup) to any of the ones you can see, but rather a special one that is hidden somewhere nearby. Your direct orders from the Fire Chief are to locate this hidden hydrant & sign your name to log, all without giving away the secret location.
Can you perform, what is perceived in the fire service as one of the easy & basic jobs?
***THE CACHE IS WITHIN 5’ OF THE SIDEWALK, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO GO BEHIND THE WALL. IT IS NOT THE HOSE BIB/SPIGOT!!!***
NOTE: There is plenty of designated parking close by (some a lot closer than others). Please adhere to the NO PARKING areas in front of the big garage doors (there are fire trucks in there that may need to get out), or on either immediate side of the entrance to the parking lot (the curbing is painted yellow).
A Little History
The smaller of the two visible fire hydrants (painted all red) is an actual hydrant from the Village of Boalsburg dating back to the 1800’s. There are still three of these, including this one, still in the ground around the Village. None of them are operational.
A fire hydrant (also known by many other names such as a fire plug or as a Johnny pump in New York City), is a source of water provided in most populated (urban, suburban & rural) areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to use the water supply to assist in extinguishing a fire.
The concept of fire plugsdates to at least the 17th century. This was a time when firefighters responding to a call would dig down to the wooden water mainsand hastily bore a hole to secure water to fight fires. The water would fill the hole creating a temporary well, and be transported from the well to the fire by bucket brigades or, later, by hand-pumped fire engines. The holes were then plugged with stoppers, normally redwood, which over time came to be known as fire plugs. The location of the plug would often be recorded or marked so that it could be reused in future fires. This is the source of the colloquial term fire plug still used for fire hydrants today. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, the city installed water mains with holes drilled at intervals, equipped with risers, allowing an access point to the wooden fire plugs from street level.
The invention of a post- or pillar-type fire hydrant is generally credited to Frederick Graff Sr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works around the year 1801. It had a combination hose/faucet outlet and was of "wet barrel" design with the valve in the top. It is said that Graff held the first patent for a fire hydrant, but this cannot be verified because the patent office in Washington D.C. caught fire in 1836 destroying many patent records from that period in the process. Ironic, isn’t it?
There are different types of fire hydrants, but the two main types are called Dry Barrel & Wet Barrel. The main difference between these is based on the effects of weather. A wet barrel type holds a constant water supply from the water main underground up into the visible part of the hydrant. There is a valve to allow the water to flow out of the hydrant. The dry barrel type also uses a valve, which is located underground usually at the water main, to stop the flow of water up to the hydrant. Why might one ask? The main benefit of the dry barrel type is that the design avoids the effects of freezing in climates where it can freeze the water supply. It keeps the water down in the ground, at temperatures above freezing, until it is needed.