FIRE HYDRANTS

Fire Hydrants

Henry Vasquez

Allen Hancock College

Fire Prevention 1B

Professor Tim Capehart

May 7, 2011

Fire Hydrant

Introduction

A fire hydrant, also called fire plug, is basically an active measure of fire protection. It is also a source of water supplied to majority of the rural, suburban and urban areas. Community water service assists in extinguishing a fire by allowing firefighters to tap into their water supply. It is asserted that Birdsill Holly, in 1869, has invented this tool, although many other patents for fire hydrants have preceded his design. Several former designs were created and marketed effectively. There were various wooden cased designs which existed in the market until the well known cast iron hydrant started to develop. Underground fire hydrants, which are common in Asia and Europe, have existed since the 18th century, even though the traces of the first above ground hydrant go back to 1803.

A Brief History of the Fire Hydrant

Prior to the systems of water distribution, water was only available from two different sources for the purpose of fighting fire. First was natural resource like rivers, lakes, and ponds whereas second source included barrels or cisterns which were kept filled with water. The foremost systems for water distribution were built in cities such as Boston and London during the seventeenth century. Whenever water was required for the purpose of fighting fires, a hole was bored through the pipe wall, and a hole was dug to expose the wooden pipe. Due to the low pressure in these pipes water was first collected just around the pipe and then it was collected up through a hose connected to a hand pump or by buckets. Once the fire was fought, a tapered piece of wood was plugged with the hole in the pipe. These plugs were then buried and their locations were marked in case they were required again. This is how the “fire plug” term stemmed from which is still widely used till date.

Design Specifications

The basic purpose of a fire hydrant is to serve as a valve between a pump aboard fire department apparatus and the underground water supply. Various design considerations can be formulated bearing this in mind. Apart from the structural needs, the geometry of the fire hydrant itself must enable adequate use of its premeditated task (Wohleber, 2002). Although the sizes and shapes of fire hydrants are relatively different throughout the world, there are certain characteristics which all of them possess. Some of these traits are listed below.

A powerful design defending against environmental effects such as corrosion

Connections for fire department issued hoses

A hollow cylinder acting as water's access road from underground water supply

Internal valve controlling the water flow

Operation

At first, a hose is connected to the fire hydrant. Then the valve is unlocked to present a strong flow of water. This strong pressure changes in accordance with the area and depends on a variety of factors such as location and size of the attached water main. The hose may be connected with a Storz connector ...