View allAll Photos Tagged hydrant
Project 365 - Day 43
Another snapshot. Just haven't had the time to set up anything really fun and colorful lately.
A fire hydrant (also known colloquially as a fire plug in the United States or as a johnny pump in New York City, because the firemen of the late 19th century were called Johnnies[citation needed]), is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water supply to assist in extinguishing a fire. Buildings near a hydrant may qualify for an insurance discount since firefighters should be able to more rapidly extinguish a fire on the insured property.
The concept of fire plugs dates to at least the 17th century. This was a time when firefighters responding to a call would dig down to the wooden water mains and 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 via bucket brigades or, later, via 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.[1][2]
It has been claimed that Birdsill Holly invented the fire hydrant, but his 1869 design was preceded by many other patents for fire hydrants, and a number of these earlier designs were produced and successfully marketed. Numerous wooden cased fire hydrant designs existed prior to the development of the familiar cast iron hydrant. Although the development of the first above ground hydrant in the USA traces back to Philadelphia in 1803,[3] underground fire hydrants — common in parts of Europe and Asia — have existed since the 18th century.
From Wikipedia Source
Day after day of heat well above 95 degrees, and humidity to match. On at least one occasion it pushed above 100 degrees. What a horrific climate the European colonists stumbled upon. On this day, ConEd (the local power company) recorded an all-time record level of energy usage.
The opening of the fire hydrants and the setting up of table games on the sidewalk is a wonderfully enduring New York tradition.
July 19, 2013
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The fire hydrant at the corner is supplying water to all the houses on the block - and to a temporary hydrant! These people have really thought this process out in detail!
Abandoned fire hydrant at the former Naval Facility Point Sur, California.
The former Naval Facility Point Sur is now managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
Point Sur State Historic Park (California State Parks):
Naval Facility Point Sur (Wikipedia):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Facility_Point_Sur
Infrared image produced using a Nikon D3100, with LifePixel's "standard" 720nm filter.
Carlsbad, CA.
In the early 1920s, Jones worked with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to custom design the service brass which later became a standard part of the Jones product line. During both World War I and World War II, Jones supplied water, gas and steam valves for the Navy’s battleships and destroyers. In 1926, Jones built it’s first bronze fire hydrant at the request of the Fire Chief of Monrovia, California.
Although Jones was not the first company to market a wet barrel hydrant, it was the first to cast a wet barrel hydrant in bronze. Jones turned the use of bronze into a marketing advantage, selling the product based upon the long term benefits of bronze over iron. For example, the City of Beverly Hills replaced one of the first Jones hydrants (believed to have been installed in 1926) after over 60 years of service.
The Jones bronze wet barrel hydrant remains the preferred fire hydrant in most parts of California.