Info > Technical Tip: Fire Hydrant History
Have you ever wondered why a fire hydrant is often referred to as a fire plug?
This brief overview of the historical development of the fire hydrant contains
that answer as well as a few other interesting and worthwhile facts.
Fire has always been regarded as one of the greatest destructive agents known.
Methods to combat fire have been practiced by mankind through the ages.
Technical tips are for informational purposes only.
In the beginning, hand appliances and manual labor were used to extinguish fire. Water thrown from buckets by hand had severe limitations and the first step to improve this effort was the development of the syringe. This crude fire extinguisher, similar to today’s hypodermic needle, was developed and first used over 2,000 years ago. Historical records indicate that an edict was issued in early Rome requiring every citizen to keep a device in his home to extinguish fire.
The concept of fire plugs dates to at least the 1600s. Firefighters would
dig through the street down to the wooden water mains and bore a hole to get
water to fight fires. The water would fill the hole and be collected via bucket
brigades or, later, via hand pumped fire engines. After the fire was extinguished,
a wooden plug was driven in to the hole – the use of a wooden plug in
this manner is the origin of the term fire plug.
Early
municipal water systems transported water under low head and it was not until
late in the eighteenth century that street mains were constantly and sufficiently
pressurized. The use of pumping equipment had considerable influence on the
development of modern fire hydrants.
Pressurized water mains first enjoyed widespread use in the United States
and led to the development of the first fixed-post type fire hydrant in Philadelphia
in 1801. Many other large metropolitan areas, including Boston, followed Philadelphia
in the development of post-type hydrants for use in their growing water distribution
systems. The first order for cast-iron hydrants was made to a firm that had
formerly cast cannons during the American Revolution.
Over the years, many changes have been made to the fire hydrant to improve
its performance and its ease of maintenance. Water Works Supply Corp. is a
stocking distributor for fire hydrants manufactured by Kennedy, M & H,
and US Pipe. Feel free to call on your Water Works salesperson for more information
on these state of the art fire plugs.
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